Game Awards 2022: all winners, Game of the Year

The Game Awards 2022 ceremony took place on the night of December 8-9. To discover the latest news and announcements, and find out who, from God of War Ragnarok or Elden Ring, won the title of GOTY!

What are the Game Awards?

Since 2014, the Game Awards have been the major end-of-year event in the video game industry. This event is inspired by the Oscars for cinema and the Grammy Awards for music, with an "American" show. Both a prize-giving ceremony rewarding games released during the year and a showcase offered to publishers to communicate about upcoming titles, the Game Awards have thus carved out a place of choice for themselves among the great raouts of the video game landscape that are E3, Gamescom or the Tokyo Game Show. Like every year, the event will be produced and presented by the hilarious Geoff Keighley, Canadian journalist and very active host in the gaming industry, known in particular for his articles published on Kotaku. 

Who were 2022 GOTY nominees?

GAME OF THE YEAR

• A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment) 
• Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) 
• God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

Winner: Elden Ring

BEST GAME DIRECTION 

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) 
• God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE) 
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
• Immortality (Half Mermaid) 
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

Winner: Elden Ring

BEST NARRATIVE

• A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment) 
• Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE) 
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
• Immortality (Half Mermaid)

Winner: God of War Ragnarök

BEST ART DIRECTION

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) 
• God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE) 
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
• Scorn (Ebb Software/Kepler Interactive)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

Winner: Elden Ring

BEST SCORE AND MUSIC

• Olivier Deriviere, A Plague Tale: Requiem 
• Tsukasa Saitoh, Elden Ring
• Bear McCreary, God of War Ragnarök
• Two Feathers, Metal: Hellsinger 
• Yasunori Mitsuda, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 

Winner: Bear McCreary, God of War Ragnarök

BEST AUDIO DESIGN

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision) 
• Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
• Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony/SIE)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)\

Winner: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE) 

BEST PERFORMANCE

• Ashly Burch, Horizon Forbidden West
• Charlotte McBurney, A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Christopher Judge, God of War Ragnarök
• Manon Gage, Immortality
• Sunny Suljic, God of War Ragnarök

Winner: Christopher Judge, God of War Ragnarök 

GAMES FOR IMPACT

• A Memoir Blue (Cloisters Interactive/Annapurna) 
• As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios)
• Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over The Age/Fellow Traveller) 
• Endling - Extinction is Forever (Herobeat Studios/HandyGames)
• Hindsight (Team Hindsight/Annapurna) 
• I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games/Finji)

Winner: As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios)

BEST ONGOING GAME

• Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
• Destiny 2 (Bungie)
• FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix) 
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)

Winner: FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix) 

BEST INDIE

• Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster / Devolver Digital)
• Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna)
• Sifu (Sloclap)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
• TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)

Winner: Stray

BEST DEBUT INDIE 

• Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna Interactive)
• NORCO (Geography of Robots/Raw Fury) 
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
• TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)
• Vampire Survivors (poncle)

Winner: Stray

BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT, PRESENTED BY DISCORD

• Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
• Destiny 2 (Bungie)
• FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• No Man's Sky (Hello Games)

Winner: FINAL FANTASY XIV

BEST MOBILE 

• Apex Legends Mobile (Lightspeed & Quantum/Respawn/EA)
• Diablo Immortal (Blizzard/NetEase)
• Genshin Impact (HoYovese)
• MARVEL SNAP (Second Dinner Studios/Nuverse
• Tower of Fantasy (Hotta Studio/Perfect World/Level Infinite)

Winner: Marvel Snap

BEST VR/AR 

• After the Fall (Vertigo Games)
• Among Us VR (Schell Games/InnerSloth)
• BONELAB (Stress Level Zero)
• Moss: Book II (Polyarc)
• Red Matter 2 (Vertical Robot)

Winner: Moss: Book II

BEST ACTION 

• Bayonetta 3 (Platinum Games/Nintendo)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)
• Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna)
• Sifu (Sloclap)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (Tribute Games/Dotemu) 

Winner: Bayonetta 3

BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE 

• A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)
• God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
• TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)\

Winner: God of War Ragnarök 

BEST ROLE PLAYING 

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• Live a Live (Square Enix/Nintendo)
• Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Game Freak/Nintendo/TPCI)
• Triangle Strategy (Artdink/Square Enix)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

Winner: Elden Ring

BEST FIGHTING 

• DNF Duel (Arc System Works/EIGHTING/NEOPLE/NEXON)
• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R (CyberConnect 2 Co. Ltd/Bandai Namco) 
• The King of Fighters XV (SNK/Plaion)
• MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
• Sifu (Sloclap)

Winner: MultiVersus

BEST FAMILY 

• Kirby and the Forgotten Land (HAL Laboratory / Nintendo) 
• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Traveller's Tales/WB Games)
• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan/Paris/Ubisoft)
• Nintendo Switch Sports (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
• Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Winner: Kirby and the Forgotten Land  

BEST SIM/STRATEGY 

• Dune: Spice Wars (Shiro Games/Funcom)
• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan/Paris/Ubisoft)
• Total War: WARHAMMER III (Creative Assembly/Sega)
• Two Point Campus (Two Point Studios/Sega)
• Victoria 3 (Paradox Development Studio/Paradox Interactive)

