Game Awards 2021: When are the Game Awards 2021? Date of Game Awards, nominees and how to watch live in UK
Viewed as the Oscars of the video game industry, the Game Awards have been held annually since 2014 and will be returning this winter to celebrate the best video games of 2021.
107 different video game titles, content creators, actors, teams and events have been nominated for the Game Awards 2021, with first person shooter game Deathloop and action adventure game Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart currently leading video game nominations across 25 specific video game categories.
But when are the Game Awards 2021?
And how can you watch this year’s Game Awards live?
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Hide AdHere’s everything you need to know about the Game Awards 2021, including Game Awards 2021 nominees, date and time of the Awards and how to watch live.
When are the Game Awards 2021?
This year’s Game Awards will be held on Thursday 9 December in Los Angeles, California at 7.30pm Eastern Time.
But with last year’s Game Awards seeing an 84% increase in live streams of the event across the world, with 83 million views on live stream, many viewers will be tuning into the event on livestreams worldwide.
The Game Awards 2021 will be livestreamed online from 12.30am GMT and 4.30pm Pacific Time, with plenty of livestreams on streaming platforms, publishers and tv channels available to watch it on.
Which games are nominated for the Game Awards 2021?
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Hide AdDeathloop, by Arkane Studios and Bethseda, leads the video game nominations for this year’s Game Awards, nominated across eight different categories including Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music and Best Audio Design.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethseda Softworks to take advantage of the Xbox Games Pass has paid off, with Bethseda and Xbox Game Studios earning 20 nominations to become the most nominated publisher of the Game Awards 2021.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart by Insomniac Games, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, is likewise in the running for Game of the Year and features prominently across Game Awards 2021 categories, with its six nominations also including Game of the Year.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Deathloop will face off against It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA), Metroid Dream (Mercury Steam/Nintendo), Psychonauts 2 (Double FIne/Xbox Game Studios), and Resident Evil Village (Capcom) in the hotly anticipated Game of the Year category.
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Hide AdHazelight’s action adventure game It Takes Two has also been nominated for Best Family alongside Mario Party Superstars, New Pokémon Snap, Super Mario 3D world + Bowser’s Fury and WarioWare: Get It Together!.
Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2077 has been nominated for Best Role Playing video game, Best Audio Design and Best Score and Music.
Scroll down to see the full list of Game Awards 2021 nominations for each category.
Where can I watch the Game Awards 2021 live?
The Game Awards 2021 will be livestreamed across plenty of different online platforms, including on its Twitch channel at @thegameawards, Facebook Live, YouTube, Twitter, Steam and TikTok Live.
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Hide AdBut it will also be livestreamed on Gamespot, IGN, Oculus Venues, Trovo and accessible on more platforms depending on your location.
To find out where to watch the Game Awards 2021 if you cannot access the channels above, go to https://thegameawards.com/watch.
