Please Wrap It Up

The 10th edition of The Game Awards airs tonight at 7:30 PM Eastern. Here are some of the things you can expect from the show.

This year there are 29 categories for awards with the big finale being Game of the Year. The nominees for Game of the Year are Astro Bot, Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Metaphor: ReFantazio. Of the nominees, Black Myth: Wukong and Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree have both drawn some controversy for their nominations.

For Black Myth, the game is currently the lowest scored nominated game in the category sitting at an 82 while the other 5 games sit in the 90’s. Black Myths beat out a nomination at the awards over Tekken 8 which sits at 90, Destiny 2 The Final Shape which sits at 91, and UFO 50 which also sits at 90 just to name a few.

And for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, the game has started a debate over whether or not a DLC should be nominated for Game of the Year. While Shadow of the Erdtree does run about 25 hours long on average to beat, people have raised the fact that the DLC is not a title on its own, but builds off a pre-existing entry.

There is definitely a conversation to be had at some point about what should and shouldn’t be nominated for certain awards. However, today is not that day.

While “awards” are in the name of the event, the main draw is typically the big announcements and reveal that Keighley manages to show off each year. As for this year we already knew a few of the titles that will be making an appearance tonight.

To start, Mafia The Old country has been confirmed to make some showing at the event. The game was originally teased back in 2022 and is now slated for a release in 2025 for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. The game was officially revealed at Gamescom this year during Opening Night Live.

Looking to end the year on a better note compared to the rest of the year, Borderlands will be showing off a first look at its next entry into the franchise. Another game we will be seeing for the first time is Josef Fares of Hazelight and “Fucks the Oscars” fame. Hazelight last released It Takes Two in 2021 and won Game of the Year that year at The Game Awards.

And while we don’t know exactly who it’ll be yet, Tekken 8 is confirmed to be showing off the last DLC character of their season 1 pack at the showcase. Tekken is also nominated for “Best Fighting Game” and “Best Multiplayer Game”.

While its nice to know what to expect, showcases and reveals aren’t fun without the big surprises of course. Many insiders have hinted at this years show being a “must watch” and will have some “holy shit” moments.

At this point in time, it’s hard to say what this exactly will be. We can mostly assume it wont be the Switch 2 or Bloodborne, but other than that everything seems fair game, even the ever rumored Half Life 3 or Silksong.

A safe bet would be something from Kojima either related to Death Stranding 2 or something else, but that’s speculation on my part. If I had a pie in the sky reveal, it would be a look at the new Unreal Engine 5 Halo or more details on Gears of War E-Day.

But all that there is left to do now is wait.

And wait we shall,

Jake