It cannot have escaped you, this month of December 2024 is once again marked by the now essential Game Awards ceremony, the very one which crowns “officially” the famous GOTY, or game of the year. And if you’ve just woken up, then you probably missed the live broadcast of these Game Awards 2024, which took place last night from 1 a.m. A ceremony which celebrated the 10th anniversary of the “TGA”, and which proved to be both rich in surprises… and perfectly mastered.
Indeed, personally, and like other players, I am not a big fan of the Game Awards. This trophy presentation is indeed nothing good “official“, with the added bonus of votes in which the public, which is massively invited to participate each year, only accounts for 10% of the final verdict. In addition, the ceremony remains peppered with “commercial collaborations” and other cronies of all kinds, and this 2024 version was no exception to the rule, with many sponsors (and friends) entitled to their little moment of glory.
Game Awards 2024 rich in “World Premiere” (and with Harrison Ford)
But in reality, we don’t look at the Game Awards for their trophies, but rather for the “World Premiere“. Indeed, if the Summer Game Fest serves as a replacement E3 in June, the Game Awards are also the scene of often sensational announcements, allowing gamers to experience a form “winter E3 conference“. And for once, this 2024 version was rather rich in (good) surprises.
Indeed, these Game Awards 2024 notably allowed CD Projekt RED to broadcast the very first trailer for a game that was expected to say the least, namely The Witcher 4. We will now see whether Geralt will also be there or not.
A fully cinematic trailer, as visually stunning as an excellent animated series, but which allows you to enjoy a breathtaking spectacle, in addition to discovering a new female Witcher, namely Ciri.
A few minutes later, while Keanu Reeves had caused a sensation a few years ago, it was a certain Harrison Ford who burst onto the stage of these 2024 Game Awards.
In addition to obviously mentioning the release of the very recent Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle (of which we give you our verdict here), the American actor came to present the trophy (with Troy Baker and Todd Howard) for Best Performance, which won was awarded to the interpreter of Senua in Hellblade 2, Melina Juergens.
Among the other incredible and magical announcements revealed during these 2024 Game Awards, between two performances by Snoop Dogg or even an excellent symphony orchestra, we were able to discover a new Mafia The Old Country, which will arrive during the summer of 2025 .
Added to this is a brand new opus in the Borderlands saga (the fourth), without forgetting a return of Screamer (the cult game from 1995) which will soon return in the form of a narrative racing game. Capcom fans have also been served, with the return of two cult licenses, namely Okami and Onimusha, of which we will soon enjoy a brand new episode.
It’s also difficult not to mention the new game from Naughty Dog (The Last of Us, Uncharted, etc.), namely Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
The trailer allows us to discover a young bounty shoemaker in her ship, Jordan A.Mun, looking for the Five Aces. An intergalactic title therefore, full of product placements (Adidas, Porsche, Sony, etc.) which still remains quite enigmatic, but which will obviously have to be followed very closely.
Among the other games presented this night, it’s difficult not to mention Elden Ring Nightreign, a new multiplayer game expected for 2025, without forgetting Split Fiction, the new cooperative game from Hazelight, already the origin of the fabulous It Takes Two.
A new game by Fumito Ueda (Shadow of the Colossus) has also been made official, as has the new Ninja Gaiden signed by the French team DotEmu, to whom we already owe the excellent Streets of Rage 4 and Ninja Turtles Shredder’s Revenge.
The winners of the Game Awards 2024
But the Game Awards are not just World Premiere trailers and Geoff Keighley ever more delighted with his creature, they are also valuable awards given to the best games launched this year. As mentioned above, the votes are distributed between the public (10%) and a jury “of experts“.
Among the winners, it is obviously the title of “Best Game of the Year” which has been widely discussed in recent weeks. And as we already suspected in our full test of Astro Bot last September, it was the game signed by Team Asobi that won.officially” the precious trophy.
It must be said that the game represented by Nicolas Doucet is a true ode to nostalgia, while showing itself to be resolutely modern, generous and capable of putting a smile on the player’s face from the first to the last minute. But Astro Bot is not satisfied with this GOTY title, since the game also won the titles of Best Game Direction, Best Action-Adventure Game and Best Family Game.
Balatro was one of the big winners of the evening, winning no less than three awards in total. The excellent Helldivers 2 has not been forgotten, the game available on PS5 and PC winning the title of Best Multiplayer Game of the year, but also that of Best Service Game.
The RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio also made its mark at these 2024 Game Awards, winning three trophies, namely Best RPG, Best Narration and Best Artistic Direction. For its part, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will have to settle for the Best Music statuette.
Note that the recent Dragon Ball Z Sparking ZERO did not win the title of Best Fighting Game (or any other title for that matter), since the latter was awarded to a certain Tekken 8.
The main winners of the Game Awards 2024
- Game of the Year: Astro Bot
- