Gamers unite!
The Game Awards 2021 is happening next week, here to celebrate this year’s video game releases.
Prominent titles like Deathloop, Metroid Dread, and Resident Evil Village will be going head-to-head for the ceremony’s most prestigious award, Game of the Year.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Game Awards 2021, including its categories and nominees, how to vote, performers, presenters, and when and where to watch.
What is the Game Awards?
The Game Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognizes and upholds creative and technical excellence in the global video game industry.
The ceremony is known for bringing developers, gamers, and pop culture icons together to celebrate gaming as an inspiring form of entertainment.
Categories and nominees at the Game Awards 2021
There are 30 categories at The Game Awards 2021 that highlight video game titles, gaming personalities, and esports figures and events.
| CATEGORY | NOMINEES |
| Game of the Year | Deathloop It Takes Two Metroid Dread Psychonauts 2 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Resident Evil Village |
| Best Game Direction | Deathloop It Takes Two Returnal Psychonauts 2 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart |
| Best Narrative | Deathloop It Takes Two Life is Strange: True Colors Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Psychonauts 2 |
| Best Art Direction | The Artful Escape Deathloop Kena: Bridge of Spirits Psychonauts 2 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart |
| Best Score and Music | The Artful Escape Cyberpunk 2077 Deathloop Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139 |
| Best Audio Design | Deathloop Forza Horizon 5 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Resident Evil Village Returnal |
| Best Performance | Erika Mori as Alex Chen from Life is Strange: True Colors Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo from Far Cry 6 Jason Kelley as Colt Vahn from Deathloop Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil Village Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake from Deathloop |
| Games for Impact | Before Your Eyes Boyfriend Dungeon Chicory: A Colorful Tale Life is Strange: True Colors No Longer Home |
| Best Ongoing | Apex Legends Final Fantasy XIV Online Fortnite Genshin Impact Call of Duty: Warzone |
| Best Indie | 12 Minutes Death’s Door Inscryption Kena: Bridge of Spirits Loop Hero |
| Best Mobile Game | Fantasian Genshin Impact League of Legends: Wild Rift Marvel Future Revolution Pokemon Unite |
| Best Community Support | Apex Legends Destiny 2 Final Fantasy XIV Online Fortnite No Man’s Sky |
| Innovation in Accessibility | Far Cry 6 Forza Horizon 5 Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart The Vale: Shadow of the Crown |
| Best VR/AR | Hitman 3 I Expect You to Die 2 Lone Echo II Resident Evil 4 Sniper Elite VR |
| Best Action Game | Back 4 Blood Chivalry II Deathloop Far Cry 6 Returnal |
| Best Action/Adventure | Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Metroid Dread Psychonauts 2 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Resident Evil Village |
| Best Role Playing | Cyberpunk 2077 Monster Hunter Rise Scarlet Nexus Shin Megami Tensei V Tales of Arise |
| Best Fighting | Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Hinokami Chronicles Guilty Gear Strive Melty Blood: Type Lumina Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown |
| Best Family | It Takes Two Mario Party Superstars New Pokemon Snap Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury Warioware: Get it Together! |
| Best Sim/Strategy | Age of Empires IV Evil Genius 2: World Domination Humankind Inscryption Microsoft Flight Simulator |
| Best Sports/Racing | F1 2021 FIFA 22 Forza Horizon 5 Hot Wheels Unleashed Riders Republic |
| Best Multiplayer | Back 4 Blood Knockout City It Takes Two Monster Hunter Rise New World Valheim |
| Content Creator of the Year | Dream Fuslie gAuLeS Ibai Grefg |
| Best Debut Indie | The Artful Escape The Forgotten City Kena: Bridge of Spirits Sable Valheim |
| Most Anticipated Game | Elden Ring God of War Ragnarök Horizon Forbidden West Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Starfield |
| Best Esports Game | Call of Duty Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Dota 2 League of Legends Valorant |
| Best Esports Athlete | Chris “Simp” Lehr of Atlanta FaZe Heo “ShowMaker” Su of DWG KIA Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov of Team Spirit Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev of Natus Vincere Tyson “TenZ” Ngo of Sentinels |
| Best Esports Team | Atlanta FaZe in Call of Duty DWG KIA in League of Legends Natus Vincere in CS:GO Sentinels in Valorant Team Spirit in Dota 2 |
| Best Esports Coach | Airat “Silent” Gaziev of Team Spirit Andrey “Engh” Sholokhov of Gambit Esports Andrei “B1ad3” Horodenskyi of Natus Vincere James “Crowder” Crowder of Atlanta FaZe Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun of DWG KIA |
| Best Esports Event | 2021 League of Legends World Championship The International 2021 PGL Major Stockholm 2021 PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020 Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters |
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How to vote at the Game Awards 2021
To vote for nominees at the Game Awards 2021, you must sign in on the official Game Awards website with either your Twitter, Facebook, Google, or Twitch account.
Once you’ve signed in, you can head to the Nominees tab and click on the “Start Voting” button to cast your votes for all 30 categories.
Performers and presenters at the Game Awards 2021
The Game Awards 2021 welcomes music artists Sting and Imagine Dragons as its featured live performers.
Sting will be performing his song “What Could Have Been” from the League of Legends animated series, Arcane. Imagine Dragons will likely perform their hit song “Enemy”, which is also the opening track of Arcane.
Gaming industry figure Reggie Fils-Aimé and Shang Chi star Simu Liu will appear as ceremony presenters.
When and where to watch the Game Awards 2021
The Game Awards 2021 will take place on December 9 at 4:30 p.m. PST | December 10 12:30 a.m. GMT | December 10 at 8:30 a.m. GMT+8.
You can watch the entire ceremony live on the official Twitch and YouTube channels of the Game Awards.
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