The Game Awards 2021: Schedule, Nominees, and How to Watch

Games are art. Maybe not all games that release, and maybe not from the beginning of their existence as a medium, but the act of creating a game can undoubtedly be quantified as the creation of a work of art, and just like film, TV, and music, it’s art that deserves to be commended. That’s why The Game Awards runs every year, to highlight the best and brightest in a variety of gaming genres, circles, and sectors. Also to run a bunch of trailers and promos for new stuff, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Here’s the schedule and nominees for The Game Awards 2021, as well as how to watch it.

The Game Awards 2021 Schedule

The Game Awards 2021 will be live streaming this Thursday, December 9, beginning at the following times for different time zones:

• 8:00 PM Eastern
• 5:00 PM Pacific
• 12:30 AM London
• 9:30 AM Tokyo
• 10:00 PM Brazil
• 9:00 AM China
• 1:00 PM Australia

There will be a 30-minute pre-show prior to the actual start time, and the event is planned to run for about three hours. According to Game Awards host Geoff Keighley, roughly half of that run time will be dedicated to announcements for new games, two of which Keighley is pretty sure will turn some heads.

The Game Awards 2021 Countdown

Here is a countdown to the start of The Game Awards 2021:

How to Watch The Game Awards 2021

The Game Awards can be streamed right from the official website, though you can also watch it through the following video, news, and social platforms:

• YouTube
• Twitch
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Steam
• Oculus Venues
• IGN
• Gamespot
• TikTokLive
• Trovo

If you’re feeling bougy, certain Cinemark movie plexes around the country will also be livestreaming the event in their theaters. Check your local listings to see if there’s one near you.

The Game Awards 2021 Nominees and Winners

Now, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of the matter: who’s on deck for an award. The Game Awards will be handing out awards for 30 different categories focusing on games, content creators, and eSports players. The winners are determined by a combination of public votes and internal selection from the event’s committee. The polls are still open, so make sure to go vote before Thursday!

The categories and their nominees are as follows:

Game of the Year

The 2021 game of the year award goes to It Takes Two.

• Deathloop 
• It Takes Two 
• Metroid Dread 
• Psychonauts 2 
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart 
• Resident Evil Village

Best Game Direction

The award for best game direction goes to Deathloop.

• Deathloop 
• It Takes Two 
• Returnal 
• Psychonauts 2
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart 

Best Ongoing

The award for the best ongoing game goes to Final Fantasy 14 Online.

• Apex Legends 
• Call of Duty: Warzone 
• Final Fantasy 14 Online 
• Fortnite
• Genshin Impact 

Best Narrative

The game award for best narrative goes to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

• Deathloop 
• It Takes Two 
• Life is Strange: True Colors 
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy 
• Psychonauts 2

Best Indie

The winner of the best independent game goes to Kena: Bridge of Spirits.

• 12 Minutes 
• Death’s Door 
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits 
• Inscryption 
• Loop Hero 

Best Mobile Game

The award for the best mobile game goes to Genshin Impact.

• Fantasian
• Genshin Impact 
• League of Legends: Wild Rift 
• Marvel Future Revolution
• Pokémon Unite 

Best VR/AR

The best VR/AR game goes to Resident Evil 4 VR.

• Hitman 3 
• I Expect You to Die 2 
• Lone Echo 2 
• Resident Evil 4 
• Sniper Elite VR 

Best Action

The winner of the best action game goes to Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Returnal.

• Back 4 Blood 
• Chivalry 2 
• Deathloop 
• Far Cry 6
• Returnal 

Best Action/Adventure

The best action-adventure game award goes to Metroid Dread.

• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy 
• Metroid Dread 
• Psychonauts 2 
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart 
• Resident Evil Village

Best Role Playing

• Cyberpunk 2077 
• Monster Hunter Rise 
• Scarlet Nexus
• Shin Megami Tensei 5
• Tales of Arise 

Best Fighting

The best fighting game award goes to Guilty Gear Strive.

• Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba The Hinokami Chronicles 
• Guilty Gear Strive
• Melty Blood: Type Lumina 
• Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
• Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown

Best Debut Indie

The winner of the best debut independent game goes to Kena: Bridge of Spirits.

• Kena: Bridge of Spirits 
• Sable 
• The Artful Escape 
• The Forgotten City 
• Valheim

Best Family

The best family game award goes to It Takes Two.

• It Takes Two 
• Mario Party Superstars
• New Pokémon Snap 
• Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury 
• WarioWare: Get It Together!

Best Sports/Racing

The best sports and racing game award goes to Forza Horizon 5.

• F1 2021 
• FIFA 22 
• Forza Horizon 5 
• Hot Wheels Unleashed 
• Riders Republic 

Best Sim/Strategy

The best sim/strategy game award goes to Age of Empires 4.

• Age of Empires 4 
• Evil Genius 2: World Domination 
• Humankind 
• Inscryption 
• Microsoft Flight Simulator 

Best Multiplayer

The winner of the best multiplayer game of the year goes to It Takes Two.

• Back 4 Blood 
• It Takes Two 
• Knockout City 
• Monster Hunter Rise 
• New World
• Valheim

Most Anticipated Game

The most anticipated game award goes to Elden Ring.

• Elden Ring 
• God of War Ragnarok 
• Horizon Forbidden West 
• Untitled sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 
• Starfield 

Best Art Direction

The game award for the Best Art Direction category goes to Deathloop.

• Deathloop 
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits 
• Psychonauts 2 
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart 
• The Artful Escape 

Best Score and Music

• Cyberpunk 2077 
• Deathloop 
• NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy 
• The Artful Escape 

Best Audio Design

• Deathloop 
• Forza Horizon 5 
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart 
• Resident Evil Village 
• Returnal 

Best Performance

Maggie Robertson wins the best performance for her role as Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village.

• Erika Mori as Alex Chen, Life is Strange: True Colors
• Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo, Far Cry 6
• Jason E. Kelley as Colt Vahn, Deathloop
• Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village
• Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake, Deathloop

Games for Impact

• Before Your Eyes 
• Boyfriend Dungeon 
• Chicory: A Colorful Tale 
• Life is Strange: True Colors 
• No Longer Home

Best Community Support

The award for best community support goes to Final Fantasy 14.

• Apex Legends 
• Destiny 2 
• Final Fantasy 14 
• Fortnite 
• No Man’s Sky 

Innovation in Accessibility

The winner of the best innovation in accessibility goes to Forza Horizon 5.

• Far Cry 6 
• Forza Horizon 5 
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy 
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart 
• The Vale: Shadow of the Crown 

Content Creator of the Year

The winner of content creator of the year goes to Dream.

• Dream
• Fuslie
• Gaules
• Ibai
• TheGrefg

Best Esports Game

The best esports game award goes to League of Legends.

• Call of Duty 
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 
• Dota 2 
• League of Legends 
• Valorant 

Best Esports Athlete

• Chris “Simp” Lehr
• Heo “ShowMaker” Su
• Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
• Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
• Tyson “TenZ” Ngo

Best Esports Team

• Atlanta FaZe (Call of Duty)
• DWG KIA (League of Legends)
• Natus Vincere (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
• Sentinels (Valorant)
• Team Spirit (DOTA 2)

Best Esports Coach

• Airat “Silent” Gaziev
• Andrey “ENGH” Sholokhov
• Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi
• James “Crowder” Crowder
• Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun

Best Esports Event

• 2021 League of Legends World Championship
• PGL Major Stockholm 2021 (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
• PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
• The International 2021 (DOTA 2)
• Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters

Player’s Voice

The Player’s Voice award goes to Halo Infinite.

• Forza Horizon 5
• Halo Infinite
• It Takes Two
• Metroid Dread
• Resident Evil Village