After a remarkable and surprisingly succinct flurry of news, previews, and awards on Thursday evening, the Game Awards, which celebrate the year that was in video games as well as the years to come, came to a close.

Here is a summary of some of the event’s headlines, along with quick links for adding your favorites to your wishlist on the Epic Games Store.

Additionally, don’t forget to spend some time browsing the Epic Games Store Game Awards flash sale, where you can save up to 85% on a number of games, including several of this year’s The Game Awards winners. Dec. 10 is the last day of the sale.

THE NOTIFICATIONS
Returnal will launch on PC

Returnal earned numerous awards when it was released last year because it combined the death and design of a roguelike with surreal graphics and a plot that unravels with each fresh attempt to survive on the horrible planet of Atropos. And now the third-person shooter from Housemarque is coming to PC, bringing with it a variety of PC-specific enhancements and tweaks. Early in 2023, be prepared for it to alter your nightmares.

One of Us

For Among Us, the creator Innersloth unveiled a new game mode. Hide N Seek is the name of the new mode, which is set to debut on December 9. It will be distributed via an update that also adds new “surprises to survive,” cosmetics, and pets, as well as the ability to “scream.” However, the most crucial addition is the ability to pet your pets—presumably not while screaming.

Replaced

A 2.5D sci-fi retro-futuristic action platformer has been substituted, and boy does it look awesome. This Sad Cat Studios debut might satisfy your craving for an independent game that fuses a pixel art aesthetic with a cinematic approach. However, all we can say is “coming soon.”

Hell II

The makers of Bastion, Pyre, and Hades, Supergiant, continue their exploration of Greek mythology in their upcoming game. As wonderful as its predecessor, Hades II appears to be. This time, the Titan of Time’s soldiers are being fought against by the immortal Princess of the Underworld. Additionally, the firm produced it as the first sequel. Information on early access is anticipated in the new year.

Judas

Creator of Bioshock Ken Levine is back with Judas, the highly anticipated debut game from Ghost Story Games. Geoff Keighley, the showrunner for the Game Awards, claimed to have spent hours playing the single-player first-person shooter and that the studio is also experimenting with novel storytelling techniques. A potential indication of the narrative-LEGO strategy that Levine initially mentioned in the past.

Lightfall from Destiny 2

We got a clearer look at Neomuna, a neon metropolis on Neptune, in our second teaser for the upcoming Destiny 2: Lightfall expansion. Here, you’ll meet the Cloud Striders, join the battle against the Shadow Legion, and stop destruction in the technologically advanced secret city. Additionally, Lightfall features a new subclass, and pre-ordering will immediately get access to a new Exotic Ghost and Legendary insignia.

Kill the Justice League with the Suicide Squad

Kevin Conroy, the late, renowned actor who portrayed the caped crusader in Batman: The Animated Series and all of developer Rocksteady’s Arkham games, will voice Batman in the game, according to a new video. On May 26, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be released.

The Last of Us: First Chapter PC

Finally! The Last of Us Part 1 on PC is reportedly set to release on March 3. A number of enhanced features, including additional display options and game types, will be included in the complete replica of the 2013 original.

Survivor Jedi from Star Wars

Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, created by Respawn Entertainment, happens five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The Empire is relentlessly pursuing Cal Kestis because he is the sole remaining Jedi in the galaxy. The game launches on March 17.

Nightingale

We got a fresh look at the upcoming first-person, open-world, survival crafting game Nightingale from Inflexion Games. The new clip provided a closer look at some of the perilous, mystical worlds that players will travel through on their trip home as well as the creatures that call them home. Arriving shortly.

Remainder II

Players in Remnant II, the follow-up to Gunfire Games’ Remnant, battle terrifying new planets’ worth of nasty monsters and enormous bosses. The action shooter supports both solo and two-player co-op and includes a mix of ranged and melee gameplay. Visit this page for additional information and to add the game to your wishlist. The game is currently marked as forthcoming.

King of the Fallen

The upcoming dark fantasy action-RPG The Lords of the Fallen gave us a graphic new look. The huge, vertical landscape of the game and the quick, fluid combat that players will need to master to survive are both highlighted in this new teaser, which is voiced by Milly Alcock of House of the Dragon fame. Arriving shortly.

Police Chief of Rockay City

Kim Basinger, Michael Rooker, Danny Glover, Mike Madsen, Vanilla Ice, Chuck Norris, and Danny Trejo. We got our first look at the brand-new first-person shooter focused on organized crime during the star-studded debut of Crime Boss: Rockay City, which promised both an engaging single-player campaign and an exciting four-player cooperative option. The game launches on March 28 and is discounted by 40% until 11 a.m. ET Dec. 10.

Crazy Hearts

A new Kemono was displayed in a promo for Omega Force’s monster-hunting video game Wild Hearts. The enormous Golden Tempest resembles a tiger dragon. The Deathstalker wolf and Amaterasu hawk were also demonstrated for us. In the upcoming video game Wild Hearts, players employ antiquated technology to battle enormous, infected animals.

THE WINNERS AND NOMINEES
The show’s multiple revelations may have checked off many wishlist items, but the 2022 hits were the true stars of the evening. The Last of Us TV and video game leads announced an award winner, the Muppets Animal being, well, Animal, and a new Super Mario Bros. movie clip introduced by voice of Toad Keegan-Michael Key during the live event from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Halsey performed a Diablo 4 song during the event. Al Pacino made a surprise appearance and quickly admitted he doesn’t really play games but still finds them impressive.

