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| (Image Source: Gamespot/The Game Awards) |
The Game Awards, the video game industry’s annual year-end celebration, aired live in 4K UHD last December 8, 2022 across more than 40 digital and broadcast platforms globally. FromSoftware/Bandai Namco’s Elden Ring received top honors as the 2022 Game of the Year award recipient as well as Best Game Direction, Best Art Direction, and Best Role Playing Game. Some of the biggest names in Hollywood and video games including Al Pacino, Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Josef Fares, Ken and Roberta Williams, Keegan Michael-Key, Jessica Henwick, and AURORA took to the stage at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles for The Game Awards 2022 live and in-person.
The show also included special live performances by Halsey and Hozier where Hozier performed “Blood Upon The Snow” from the original soundtrack of Sony Santa Monica and Sony Interactive Entertainment’s God of War Ragnarök and Halsey performed “Lilith” from Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment). Additionally, The Game Awards Orchestra conducted by BAFTA and Emmy nominated composer Lorne Balfe performed scores from the year’s Game of the Year nominees and more. While honoring the games and individuals who pushed the games industry forward over the past year, The Game Awards, which celebrated its 9th anniversary this year, also revealed a first look at highly anticipated games and entertainment properties including Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Electronic Arts/Respawn Entertainment/Lucas Film), The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Illumination, Nintendo, Universal Pictures), Street Fighter 6 (Capcom), Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix, Creative Business Unit III), Dune Awakening (Funcom), TEKKEN 8 (BNE Entertainment, BANDAI NAMCO Studios), Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt) and more. This year’s show introduced the all-new Best Adaptation category, celebrating game-inspired projects across entertainment, with Arcane: League of Legends (Fortiche/Riot Games/Netflix) taking home the inaugural award. Here is the complete list of the winners of The Game Awards 2022:
• GAME OF THE YEAR: Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• BEST GAME DIRECTION: Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• BEST NARRATIVE: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• BEST ART DIRECTION: Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• BEST SCORE AND MUSIC: Bear McCreary, God of War Ragnarök
• BEST AUDIO DESIGN: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• BEST PERFORMANCE: Christopher Judge, God of War Ragnarök
• GAMES FOR IMPACT: As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios)
• BEST ONGOING GAME: FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix)
• BEST INDIE GAME: Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
• BEST DEBUT INDIE: Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
• BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT, PRESENTED BY DISCORD: FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix)
• BEST MOBILE GAME: MARVEL SNAP (Second Dinner Studios/Nuverse)
• BEST VR/AR GAME: Moss: Book II (Polyarc)
• BEST ACTION GAME: Bayonetta 3 (Platinum Games/Nintendo)
• BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE GAME: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• BEST ROLE PLAYING GAME: Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• BEST FIGHTING GAME: MultiVersus (Player First Games/Warner Bros. Games)
• BEST FAMILY GAME: Kirby and the Forgotten Land (HAL Laboratory/Nintendo)
• BEST SIM/STRATEGY GAME: Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan/Paris/Ubisoft)
• BEST SPORTS/RACING GAME: Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME: Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
• MOST ANTICIPATED GAME: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
• CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR: Ludwig
• BEST ADAPTATION: Arcane: League of Legends (Fortiche/Riot Games/Netflix)
• INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• BEST ESPORTS GAME: VALORANT (Riot Games)
• BEST ESPORTS ATHLETE: Jacob “Yay” Whiteaker (Cloud9, VALORANT)
• BEST ESPORTS TEAM: LOUD (VALORANT)
• BEST ESPORTS COACH: Matheus “bzkA” Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT)
• BEST ESPORTS EVENT: 2022 League of Legends World Championship
• PLAYERS VOICE: Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
The Game Awards, the video game industry’s annual year-end celebration, also announced during the highly successful awards night that it will partner with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association (LA Phil) for The Game Awards 10-Year Celebration, a special live concert event with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. This one-night-only concert will feature orchestral music selections and suites from many of the world’s top video game franchises and will take place at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on June 25, 2023. Curated by teams from The Game Awards and the LA Phil, this spectacular event will take the audience on a journey through a decade of The Game Awards with live orchestral music from 2023 and past Game of the Year winners and other seminal franchises across the entire video game industry, in addition to surprises and world premieres of music from upcoming releases.
“Every year, our orchestra performances are a highlight of The Game Awards, so we are beyond thrilled to partner with the brilliant team at the LA Phil to create this cross-industry musical showcase at one of the world’s most iconic music venues. We will celebrate the incredible past, present, and future of video game music with a full-scale concert event under the Los Angeles stars and of course have a few surprises in the works as well,” said The Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley. “The LA Phil is pleased to partner with The Game Awards to celebrate the phenomenal music used in popular video games and present a distinct live concert experience. Music and video games work closely together, with many of today’s games featuring fully scored compositions from talented composers. It will be exhilarating for gamers and non-gamers alike to experience the excitement of this music performed with a live orchestra in a completely new and unique environment, celebrating the entire video gaming industry,” said LA Phil Chief Content and Engagement Officer Renae Williams Niles.
