Is this a new era for The Game Awards? Geoff Keighley, the producer and host, has seemed to take the many complaints about last year’s show to heart.
Many viewers were bothered by the excessive amount of “World Premiere” trailers in 2023, as well as the scant amount of time the winners were given to speak. Leaning into this criticism, the 2024 Game Awards seemed to be packed with more trailers than ever, shifting the balance of the show to operate more like a Winter E3 with the actual awards serving as a secondary segment. And that’s okay. There are lots of awards shows out there. The Game Awards can be the fun one while the GDC Awards, the DICE Awards, and the BAFTAs give out the real “Game of the Year” honors.
Keighley also received criticism from the press and the public about his lack of concern for the huge number of layoffs that ravaged the video game industry in 2023. This year saw even more job losses, and The Game Awards responded by creating the “TGA Game Changer” award, which was given to Amir Satvat for his curation of Amir Satvat’s Games Community, a website that offers support, mentorship, and job postings for game developers.
Keighley’s introduction to this part of the show was particularly good:
“The sad reality is that over the past few years the gaming industry has suffered significant and unprecedented industry-wide layoffs. Those affect the games we get to play and even more importantly, the people who make the games we love. We can debate and certainly disagree with the reasons why, and honestly, as a show, we kind of struggle how to address these topics in a constructive way. But this year, inside of these challenges, we found greatness. I’m proud to share with you the story of a single individual who saw developers in need and did something truly extraordinary.”
Even the awards themselves felt different this year, as Team Asobi’s Astro Bot won the “Game of the Year”. Astro Bot is the first family-friendly game to win the top prize in the ten-year history of The Game Awards, beating out flashier competition such as Black Myth: Wukong, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Metaphor: ReFantazio. All of those games got their chance to shine, but it was Team Asobi’s night, as the developer also won “Best Game Direction”, “Best Action/Adventure Game”, and “Best Family Game” for Astro Bot.
Not only is Astro Bot an extreme outlier among previous Game Awards winners, but so is the next most-honored game of the night. Balatro didn’t win “Game of the Year”, but developer LocalThunk did collect statuettes for “Best Independent Game”, “Best Mobile Game”, and “Best Debut Indie”. Atlus’s Metaphor: ReFantazio also picked up three statuettes last night, winning for “Best Narrative”, “Best Art Direction”, and “Best Role Playing Game”.
Black Myth: Wukong parlayed its strong fan support into wins for “Best Action Game” and the public-voted “Player’s Voice” award. While Final Fantasy VII Rebirth had to settle for the statuette for “Best Score and Music”.
Finally, let’s talk about that lineup of “World Premiere” trailers, because it really was pretty impressive this year. There were blockbuster sequels, which included The Witcher IV, Elden Ring: Nightreign, Borderlands 4, The Outer Worlds 2, Dying Light: The Beast, and Slay the Spire 2. There were the shocking returns of long-forgotten franchises such as Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Turok: Origins, Virtua Fighter 6, and Okami 2. And there was plenty of new stuff including Warren Specter’s Thick As Thieves, the currently untitled next game from Fumito Ueda, Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and the absolutely bonkers Shadow Labyrinth (which is being pitched as a Pac-Man spinoff). It was almost overwhelming.
And that’s it for the 2024 Game Awards. A complete list of all the winners and nominees, as well as a full replay of the ceremony, can be found after the break.
Jury-Voted Categories
Game of the Year
Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.
- WINNER: Astro Bot
- Balatro
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Game Direction
Awarded to a game studio for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.
- WINNER: Astro Bot
- Balatro
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Narrative
For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.
- WINNER: Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
- Silent Hill 2
Best Art Direction
For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.
- WINNER: Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Astro Bot
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Neva
Best Score and Music
For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.
- WINNER: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Astro Bot
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Silent Hill 2
- Stellar Blade
Best Audio Design
Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.
- WINNER: Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
- Astro Bot
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Silent Hill 2
Best Performance
Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion, and/or performance capture.
- WINNER: Melina Juergens (As Senua) – Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
- Briana White (As Aerith Gainsborough) – Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Hannah Telle (As Max Caulfield) – Life Is Strange: Double Exposure
- Humberly González (As Kay Vess) – Star Wars Outlaws
- Luke Roberts (As James Sunderland) – Silent Hill 2
Games For Impact
For a thought provoking game with a profound pro-social meaning or message.
