Everything you need to know from The Game Awards

Grand Theft Auto 6 is big. Like, really big, and that’s just the game’s announcement trailer. More on that, plus the winners and top stories from The Game Awards. 

People are excited for Grand Theft Auto 6

After it leaked early online, Rockstar games released the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6. To say it was huge is an understatement. In less than a week, the YouTube count sits at 139 million views. According to Guinness World Records, the trailer broke three world records:

• Most viewed video game reveal on YouTube in 24 hours with 90,421,491 views
• Most liked video game trailer on YouTube with 8.9 million likes in the first 24 hours
• Most viewed YouTube video in 24 hours (non-music)

The trailer uses the song “Love Is a Long Road” by the late Tom Petty. According to Spotify, streams of the song are up 36,979% from the previous week. It’s not the first Petty track to be used in a GTA game.

GTA 6 returns to Vice City, a fictional city modeled after Miami where a previous version of the game was set. GTA Vice City came out in 2002, with the game taking place in the 1980’s. The new game takes place in the present, using social media posts to set the scene. The trailer references many weird but true Florida events as a backdrop to the story. 

Details are scarce about the game so far, other than it is anticipated for 2025. GTA 6 will be available on PlayStation and Xbox consoles, but not PC at launch. Are you excited for the next GTA game?

The Game Awards: All the winners

The Game Awards are - in theory - about the top games from the past year. Nominations and voting are conducted by a jury of over 100 media and influencer outlets from across the globe. 

Baldur's Gate 3 led the winners with six awards, followed by Alan Wake 2 with three. On the flip side, Spider-Man 2 was nominated for seven awards, but did not win any. 

Here is the complete list of winners:

Game of the Year: Baldur's Gate 3
Player's Voice: Baldur's Gate 3
Best Game Direction: Alan Wake 2
Best Narrative: Alan Wake 2
Best Art Direction: Alan Wake 2
Best Score and Music: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, composed by Nintendo Sound Team
Best Audio Design: Hi-Fi Rush
Best Performance: Neil Newbon, Baldur's Gate 3
Innovation in Accessibility: Forza Motorsport
Games for Impact: Tchia
Best Ongoing: Cyberpunk 2077
Best Community Support: Baldur's Gate 3
Best Independent Game: Sea of Stars
Best Debut Indie Game: Cocoon
Best Mobile Game: Honkai: Star Rail
Best VR/AR: Resident Evil Village VR Mode
Best Action Game: Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
Best Action/Adventure: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Best RPG: Baldur's Gate 3
Best Fighting Game: Street Fighter 6
Best Family: Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Best Sim/Strategy: Pikmin 4
Best Sports/Racing: Forza Motorsport
Best Multiplayer: Baldur's Gate 3
Best Adaptation: The Last of Us
Most Anticipated Game: Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth
Content Creator of the Year: Ironmouse
Best Esports Game: Valorant
Best Esports Athlete: Lee "Faker" Sang-Hyeok (League of Legends)
Best Esports Team: JD Gaming (League of Legends)
Best Esports Coach: Christine "Potter" Chi (Evil Geniuses, Valorant)
Best Esports Event: 2023 League of Legends World Championship

The Game Awards: The announcements

The Game Awards may be more known for their world premieres than the actual awards. Here are five of the biggest trailers from The Game Awards.

Game creator Hideo Kojima and film director Jordan Peele team up on OD

"It is a game, but at the same time a movie," Kojima said through a translator.

Peele says it's "unlike any other game; it's going to be crazy."

Matthew McConaughey reveals Exodus

McConaughey will voice one of the characters in the game, which has a Mass Effect meets Destiny feel.

Sega makes old games new again

New versions of Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, Golden Axe, and Crazy Taxi are on the way. Most of these franchises were stagnant for decades. 

Blade is coming

The Marvel vampire hunter Blade is getting his own game, from the studio that brought you Redfall.

Monster Hunter gets Wilds

The next game in the Monster Hunter franchise was announced, as Capcom showed Wilds for the first time.

These are just a few of the trailers. Check out everything announced here, and let us know what you are most excited about. 

Apart from trailers, there was plenty of other news from TGA, including:

• Baldur’s Gate 3 is now out on Xbox. The Game of the Year’s launch on the platform was announced during the show. 
• Dave the Diver is getting new free content, as they team up with the makers of Dredge for crossover DLC.
• The Twisted Metal TV show is renewed for a second season. 
• The studio that made No Man’s Sky is working on a new game called Light No Fire that puts players in an extremely detailed world. 
• With the thousands of layoffs in the game industry in 2023, did host Geoff Keighley let video game developers down by not even mentioning their plight?

Side quests (more stories worth reading)

🏆 Later this week, subscribers will have a chance to vote for The Games Letter Game of the Year. Our champion will be chosen by you, the readers. If you're not already a subscriber, sign up today! 

📢 The Game Awards weren’t the only announcements this week. Check out all the announcements from the Day Of The Devs show. 

💔 After a fantastic 2023 for game releases, will 2024 feel like a bust? 

🧱 Over 1,200 Fortnite skins have free LEGO equivalents. 

♟️ Board games Woodcraft and Wandering Towers win the Flemish game of the year awards.

💸 Bungie could lose its independence as a studio if Destiny 2 doesn’t meet Sony’s financial goals. 

❌ Twitch will cease operation in South Korea next year. 

😈 Doom turns 30. Check out an interview with co-creator John Romero. Also, how has the series aged? IGN has some thoughts.  

🏴‍☠️ The best place to find pirated video games? Amazon. 

📰 Hearst Newspapers acquired the puzzle games hub Puzzmo.

🐉 Baldur’s Gate 3 owners have racked up over 452.5 million hours - or 51,662 years - worth of playtime, which is longer than human civilization has existed. 

🃏 Card game Disney Lorcana’s next expansion launches in February, and adds DuckTales characters to the game.  

👎🏾 The Day Before, one of the most wishlisted games, may have botched its launch. It’s become one of the worst-rated games on Steam, and players are calling it a scam. 

🎸 More plastic instruments? Epic says Rock Band controller support a 'priority' for Fortnite Festival. 

🎩 Why did CoolStuffInc stop selling board games? It was pushed out of the market by Amazon. 

New Releases this week:

12/14: Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (PlayStation and PC)
12/14: House Flipper 2 (PC)
12/14: Raccoo Venture (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
12/14: SeaOrama: World of Shipping (PC)
12/15: Trinity Fusion (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)

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