Its time for the Game Awards, an annual event that celebrates the achievements of developers in the past 12 months. However, there are usually new game trailers and reveals sprinkled in for the thousands of fans that tune in from home, making it a must-watch event whether you care about the prizes or not.
If you want to know when 2022’s ceremony takes place, how to watch it and what to expect from the show this year, then keep on reading.
When are the Game Awards 2022?
The Game Awards will be airing tonight, Thursday 8 December 2022. It will kick-off at the following times:
- 12:30am GMT (9 December)
- 7:30pm ET
- 4:30pm PT
- 1:30am CET (9 December)
The runtime has not been confirmed. However, Geoff Keighley confirmed on Twitter Spaces that it will be “significantly shorter” than last year’s event, which took around three and a half hours. Either way, if you’re in the UK, you’re in for a late-night/early morning.
The event will broadcast live from the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, where an in-person ceremony will be taking place.
How can I watch the Game Awards 2022?
The organisers promise that you’ll be able to watch the Game Awards across more than 40 global video platforms, including YouTube, Twitch, Facebook and Twitter.
We have embedded the stream above, so you can bookmark this page and watch directly from here.
Streamers will also have the option to co-stream the event as it airs for live reactions. You can sign-up for co-streaming here.
If you’re in the US and you want the big screen experience for the evening, then IMAX theatres will be doing screenings.
Who will be presenting the awards?
Geoff Keighley is back to host the evening, and as usual there are numerous celebrities and games industry icons appearing to help distribute the awards.
The following guests have been confirmed:
- Keegan-Michael Key
- Fuslie
- Valkyrae
- Reggie Fils-Aime
- Daniel Craig
- Rian Johnson
- Jessica Henwick
- Sydnee Goodman
- Ken and Roberta Williams
- Pedro Pascal
- Bella Ramsay
- Troy Baker
- Ashley Johnson
- Animal from The Muppets
- Josef Fares
- Naoki Yoshida
There will be a performance from Hozier, who will be singing Blood Upon the Snow from God of War Ragnarök.
What trailers and announcements will be made?
Besides those getting awards, we’ll also see a whole bunch of exciting news for 2023 and beyond, including trailers and new game reveals, special in-game events, and even playable demos dropping during the show. There’ll also be a Game Awards Sale that runs across multiple PC and console storefronts.
We already have confirmation that there will be news about the following titles: Star Wars Jedi Survivor (the sequel to Fallen Order), Tekken 8, Baldur’s Gate 3 and Destiny 2: Lightfall, as well as a mysterious project from the renowned developer, Hideo Kojima.
There are also rumours that we will get news about a new Crash Bandicoot game, as well as Final Fantasy XVI.
Game Awards 2022 nominees
Nominations have now been revealed, with God of War Ragnarök, Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West all leading the pack.
The winners are decided by a combination of jury and audience votes. Audience vote only counts for 10% of the overall score – the remaining 90% is decided by the voting jury.
Audience votes are now closed across all categories. This also includes the Player’s Voice – an award decided entirely by public voting. At the last check, Sonic Frontiers and Genshin Impact were at a dead heat for the win.
Here are all the nominees for the 2022 Game Awards:
Game of the Year
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarök
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Stray
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Best Game Direction
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarök
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Immortality
- Stray
Best Narrative
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarök
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Immortality
Best Art Direction
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarök
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Scorn
- Stray
Best Score and Music
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarök
- Metal: Hellsinger
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Best Audio Design
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarök
- Gran Turismo 7
- Horizon Forbidden West
Best Performance
- Horizon Forbidden West (Ashly Burch as Aloy)
- A Plague Tale: Requiem (Charlotte McBurney as Amicia de Rune)
- God of War Ragnarök (Christopher Judge as Kratos)
- Immortality (Manon Gage as Marissa Marcel)
- God of War Ragnarök (Sunny Suljic as Atreus)
Games for Impact
- A Memoimr Blue
- As Dusk Falls
- Citizen Sleeper
- Endling – Extinction is Forever
- Hindsight
- I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
Best Ongoing Game
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Genshin Impact
Best Indie Game
- Cult of the Lamb
- Neon White
- Sifu
- Stray
- Tunic
Best Mobile Game
- Apex Legends Mobile
- Diablo Immortal
- Genshin Impact
- Marvel Snap
- Tower of Fantasy
Best Community Support
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- No Man’s Sky
Innovation in Accessibility
- As Dusk Falls
- God of War Ragnarök
- Return to Monkey Island
- The Last of Us Part 1
- The Quarry
Best VR / AR Game
- After the Fall
- Among Us VR
- Bonelab
- Moss: Book 2
- Red Matter 2
Best Action Game
- Bayonetta 3
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Neon White
- Sifu
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Best Action/Adventure Game
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- God of War Ragnarök
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Stray
- Tunic
Best Role Playing Game
- Elden Ring
- Live A Live
- Pokemon Legends: Arceus
- Triangle Strategy
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Best Fighting Game
- DNF Duel
- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R
- The King of Fighters 15
- MultiVersus
- Sifu
Best Family Game
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
- Nintendo Switch Sports
- Splatoon 3
Best Sim/Strategy Game
- Dune: Spice Wars
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
- Total War: Warhammer 3
- Two Point Campus
- Victoria 3
Best Sports/Racing Game
- F1 22
- FIFA 23
- NBA 2K23
- Gran Turismo 7
- OlliOlli World
Best Multiplayer Game
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- MultiVersus
- Overwatch 2
- Splatoon 3
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Content Creator of the Year
- Karl Jacobs
- Ludwig
- Nibellion
- Nobru
- QTCinderella
Best Debut Indie Game
- Neon White
- NORCO
- Stray
- Tunic
- Vampire Survivors
Best Adaptation
- Arcane: League of Legends
- Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
- The Cuphead Show!
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Uncharted
Most Anticipated Game
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Resident Evil 4
- Starfield
- The Legend of Zelda: The Tears of the Kingdom
Best Esports Game
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Dota 2
- League of Legends
- Rocket League
- Valorant
Best Esports Athlete
- Jeong “Chovy” Ji-Hoon
- Lee “Faker” Sang-Hyeok
- Finn “Karrigan” Andersen
- Okelsander “S1mple” Kostyliev
- Jacob “Yay” Whiteaker
Best Esports Team
- Darkzero Esports
- Faze Clan
- Gen.G
- LA Thieves
- Loud
Best Esports Coach
- Andrii “B1AD3” Horodenskyi
- Matheus “Bzka” Tarasconi
- Erik “D00mbr0s” Sandgren
- Robert “Robban” Dahlstrom
- Go “Score” Dong-Bin
Best Esports Event
- Evo 2022
- 2022 League of Legends World Championship
- PGL Major Antwerp 2022
- The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational
- Valorant Champions 2022