The Game Awards always bring a bevy of game announcements, with exciting reveals and updates on previously-announced upcoming titles, and The Game Awards 2021 is no exception. It's also, as the name implies, an awards show, with games being recognized across the industry from the biggest AAA first-party titles to the smallest indie games, many of which join the ranks of the best Xbox games available.
The big winner of the night was It Takes Two, which was the surprise winner of the big Game of the Year category. It also took home the prizes for Best Family Game and Best Multiplayer Game.
This year, the Xbox first-party family of Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks led the nominations, so of course the company took home a few prizes. Deathloop from Bethesda's Arkane Lyon won Best Game Direction and Best Art Direction and Forza Horizon 5, despite not getting nominations in huge categories, won Innovation in Accessibility, among other awards.
We tracked all of the winners as the night went on. Game of the Year was, of course, the last thing to be announced during the three and a half hour showcase.
Game of the Year
- Deathloop - Arkane Studios, Bethesda Softworks
- It Takes Two - Hazelight, EA - WINNER
- Metroid Dread - MercurySteam, Nintendo
- Psychonauts 2 - Double Fine, Xbox Game Studios
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart - Insomniac Games, PlayStation Studios
- Resident Evil Village - Capcom
Best Performance
- Giancarlo Esposito - Far Cry 6
- Jason E. Kelley - Deathloop
- Ozioma Akagha - Deathloop
- Erika Mori - Life is Strange: True Colors
- Maggie Robertson - Resident Evil Village - WINNER
Best Action-Adventure
- Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Eidos Montreal, Square Enix
- Metroid Dread - MercurySteam, Nintendo - WINNER
- Psychonauts 2 - Double Fine, Xbox Game Studios
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart - Insomniac Games, PlayStation Studios
- Resident Evil Village - Capcom
Best Indie
- 12 Minutes - Luis Antonio, Annapurna Interactive
- Death's Door - Acid Nerve, Devolver Digital
- Inscyption - Daniel Mullins Games, Devolver Digital
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits - Ember Lab - WINNER
- Loop Hero - Four Quarters, Devolver Digital
Best Debut Indie
- The Artful Escape - Beethoven and Dinosaur, Annapurna Interactive
- The Forgotten City - Modern Storyteller, Dear Villagers
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits - Ember Lab - WINNER
- Sable - Shedworks, Raw Fury
- Valheim - Iron Gate Studio, Coffee Stain
Games for Impact
- Before Your Eyes - Goodbyeworld Games, Skybound Games
- Boyfriend Dungeon - Kitfox Games
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale - Greg Lobanov, Finji
- Life is Strange: True Colors - Deck Nine, Square Enix - WINNER
- No Longer Home - Humble Grove
Best Audio Design
- Deathloop - Arkane Studios, Bethesda Softworks
- Forza Horizon 5 - Playground Games, Xbox Game Studios - WINNER
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart - Insomniac Games, PlayStation Studios
- Resident Evil Village - Capcom
- Returnal - Housemarque, PlayStation Studios
Best Action Game
- Back 4 Blood - Turtle Rock, WB Games
- Chivalry 2 - Torn Banner Studios, Tripwire Interactive
- Deathloop - Arkane Studios, Bethesda Softworks
- Far Cry 6 - Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft
- Returnal - Housemarque, PlayStation Studios - WINNER
Best Art Direction
- Deathloop - Arkane Studios, Bethesda Softworks - WINNER
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits - Ember Lab
- Psychonauts 2 - Double Fine, Xbox Game Studios
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart - Insomniac Games, PlayStation Studios
- The Artful Escape - Beethoven & Dinosaur, Annapurna Interactive
Best Family Game
- It Takes Two - Hazelight, EA - WINNER
- Mario Party Superstars - Nocube, Nintendo
- New Pokémon Snap - Bandai Namco/The Pokémon Company, Nintendo
