The 2024 Game Awards took place on 12 December, 2024, and Astro Bot, the colorful and beloved PlayStation platformer, took home the prestigious Game of the Year award, defeating notable titles such as Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Black Myth: Wukong, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, and Balatro. The victory was a massive achievement for Team Asobi, the studio behind Astro Bot. Studio head Nicolas Doucet, accepting the award, took a moment to pay tribute to one of their main rivals, Nintendo.
The game’s success didn’t stop there. Astro Bot claimed three additional awards during the ceremony, including Best Family Game, Best Action/Adventure, and Best Game Direction. The night was also a big win for Balatro, the indie hit with a poker theme, which bagged three awards, including Best Mobile Game. Meanwhile, Japanese game developers had a standout evening, with Metaphor: ReFantazio winning three awards.
The highly anticipated Black Myth: Wukong, based on Chinese mythology, continued to capture the hearts of fans, winning the Player’s Voice Award, which is decided by public vote. Despite Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth receiving seven nominations, the game only took home the Best Music award, disappointing its supporters.
Melina Juergens, from the UK-based studio Ninja Theory, won Best Performance for her portrayal of the titular role in Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga.
The award night featured a live performance by Snoop Dogg, who presented the Best Ongoing Game Award to Helldivers 2, along with a new song performance. There were also surprise appearances from Harrison Ford, who took to the stage with Troy Baker, the actor who voices Indiana Jones in the recent game adaptation based on the iconic film series.
Criticism surrounding The Game Awards often centers around its heavy focus on promotional content, with many arguing the event prioritizes game trailers over the awards themselves. However, last year’s event attracted an impressive 118 million livestream viewers, and many fans look forward to these new game previews. In keeping with this trend, there were no updates on major upcoming titles like Grand Theft Auto 6 or Nintendo’s next console, but new game announcements included Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet from The Last of Us and Uncharted studio Naughty Dog, and a sequel to Okami. Additionally, CD Projekt Red confirmed The Witcher 4 is in development.
This year also saw the introduction of the Game Changers Award, presented to Amir Satvat, a director at Tencent Games in the US. Satvat was recognized for his personal initiative to assist recently laid-off game developers in finding new work. In his emotional acceptance speech, he shared, “growing up, all I ever wanted was to be a part of the video game industry” and thanked his parents, who “taught me that my value lies in how I treat other people.”
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