While the gaming industry has more than its fair share of great annual awards shows, few have as much worldwide recognition as The Game Awards. Hosted by Geoff Keighley, The Game Awards has been around for a decade now, and its 10th ceremony is sure to be a big one.
Airing on December 12 at 7:30pm ET, the 2024 Game Awards are set to celebrate some of the biggest and best games of the year, from breakout Indie darlings to huge AAA sequels and remakes and plenty in between. Ahead of this year’s Game Awards ceremony, Game Pass subscribers can try out some of the year’s contenders for themselves, with 8 nominees currently available on Xbox and PC Game Pass.
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Every 2024 Game Awards Nominee Available on Xbox Game Pass
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Though Xbox is heavily overshadowed by Nintendo and PlayStation in this year’s Game Awards nominees, it still has a few big titles that appear across multiple categories. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is one such game, having been nominated for an impressive total of four awards, those being Best Narrative, Best Audio Design, Best Performance (Melina Juergens), and Games for Impact.
With Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 only taking around 7 hours to beat, it’s more than worth a playthrough for those excited for The Game Awards.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Microsoft now owns Activision-Blizzard, and that means this year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is technically an Xbox first-party title, and as such it came to Xbox Game Pass on day one. Like Hellblade 2, Black Ops 6 has been nominated for a total of four awards, those being Best Audio Design, Innovation in Accessibility, Best Action, and Best Multiplayer. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has officially been the biggest release in franchise history, so it’s likely that most fans will have already jumped in, but those who haven’t can still give it a go via Game Pass’ Ultimate tier.
Diablo 4
While Diablo 4 released in June 2023, its Vessel of Hatred expansion dropped back in October of this year, and it’s earned itself two Game Awards nominations. Diablo 4 has been nominated for The Game Awards’ Innovation in Accessiblity and Best Ongoing Game categories, and the base game can be played right now on Game Pass.
No Man’s Sky
A game that’s been nominated at every Game Awards ceremony since 2018, No Man’s Sky appears in the line-up again this year, once again being nominated for the Best Community Support award. No Man’s Sky has come an unbelievably long way since its initial August 2016 launch, and those who haven’t tried the Sci-Fi exploration game have the perfect opportunity to do so now.
No Man’s Sky
has been nominated twice for The Game Awards’ Best Ongoing Game category, once in its Best VR/AR category, and a whopping total of five times in its Best Community Support category.
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Manor Lords
A pretty big surprise back in April, Manor Lords is a medieval city-builder and strategy game. Being mostly developed by just one person, Manor Lords made waves when its Steam wishlist numbers surpassed the likes of Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades 2. Though the game is still in Steam Early Access, Manor Lords has been nominated for two Game Awards this year, the Best Debut Indie and Best Sim/Strategy awards.
In fact, Xbox is dominating The Game Awards 2024’s Best Sim/Strategy category, with four of the five nominees being available on Xbox Game Pass.
Frostpunk 2
The long-awaited follow-up to the 2018 post-apocalyptic city-builder and survival strategy game, Frostpunk 2 increases the original’s scope significantly, now letting players command multiple cities at once. Frostpunk 2 has also been nominated for the Best Sim/Strategy category at this year’s Game Awards and is playable right now on PC Game Pass.
Age of Mythology: Retold
Also nominated for The Game Awards’ Best Sim/Strategy category, Age of Mythology: Retold takes the beloved 2002 RTS game and gives it a modern makeover. Much-improved graphics, refined audio, new mythologies, leaders, and units, and a wealth of quality-of-life upgrades are all present in this remake.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
The final Xbox Game Pass title up for The Game Awards’ Best Sim/Strategy category, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is an action-strategy game by Capcom. Lauded for its creativity and Capcom’s willingness to release a standalone venture of this kind, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a game that’s certainly worth playing before the Game Awards on December 12.