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury - Nintendo
- Warioware: Get it Together! - Intelligent Systems, Nintendo
Best Game Direction
- Deathloop - Arkane Studios, Bethesda Softworks - WINNER
- It Takes Two - Hazelight, EA
- Returnal - Housemarque, PlayStation Studios
- Psychonauts 2 - Double Fine, Xbox Game Studios
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart - Insomniac Games, PlayStation Studios
Best Multiplayer
- Back 4 Blood - Turtle Rock, WB Games
- It Takes Two - Hazelight, EA - WINNER
- Knockout City - Velant, EA
- Monster Hunter Rise - Capcom
- New World - Amazon Games
- Valheim - Iron Gate Studios, Coffee Stain
Best Narrative
- Deathloop - Arkane Studios, Bethesda Softworks
- It Takes Two - Hazelight, EA
- Life is Strange: True Colors - Deck Nine, Square Enix
- Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Eidos Montreal, Square Enix - WINNER
- Psychonauts 2 - Double Fine, Xbox Game Studios
Best Ongoing
- Apex Legends - Respawn Entertainment, EA
- Call of Duty: Warzone - Infinity Ward/Raven Software, Activision
- Final Fantasy 14 - Square Enix - WINNER
- Genshin Impact - Mihoyo
- Fortnite - Epic Games
Best Role-Playing
- Cyberpunk 2077 - CD Projekt Red
- Monster Hunter Rise - Capcom
- Scarlet Nexus - Bandai Namco
- Shin Magami Tensei V - Atlus, Sega
- Tales of Arise - Bandai Namco - WINNER
Best Score and Music
- Cyberpunk 2077 - P. T. Adamczyk, Marcin Przybyłowicz, Paul Leonard-Morgan
- Deathloop - Tom Salta
- Nier Replicant - Keichii Okabe - WINNER
- Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Richard Jacques
- The Artful Escape - Johnny Galvatron, Josh Abrahams
Best Sim and Strategy
- Age of Empires 4 - Relic Entertainment/World's Edge, Xbox Game Studios - WINNER
- Evil Genius 2 - Rebellion Developments
- Humankind - Amplitude Studios, Sega
- Inscryption - Daniel Mullins Games, Devolver Digital
- Microsoft Flight Simulator - Asobo Studio, Xbox Studio Studios
Best Sports and Racing
- F1 2021 - Codemasters, EA
- FIFA 22 - EA Vancouver, EA
- Forza Horizon 5 - Playground Games, Xbox Game Studios - WINNER
- Hot Wheels Unleahed - Milestone
- Riders Republic - Ubisoft Annecy, Ubisoft
Best Mobile
- Fantasian
- Genshin Impact - WINNER
- League of Legends: Wild Rift
- Marvel Future Revolution
- Pokémon Unite
Innovation in Accessibility
- Far Cry 6 - Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft
- Forza Horizon 5 - Playground Games, Xbox Game Studios - WINNER
- Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Eidos Montreal, Square Enix
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart - Insomniac Games, PlayStation Studios
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown - Creative Bytes Studios, Falling Squirrel
Most Anticipated Game
- Elden Ring - FromSoftware, Bandai Namco - WINNER
- God of War: Ragnarok - Sony Santa Monica, PlayStation Studios
- Horizon Forbidden West- Guerrilla Games, PlayStation Studios
- Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Nintendo
- Starfield - Bethesda Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks
Best VR and AR
- Hitman 3 - IO Interactive
- I Expect You to Die 2 - Schell Games
- Lone Echo 2 - Ready at Dawn, Oculus Games
- Resident Evil 4 - Armature Studios/Capcom, Oculus Studios - WINNER
- Sniper Elite 4 - Coatsink/Just Add Water, Rebellion Developments
Best Esports game
- Call of Duty – Activision
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – Valve
- Dota 2 – Valve
- League of Legends – Riot Games - WINNER
- Valorant – Riot Games
Best Esports team
- Atlanta Faze
- DWG KIA
- Natus Vincere - WINNER
- Team Spirit
- Sentinels
Best Esports event
- 2021 League of Legends Championship - WINNER
- PGL Major Stockholm 2021
- PUBG Mobile Global Championship
- The International 2021
- Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters
Content Creator of the Year
- Dream - WINNER
- Fuslie
- Gaules
- Ibai
- Grefg
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