Winner: Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

BEST SPORTS/RACING 

• F1 22 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
• FIFA 23 (EA Vancouver/Romania/EA Sports)
• NBA 2K23 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)
• Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE)
• OlliOlli World (Roll 7/Private Division)

Winner: Gran Turismo 7 

BEST MULTIPLAYER 

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)
• MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
• Overwatch 2 (Blizzard)
• Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) 
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (Tribute Games/Dotemu)

Winner: Splatoon 3

MOST ANTICIPATED 

• FINAL FANTASY XVI (Square Enix)
• Hogwarts Legacy (Avalanche Software/WB Games)
• Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
• Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Winner: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR

• Karl Jacobs
• Ludwig
• Nibellion
• Nobru
• QTCinderella

Winner: Ludwig

BEST ADAPTATION

• Arcane: League of Legends (Fortiche/Riot Games/Netflix) 
• Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Studio Trigger/CD Projekt, Netflix) 
• The Cuphead Show! (Studio MDHR/King Features Syndicate/Netflix)
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Sammy Group/Paramount Pictures)
• Uncharted  (PlayStation Productions/Sony Pictures)

Winner: Arcane: League of Legends

INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY

• As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios)
• God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
• Return to Monkey Island (Terrible Toybox/Devolver Digital)
• The Last Of Us Part I (Naughty Dog/SIE)
• The Quarry (Supermassive Games/2K)

Winner: God of War Ragnarök

BEST ESPORTS GAME

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
• DOTA 2 (Valve)
• League of Legends (Riot Games)
• Rocket League (Psyonix)
• VALORANT (Riot Games)

Winner: Valorant

BEST ESPORTS ATHLETE

• Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon  (Gen.G, LOL)
• Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok (T1, LOL)
• Finn "karrigan" Andersen ( (FaZe Clan - CS:GO)
• Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
• Jacob "Yay" Whiteaker (Cloud9, Valorant)

Winner: Jacob "Yay" Whiteaker (Cloud9, Valorant)

BEST ESPORTS TEAM

• DarkZero Esports (Apex Legends)
• FaZe Clan (CS:GO)
• Gen.G (League of Legends)
• LA Thieves (Call of Duty)
• LOUD (Valorant)

Winner: LOUD (Valorant)

BEST ESPORTS COACH

• Andrii "B1ad3" Horodenskyi  (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
• Matheus "bzkA" Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT)
• Erik "d00mbr0s" Sandgren (FPX, VALORANT) 
• Robert "RobbaN" Dahlström (FaZe Clan, CS:GO)
• Go "Score" Dong-bin (Gen.G, LOL)

Winner: Matheus "bzkA" Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT)

BEST ESPORTS EVENT

• EVO 2022
• 2022 League of Legends World Championship 
• PGL Major Antwerp 2022 The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational 
• VALORANT Champions 2022 

Winner: 2022 League of Legends World Championship 

What announcements are expected at The Game Awards 2022?

Alongside the numerous award ceremonies and events scheduled for the evening, the organizers of the Game Awards 2022 made a series of exclusive announcements. Some completely new games were revealed during the ceremony, and titles already announced and in development had new images, even gameplay sequences. Below is a list with the most anticipated news, premieres and advances in the gaming world:

• Street Fighter 6 premiere on June 2, 2023 and new characters.
• Return of Hades - A sequel to the award winning Hades. 
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor trailer.
• Sequel to Death Stranding.
• Jude Premiere.
• Final Fantasy XVI preview.
• Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon premiere.
• Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty premiere - featuring Idris Elba.
• Diablo IV releases on June 6, 2023.
• Call of Duty MW II premiere – Raid mode.
• Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League premieres on May 26, 2023.
• Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores premieres on April 19, 2023.
• Tekken 8 preview.
• Crash Team Rumble premiere.
• Premiere of Bayonetta Origins: Cherry and the Lost Demon.
• Fire Emblem Engage Premiere.
• Wild Hearts premieres on February 17, 2023.
• Crime Boss: Rockay City Premiere.

Game Awards 2021 Winner List

• It Takes Two: Game of the year and Best Multiplayer Game.
• Deathloop: Best Game Direction and Best Art Direction.
• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: Best Narrative.
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits: Best Independent Game and Best Debut Indie Game.
• Final Fantasy XIV: Best Ongoing Game.
• Returnal: Best Action Game.
• Metroid Dread: Best adventure action Game.
• Guilty Gear Strive: Best fighting Game.
• Forza Horizon 5: Best Sports Racing Game and Best Audio Design.
• Life Is Strange: True Colors: Games for Impact.
• Genshin Impact: Best Mobile Game.
• Resident Evil 4: Best VR/AR Game.
• Tales of Arise: Best Role-Playing Game.
• Age of Empires IV: Best Sim/Strategy Game.
• Elden Ring: Most Anticipated Game.

When are the 2023 video game awards?

The 2023 GOTY awards will be held during the month of December. Last year the even was on the 8th of December, so it is likely that this years event will be around the same date.