The Game Awards are back. Geoff Keighley’s beloved annual event to celebrate the best and brightest of the gaming industry is ready for its ninth ceremony. In a year filled with stunning new experiences like Elden Ring, the event is sure to be a standout celebration of an industry slowly recovering from a global pandemic. As 2022 starts to roll into its last months the preparations are in full swing, and we finally have some concrete information on what to expect at this year's ceremony.
When is the Game Awards 2022?
This year’s Game Awards ceremony will take place on December 8, 2022. This follows the trend of the past several years, which have all seen the ceremony take place on the second Thursday of December.
How can you watch the Game Awards 2022?
As always, The Game Awards will be streamed free worldwide through whichever platform you prefer. YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and even TikTok live will have streams up for the ceremony.
If watching The Game Awards on your phone or TV doesn’t seem celebratory enough, you can buy a movie ticket to see The Game Awards in participating IMAX theaters. More information on which theaters are participating is coming in the coming months.
Can the public purchase tickets for the 2022 Game Awards?
If all goes according to Geoff’s plans, then this will be the first year since 2019 that the public will be able to attend The Game Awards. “Pending CDC and Los Angeles health and safety guidelines, public tickets to attend The Game Awards will be made available for purchase later this Fall,” a press release reads.
More information to come.
Where are the Game Awards 2022 being hosted?
The Game Awards will be returning to Los Angeles’s Microsoft Theatre on December 8 for the ceremony. This has been the venue for The Game Awards since 2015 with only 2020 breaking the trend as it was an entirely virtual event.
Are there any new categories at the Game Awards 2022?
In addition to the big awards like “Game of the Year” and “Best Performance,” The Game Awards is introducing the “Best Adaptation” category for the 2022 ceremony. The award will honor the best games-related media in the entertainment industry that adapts material that originated in video games.
The Game Awards say it is “a way for the gaming industry and its fans to tip its hat to creative work that authentically adapts and often adds lore and context to our favorite gaming franchises.”
This year expect to see the inaugural list of nominees including the likes of Netflix’s Resident Evil series and the second Sonic movie. Don’t hold your breath for the Uncharted movie to make the list though.
What are the Game Awards 2022 nominees?
Historically, official nominations are made by an international jury of over 100 global media and influencer outlets and then announced in mid-November. What games might clean up this year?
The biggest game of the year so far is undeniably Elden Ring. The Souls spin on an open-world game refused to fall into the trap of objective-focused map games and captured the attention of many people who have never connected with the franchise before. Even the New York Times wrote about it (with terrible results). It remains to be seen if anything else can topple Elden Ring in the last months of 2022.
But the rest of the industry hasn’t been lying down. It has been an especially good year for indie games with compelling narratives such as Norco and Citizen Sleeper. Nintendo Switch RPGs keep delivering incredible experiences such as Fire Emblem: Three Hopes, Live A Live, and the emotionally devastating Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
Even with all these great games, 2022 is far from over. October alone is a jam-packed month with the release of Square Enix’s new RPG Forspoken and Bayonetta 3 just to name a couple of standouts. God of War Ragnarok’s release on November 9, just under the wire for nominations, could be the game that challenges Elden Ring, as God of War 2019 came home as GOTY during the 2019 Game Awards.
The Game Awards will take place on December 8, 2022, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
