The Game Awards 2016 had its third award ceremony and was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, while it was streamed across the world via it’s website. Spearheaded by Geoff Keighley and the game industry itself, it was packed with World Premieres, live music and of course, awards for talents of the gaming industry.
The Awards
It began with the Industry Icon Award which was presented to Hideo Kojima. Keighley made a powerful speech celebrating the game creator, who was banned from attending the event and accepting last year’s accolades that were won by Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, by former employer Konami. Kojima said a short speech and then showed off the second trailer for Death Stranding.
The highlight to the ceremony was the emotional and heartbreaking speech made by That Dragon, Cancer creator Ryan Green, about his son on which the game is based. Instead of the over the top, commercially driven awards ceremonies that are the standard nowadays, this beautiful moment stood out, showing the importance gaming has on the lives of people in the modern age.
A full list of the award winners can be seen below.
- Game of the Year: Overwatch (Blizzard)
- Best Game Direction: Blizzard (for Overwatch)
- Best Narrative: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/SIE)
- Best Art Direction: Inside (Playdead)
- Best Music/Sound Design: Doom (id Software/Bethesda)
- Best Performance: Nolan North as Nathan Drake, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Games for Impact: That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games)
- Best Independent Game: Inside (Playdead)
- Best Mobile/Handheld Game: Pokemon Go (Niantic)
- Best VR Game: Rez Infinite (Enhance Games)
- Best Action Game: Doom (id Software/Bethesda)
- Best Action/Adventure Game: Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- Best RPG: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Blood and Wine (CD Projekt RED)
- Best Fighting Game: Street Fighter V (Capcom)
- Best Strategy Game: Civilization VI (Firaxis Games/2K)
- Best Family Game: Pokemon Go (Niantic)
- Best Sports/Racing Game: Forza Horizon 3 (Playground Games/Microsoft Studios)
- Best Multiplayer Game: Overwatch (Blizzard)
- Most Anticipated Game: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
- Best eSports Game: Overwatch (Blizzard)
- Best eSports Team: Cloud9
- Best eSports Player: Marcelo “coldzera” David
- Trending Gamer: Boogie2988
- Best Fan Creation – Enderal: The Shards of Order
- Industry Icon Award – Hideo Kojima
The Game Awards World Premieres
The ceremony (and its pre show event) was full of trailers and world premieres. Here is the list of the games in order of appearance.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Rocket League: Starbase ARC
Bulletstorm: Full Clip
Death Stranding
Guillermo del Toro and Mads Mikkelsen appear in the latest trailer for Kojima’s next project, Death Stranding.
Warframe: The War Within
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy – The Telltale Series
Dauntless
Lawbreakers
Prey
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment
A prequel to the successful Shovel Knight game from Yacht Club Games.
Halo Wars 2
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
Mass Effect: Andromeda
Live Performances
There were several live performances on the night, but the star was when Composer Mick Gordon performed the Doom soundtrack live. It was truly kick ass!
Although not a perfect show, The Game Awards showcase the talents of the industry, while allowing advertising of the biggest games at the moment, had some great sale prices across the PlayStation, Xbox and Steam stores and had some touching moments from Ryan Green and a great moment where Nolan North thanked everyone involved in the making of the games he was a part of, highlighting their work helped his work succeed.
Next big gaming event will be PlayStation Experience, which will take place on December 3rd and 4th in Anaheim, California. Keep an eye on the site for all the links to the live stream and news from the event.
What did you think of The Game Awards 2016 and what are you looking forward to seeing at PlayStation Experience?
