From Naughty Dog to Snoop Dogg and everything in between
It's the holiday season, which means gifts, parties, best-of lists, and The Game Awards. While people continue to complain about the show's marathon length, each year offers interesting surprises. Now ten years old, The Game Awards has grown out of its petulant teenage phase. It's become something that's more reflective of what video games really are: a mature adult product for a mostly adult audience. Of course there are games for everyone. After all, it is the largest entertainment industry on the planet. But the games' creators are decidedly middle-aged, so the tone of the show has shifted from jeans to party dresses. There were fewer f-words and more dad jokes on this year's show.
There were fewer surprises this year and no shocking snubs toward beloved games. Aside from Balatro winning a slew of awards, the recognition for excellence was fairly well distributed. The show still felt full of niche awards. But if you're a fan of esports, content creators, or audio design, you'll want to see your interests represented. At three and a half hours long, it's doubtful anyone would stay glued to their screens the entire time. So, in case you missed them, here are some of our biggest and best surprises, in no particular order.
Elden Ring Night Reign
This was the definition of a happy surprise: a new, yet unannounced standalone game based on the Elden Ring universe. We know that Elden Ring Nightreign will arrive in 2025 and that it is a cooperative game for three players. Players aim to survive three day/night cycles and a powerful final boss. Lore hunters and lovers of all things FromSoft will be happily salivating over this one for months to come. It's hard to believe, coming so soon after Shadow of the Erdtree, that it didn't take home any hardware.
The Witcher 4 looks amazing and has a female protagonist
For millions of Witcher fans, the decision to put Ciri front and center is cause for celebration. Hey, Geralt of Rivia is great, but it's definitely time to shift focus and tell a new story, or at least from a different point of view.
Naughty Dog's new game is coming
Once a console generation or so, The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog is reminding us how good they are with cinematic storytelling. Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet moves from post-apocalyptic to far-future science fiction. Don't expect it anytime soon, but Intergalactic will probably be another home run for Naughty Dog. Oh, and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is finally coming to PC, as is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
Borderlands 4 is on the horizon
I'm a big fan of Gearbox games and all things Borderlands. Heck, I even liked Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. The fourth main Borderlands game looks incredibly polished and ambitious. Let's hope the 2025 release date is real.
New Turok games, new Okami and new mafia games
Have you heard the expression “old wine in new wineskins”? 2025 looks to be the year that many venerable IPs will get new games, and not just reboots or remasters. Both Turok and Okami are genuinely original action franchises and it's exciting to see them move forward with current mechanics and graphics. Hanger 13's Mafia: The Old Country is a prequel, set in the early 20th century. At least from the trailer, it seems to be as focused on narrative and characters as it is on action. I can't wait until summer!
Say what you will about The Game Awards as a media event, it's an annual reminder that the world of video games is incredibly vast, exciting, creative, and increasingly mature in concept and execution. Lorne Balfe and the orchestra sounded great and I appreciated that the game's music award was featured and in prime time. As always, even the most jaded and cynical player has to admit that there is a lot to look forward to in 2025.