Of course, there were also quite a few acceptance speeches. Speaking of which, the winners are as follows:

Game of the Year

Winner: Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)

God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

Best Game Direction 

Winner: Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Immortality (Half Mermaid)

Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

Best Narrative

Winner: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)

Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Immortality (Half Mermaid)

Best Art Direction

Winner: Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Scorn (Ebb Software/Kepler Interactive)

Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

Best Score and Music

Winner: Bear McCreary, God of War Ragnarök

Olivier Deriviere, A Plague Tale: Requiem

Tsukasa Saitoh, Elden Ring

Two Feathers, Metal: Hellsinger

Yasunori Mitsuda, Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Audio Design

Winner: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)

Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony/SIE)

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Best Performance

Winner: Christopher Judge, God of War Ragnarök

Ashly Burch, Horizon Forbidden West

Charlotte McBurney, A Plague Tale: Requiem

Manon Gage, Immortality

Sunny Suljic, God of War Ragnarök

Games For Impact

Winner: As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios)

A Memoir Blue (Cloisters Interactive/Annapurna)

Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over The Age/Fellow Traveller)

Endling – Extinction is Forever (Herobeat Studios/HandyGames)

Hindsight (Team Hindsight/Annapurna)

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games/Finji)

Best Ongoing Game

Winner: FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix)

Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)

Destiny 2 (Bungie)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)

Best Indie

Winner: Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster / Devolver Digital)

Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna)

Sifu (Sloclap)

TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)

Best Debut Indie 

Winner: Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna Interactive)

NORCO (Geography of Robots/Raw Fury)

Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)

Vampire Survivors (poncle)

Best Community Support

Winner: FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix)

Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)

Destiny 2 (Bungie)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Best Mobile 

Winner: MARVEL SNAP (Second Dinner Studios/Nuverse)

Apex Legends Mobile (Lightspeed & Quantum/Respawn/EA)

Diablo Immortal (Blizzard/NetEase)

Genshin Impact (HoYovese)

Tower of Fantasy (Hotta Studio/Perfect World/Level Infinite)

Best VR/AR 

Winner: Moss: Book II (Polyarc)

After the Fall (Vertigo Games)

Among Us VR (Schell Games/InnerSloth)

BONELAB (Stress Level Zero)

Red Matter 2 (Vertical Robot)

Best Action 

Winner: Bayonetta 3 (Platinum Games/Nintendo)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)

Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna)

Sifu (Sloclap)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games/Dotemu)

Best Action/Adventure 

Winner: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)

Best Role Playing 

Winner: Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

Live a Live (Square Enix/Nintendo)

Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Game Freak/Nintendo/TPCI)

Triangle Strategy (Artdink/Square Enix)

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

Best Fighting 

Winner: MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)

DNF Duel (Arc System Works/EIGHTING/NEOPLE/NEXON)

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R (CyberConnect 2 Co. Ltd/Bandai Namco)

The King of Fighters XV (SNK/Plaion)

Sifu (Sloclap)

Best Family

Winner: Kirby and the Forgotten Land (HAL Laboratory / Nintendo)

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Traveller’s Tales/WB Games)

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan/Paris/Ubisoft)

Nintendo Switch Sports (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Sim/Strategy

Winner: Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan/Paris/Ubisoft)

Dune: Spice Wars (Shiro Games/Funcom)

Total War: WARHAMMER III (Creative Assembly/Sega)

Two Point Campus (Two Point Studios/Sega)

Victoria 3 (Paradox Development Studio/Paradox Interactive)

Best Sports/Racing 

Winner: Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE)

F1 22 (Codemasters/EA Sports)

FIFA 23 (EA Vancouver/Romania/EA Sports)

NBA 2K23 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)

OlliOlli World (Roll 7/Private Division)

Best Multiplayer 

Winner: Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)

MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)

Overwatch 2 (Blizzard)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games/Dotemu)

Most Anticipated 

Winner: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

FINAL FANTASY XVI (Square Enix)

Hogwarts Legacy (Avalanche Software/WB Games)

Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)

Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)

Content Creator of the Year

Winner: Ludwig

Karl Jacobs

Nibellion

Nobru

QTCinderella

Best Adaptation

Winner: Arcane: League of Legends (Fortiche/Riot Games/Netflix)

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Studio Trigger/CD Projekt, Netflix)

The Cuphead Show! (Studio MDHR/King Features Syndicate/Netflix)

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Sammy Group/Paramount Pictures)

Uncharted  (PlayStation Productions/Sony Pictures)

Innovation in Accessibility

Winner: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios)

Return to Monkey Island (Terrible Toybox/Devolver Digital)

The Last Of Us Part I (Naughty Dog/SIE)

The Quarry (Supermassive Games/2K)

Best Esports Game

Winner: VALORANT (Riot Games)

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)

DOTA 2 (Valve)

League of Legends (Riot Games)

Rocket League (Psyonix)

Best Esports Athlete

Winner: Jacob “Yay” Whiteaker (Cloud9, Valorant)

Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon  (Gen.G, LOL)

Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (T1, LOL)

Finn “karrigan” Andersen ( (FaZe Clan – CS:GO)

Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)

Best Esports Team

Winner: LOUD (Valorant)

DarkZero Esports (Apex Legends)

FaZe Clan (CS:GO)

Gen.G (League of Legends)

LA Thieves (Call of Duty)

Best Esports Coach

Winner: Matheus “bzkA” Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT)

Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi  (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)

Erik “d00mbr0s” Sandgren (FPX, VALORANT)

Robert “RobbaN” Dahlström (FaZe Clan, CS:GO)

Go “Score” Dong-bin (Gen.G, LOL)

Best Esports Event

Winner: 2022 League of Legends World Championship

EVO 2022

PGL Major Antwerp 2022

The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational

VALORANT Champions 2022

Make sure to check out The Game Awards website for the full list of nominees and winners.