The winners of the Game Awards have been announced. Taking top honours for 2017 was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which was named Game of the Year and also won Best Game Direction and Best Action/Adventure Game. Also among the winners were Cuphead and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice both winning three awards, with 2016’s Game of the Year Overwatch taking the prizes for Best Ongoing Game and Best eSports Game.
The ceremony in Los Angeles also gave gamers a look at what is to come, with a number of game premieres and updates:
- A new trailer for Death Stranding gave more insight into the game’s setting and lead character, played by The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus,
- From Software teased an upcoming project,
- Breath of the Wild’s new DLC The Champions Ballad got a new trailer and a confirmed release date,
- Bayonetta & Bayonetta 2 will be released on Nintendo Switch in February 2018, with Bayonetta 3 now in development as a Switch exclusive,
- Soul Calibur VI was officially unveiled with its debut trailer,
- Firewatch developer Campo Santo unveiled their next project – the first-person adventure In The Valley of Gods – which is scheduled for a 2019 release,
- Fade to Silence – a new group survival title from Black Forest Games was confirmed for a December 14 launch on Steam Early Access,
- Players got a first look at the new desert map for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, as well as a live-action trailer for the game ahead of the Xbox release on December 20,
- Pirate caper Sea of Thieves showcased a new trailer along with news of the official release date – March 20, 2018,
- Dreams, the sandbox from Media Molecule, was confirmed for a 2018 release with a brand-new trailer,
- Hazelight’s Josef Fares joined host Geoff Keighley to talk about A Way Out – among other things – before presenting a new trailer for the co-op title, which will be released on March 23, 2018,
- New first-person shooter Witchfire was announced by the team behind Bulletstorm,
- The team behind the Payday games unveiled their latest project – the four-player co-op GTFO,
- 4A Games showcased new footage from the upcoming Metro Exodus, coming in autumn 2018,
- Saber Interactive unveiled the first look at their new World War Z title,
- Two new VR titles – Vacation Simulator and Smith and Smitherson Accounting+ – showcased new trailers,
- A new 50v50 mode will be available on Fortnite Battle Royal for players to try out until December 17.
See the list of winners below:
Game of the Year
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Best Game Direction
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Best Narrative
- What Remains of Edith Finch
Best Art Direction
- Cuphead
Best Score/Music
- NieR: Automata
Best Audio Design
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Best Performance
- Melina Juergens as Senua – Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Games for Impact
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Best Ongoing Game
- Overwatch
Best Mobile Game
- Monument Valley 2
Best Handheld Game
- Metroid: Samus Returns
Best VR/AR Game
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Best Action Game
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Best Action/Adventure Game
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Best Role-Playing Game
- Persona 5
Best Fighting Game
- Injustice 2
Best Family Game
- Super Mario Odyssey
Best Strategy Game
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Best Sports/Racing Game
- Forza Motorsport 7
Most Anticipated Game
- The Last of Us Part II
Best Independent Game
- Cuphead
Best Student Game
- Level Squared
Trending Gamer
- Guy Beahm – Dr. Disrespect
Best eSports Game
- Overwatch
Best Esports Player – Presented by Omen by HP
- Lee sang-hyeok “Faker” – SK Telecom 1, League of Legends
Best Esports Team
- Cloud9
Best Debut Indie Game – Presented by Schick Hydro
- Cuphead
Best Chinese Game
- Jx3 HD (《剑网3》重制版 )
Industry Icon Award
- Carol Shaw
Watch the ceremony in full below.
Words by Megan Roxburgh