The nominees for The Game Awards 2024 have been revealed and it will offer plenty for fans to fight over. The 10th Anniversary of host Geoff Keighley’s Oscars-like celebration of interactive arts will choose from the following for the best game of the year: Astro Bot, Balatro, Black Myth Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, and Metaphor: Refantazio.
The Game Awards will be livestreamed on December 12 starting at 8:00 a.m. ET on YouTube and elsewhere with a pre-show that begins half an hour earlier. In the meantime, the jury made of of global press outlets and content creators that selects the winners in each TGA category will cast their final votes among the current list of nominees. An online community vote from the general public will also take place with the results contributing to 10 percent of the overall tallies.
A new FAQ for the Game Awards also recently revealed that expansions will be eligible for the top GOTY prize for the first time at the show. That obviously coincides with the release of Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC this year, but also several other big expansions including Destiny 2‘s The Final Shape. Without any clear frontrunners in 2024 the way last year was dominated by The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Alan Wake 2, maybe there’s room for FromSoftware’s update to 2022’s GOTY to actually take home the gold in that category.
While ostensibly a time to celebrate some of the year’s biggest creative achievements in gaming, the event also doubles as a showcase for recent and upcoming releases with viewers eagerly awaiting new game announcements, trailers, and world premiers in-between all of the heart-felt acceptance speech speedrunning. In recent years, not every winner has even has an opportunity to speak at the event in order to make room for celebrity cameos and musical performances. One thing you can always count on at Keighley’s Game Awards is that Metal Gear creator and best pal Hideo Kojima will show up at some point and chat on stage for what seems like an eternity.