The Game Awards is back with its 2022 edition to celebrate the best in video games, in a general extravaganza with the promise of new things. Gaming industry titan Geoff Keighley is returning to present the show live, backed by his musical orchestra and a personal audience, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. A total of 108 titles, individuals and teams will compete across 31 nominations to win their respective awards, forever cementing their names in video game history. Winners were chosen by a global jury of over 100 media publications including Gadgets 360.
Keighley also addressed concerns about fatigue stemming from the length of The Game Awards by claiming that this year’s edition will be “significantly shorter” than in recent years. “Yes, the show will be shorter this year. We don’t know the total time until we finish our rehearsals, but I think it will probably be a two and a half hour show,” he said in a Twitch stream.
That said, Keighley notes that the runtime could stretch out quite a bit, depending on the length of the winners’ speeches. This is good news, as last year’s show was a nearly four-hour ordeal, including the pre-show, which maintains the same 30-minute runtime.
The Game Awards 2022: date and time
The Game Awards 2022 digital presentation is scheduled for Thursday, December 8 at 4:30 pm PT / 7:30 pm ET. For India, this translates to Friday, December 9th at 6am IST. The first thirty minutes will feature a pre-show, hosted by Sydnee Goodman, and promise new video game announcements.
The Game Awards 2022: How to watch?
Those unable to attend the in-person event in Los Angeles will be able to watch a live stream from the comfort of their homes. The Game Awards 2022 will be available to watch for free on all major platforms, including its official YouTube and Twitch channels, as well as feeds on Facebook Live, Twitter, TikTok Live and Instagram Live. You can also watch through the channels of other Twitch streamers who may have signed up to co-broadcast the event.
You can also watch the live stream via the embedded player below:
The Amazon-owned streaming platform also offers some exclusive rewards as long as your gaming accounts (eg: Steam, Ubisoft Connect) are linked to it. Tuning into The Game Awards 2022 on Twitch for 60 minutes grants viewers six reward codes, which can be used to unlock an unannounced Fall Guys skin, an Epic Games promo code for the roguelike title Rogue Legacy, and the return Geoff Keighley’s Among Us Mask.
Other rewards include a deluxe edition upgrade code for the high-octane martial arts game Sifu, the Lucra Syandana cosmetic for use in Warframe, and three new forms of followers in Cult of the Lamb.
Viewers in India can also stream the event live on MX Player, Voot, JioTV and Loco.
What to expect from The Game Awards 2022?
The Game Awards 2022 confirms announcements
As with previous editions, The Game Awards 2022 is expected to feature new game trailers, celebrity presenters and a live musical orchestra on stage. Earlier this week, publisher EA confirmed his appearance at the show with some gameplay footage for the highly anticipated galaxy-generating sequel to Cal Kestis’ adventure Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Set five years after the events of Fallen Order, the follow-up sees him as a powerful Jedi Knight and is rumored to be released on March 15, 2023.
While Riot Games’ Project L may take a while to finish development, the fighting game community can keep busy with Tekken 8, which is confirmed to be in attendance at The Game Awards 2022. Twitch streamer Aris (avoidingthepuddle) first leaked the news on Twitter with a special package it received from publisher Bandai Namco.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is also getting a new update, as revealed in a provocation featuring an upright statue of Minsc, holding her miniature hamster companion, Boo. When a beam of magic hits the structure, his eyes begin to glow blue, indicating his return to the franchise. The characters appeared in the first two Baldur’s Gate games, followed by its subsequent expansions.
Elsewhere, developer Koei Tecmo Games is preparing to unveil a new beast for its upcoming monster hunting game, Wild Hearts. The game is scheduled to release on February 17, 2023, on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X.
There also appears to be a surprise from the Crash Bandicoot team, as well as a live performance by Naoki Yoshida, the producer of the long overdue Final Fantasy XVI.
So… what is everyone doing tomorrow?
— Crash Bandicoot (@CrashBandicoot) December 8, 2022
Presenters at The Game Awards 2022
While Keighley is hosting The Game Awards 2022, he has also convened a number of film and gaming industry personalities to present awards to the respective winners. Key appearances include former Nintendo boss Reggie Fils-Aimé, 2021 Game of the Year winner Josef Fares, and the crew of Netflix’s upcoming film, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery – director Rian Johnson and stars Daniel Craig and Jessica Henwick.
The cast of HBO’s upcoming adaptation, The Last of Us series, is also set to appear as presenters at The Game Awards 2022. Lead actors Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will join video game version voice actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, respectively.
Then there’s Keegan-Michael Key, who voices Toad in the highly-anticipated The Super Mario Bros. movie, set for an April 2023 release.
The Game Awards 2022 nominees
As for the awards themselves, there are a total of 31 categories, of which Santa Monica Studio’s God of War Ragnarök garnered 10 nominations, including the prestigious Game of the Year trophy. Other nods to the coveted category go to the acclaimed Elden Ring, Horizon Forbidden West, Stray, A Plague Tale: Requiem and Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
This year, the show added a new ‘Best Adaptation’ category that recognizes work that “authentically adapts” video game property into other forms of media, such as movies, TV series, anime, podcasts or even books. “With so many projects inspired by entertainment games, the time is right to honor excellence in adapting video game worlds for other media,” Keighley said in a prepared statement in August.
The five nominees in this segment include Arcane: League of Legends, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, The Cuphead Show!, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and the movie Uncharted.