Full list of Game Award 2021 nominees
Game of the Year
Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo)Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Best Game Direction
Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Best Ongoing
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Hide AdApex Legends (Respawn/EA)Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward/Raven/Activision)FINAL FANTASY XIV Online (SQUARE ENIX)Fortnite (Epic Games)Genshin Impact (MiHoYo)
Best Indie
12 Minutes (Luis Antonio/Annapurna Interactive)Death’s Door (Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital)Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital)Loop Hero (Four Quarters/Devolver Digital)
Best Debut Indie
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)Sable (Shedworks/Raw Fury)The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers)Valheim (Iron Gate/Coffee Stain)
Best Narrative
Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/SQUARE ENIX)Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX)Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
Best Art Direction
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Hide AdDeathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
Best Score and Music
Cyberpunk 2077 (Marcin Przybylowicz, Piotr T. Adamczyk, Composers)Deathloop (Tom Salta, Composer)NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 (Keiichi Okabe, Composer)Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Richard Jacques, Composer)The Artful Escape (Johnny Galvatron & Josh Abrahams, Composers)
Best Audio Design
Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)Resident Evil Village (Capcom)Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
Best Performance
Erika Mori as Alex Chen, Life is Strange: True ColorsGiancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo, Far Cry 6Jason E. Kelley as Colt Vahn, DeathloopMaggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil VillageOzioma Akagha as Julianna Blake, Deathloop
Games for Impact
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Hide AdBefore Your Eyes (GoodbyeWorld Games/Skybound Games)Boyfriend Dungeon (Kitfox Games)Chicory (Greg Lobanow, Alexis dean-Jones, Lena Raine, Madeline Berger, A Shell in the Pit/Finji)Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/SQUARE ENIX)No Longer Home (Humble Grove, Hana Lee, Cel Davison, Adrienne Lombardo, Eli Rainsberry/Fellow Traveler)
Best Community Support
Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)Destiny 2 (Bungie)FINAL FANTASY XIV Online (SQUARE ENIX)Fortnite (Epic Games)No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Mobile Game, Presented by Verizon
Fantasian (Mistwalker)Genshin Impact (MiHoYo)League of Legends: Wild Rift (Riot Games)MARVEL Future Revolution (Netmarble)Pokemon Unite (TiMi Studios/The Pokemon Company)
Best VR/AR
Hitman 3 (IO Interactive)I Expect You To Die 2 (Schell Games)Lone Echo II (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studios)Resident Evil 4 (Armature Studio/Capcom/Oculus Studios)Sniper Elite VR (Coatsink/Just Add Water/Rebellion Developments)
Best Action
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Hide AdBack 4 Blood (Turtle Rock/WB Games)Chivalry II (Torn Banner Studios/Tripwire Interactive)Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
Best Action/Adventure
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX)Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo)Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Best Role Playing
Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)Scarlet Nexus (Bandai Namco)Shin Megami Tensei V (Atlus/Sega)Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco)
Best Fighting
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles (CyberConnect2/Sega)Guilty Gear -Strive- (Arc System Works)Melty Blood: Type Lumina (French-Bread/Delightworks)Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (Ludosity/Fair Play Labs/GameMill)Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown (Sega)
Best Family
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Hide AdIt Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)Mario Party Superstars (NDcube/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 Sports/Racing
F1 2021 (Codemasters/EA Sports)FIFA 22 (EA Vancouver/EA Sports)Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)Hot Wheels Unleashed (Milestone)Riders Republic (Ubisoft Annecy/Ubisoft)
Best Sim/Strategy
Age of Empires IV (Relic Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)Evil Genius 2: World Domination (Rebellion Developments)Humankind (Amplitude Studios/Sega)Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver)Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios)
Best Multiplayer
Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock/WB Games)It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)Knockout City (Velan Studios/EA)Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)New World (Amazon Games)Valheim (Iron Gate Studio/Coffee Stain)
Most Anticipated, Presented by Prime Gaming
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Hide AdElden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
Innovation in Accessibility, Presented by Chevrolet
Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX)Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Creative Bytes Studios/Falling Squirrel)
Content Creator of the Year
DreamFuslieGaulesIbaiTheGrefg
Best Esports Game, Presented by Grubhub
Call of Duty (Activision)CS:GO (Valve)DOTA2 (Valve)League of Legends (Riot Games)Valorant (Riot Games)
Best Esports Athlete
Chris “Simp” LehrHeo “ShowMaker” SuMagomed “Collapse” KhalilovOleksandr “s1mple” KostylievTyson “TenZ” Ngo
Best Esports Team
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Hide AdAtlanta FaZe (COD)DWG KIA (LOL)Natus Vincere (CS:GO)Sentinels (Valorant)Team Spirit (DOTA2)
Best Esports Coach
Airat “Silent” GazievAndrey “ENGH” SholokhovAndrii “B1ad3” HorodenskyiJames “Crowder” CrowderKim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun
Best Esports Event
2021 League of Legends World ChampionshipPGL Major Stockholm 2021PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020The International 2021Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Maste
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