- WINNER: Neva
- Closer the Distance
- Indika
- Life Is Strange: Double Exposure
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
- Tales of Kenzera: Zau
Best Independent Game
For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.
- WINNER: Balatro
- Animal Well
- Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
- Neva
- UFO 50
Best Mobile Game
For the best game playable on a dedicated mobile device.
- WINNER: Balatro
- AFK Journey
- Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket
- Wuthering Waves
- Zenless Zone Zero
Best VR/AR Game
For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.
- WINNER: Batman: Arkham Shadow
- Arizona Sunshine Remake
- Asgard’s Wrath 2
- Metal: Hellsinger VR
- Metro Awakening
Best Ongoing Game
Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.
- WINNER: Helldivers II
- Destiny 2
- Diablo IV
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
Best Action Game
For the best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat.
- WINNER: Black Myth: Wukong
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Helldivers II
- Stellar Blade
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II
Best Action/Adventure Game
For the best action/adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.
- WINNER: Astro Bot
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
- Silent Hill 2
- Star Wars Outlaws
Best Role Playing Game
For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.
- WINNER: Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Dragon’s Dogma 2
- Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Best Fighting Game
For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.
- WINNER: Tekken 8
- Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
- Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
- Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
- MultiVersus
Best Family Game
For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.
- WINNER: Astro Bot
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- The Plucky Squire
- Princess Peach: Showtime!
- Super Mario Party Jamboree
Best Sim/Strategy Game
Best game focused on real time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.
- WINNER: Frostpunk 2
- Age of Mythology: Retold
- Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
- Manor Lords
- Unicorn Overlord
Best Sports/Racing Game
For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.
- WINNER: EA Sports FC 25
- F1 24
- NBA 2K25
- Top Spin 2K25
- WWE 2K24
Best Multiplayer
For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre.
- WINNER: Helldivers II
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Super Mario Party Jamboree
- Tekken 8
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II
Best Debut Indie
For the best debut game created by a new independent studio.
- WINNER: Balatro
- Animal Well
- Manor Lords
- Pacific Drive
- The Plucky Squire
Best Community Support
Recognizing a game for outstanding community support, transparency, and responsiveness. Inclusive of social media activity and game updates/patches.
- WINNER: Balder’s Gate 3
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Helldivers II
- No Man’s Sky
Innovation in Accessibility
Recognizing software and/or hardware that is pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology, and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience.
- WINNER: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Diablo IV
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- Star Wars Outlaws
Best Esports Game
For the game that has delivered the best overall esports experience to players (inclusive of tournaments, community support, and content updates), irrespective of genre or platform.
- WINNER: League of Legends
- Counter-Strike 2
- Dota 2
- Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
- Valorant
Best Esports Athlete
The esports athlete judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2023, irrespective of game.
- WINNER: Lee “Faker” Sang-Hyeok
- Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen
- Jung “Chovy” Ji-Hoon
- Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut
- Neta “33” Shapira
- Zheng “ZmjjKK” Yongkang
Best Esports Team
Recognizing a specific esports team (not the full organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2023.
- WINNER: T1 – League of Legends
- Bilibili Gaming – League of Legends
- Gen.G – League of Legends
- Natus Vincere – Counter-Strike 2
- Team Liquid – Dota 2
Content Creator of the Year
For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the industry in 2023.
- WINNER: CaseOh
- IlloJuan
- Techno Gamerz
- Typical Gamer
- Usada Pekora
Best Adaptation
Recognizing outstanding creative work that faithfully and authentically adapts a video game to another entertainment medium.
- WINNER: Fallout
- Arcane: League of Legends
- Knuckles
- Like a Dragon: Yakuza
- Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft
Most Anticipated Game
Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward.
- WINNER: Grand Theft Auto VI
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Ghost of Yotei
- Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
- Monster Hunter Wilds
TGA Game Changer
- WINNER: Amir Satvat
Fan-Voted Categories
Player’s Voice
- WINNER: Black Myth: Wukong
- Genshin Impact
- Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Wuthering Waves
- Zenless Zone Zero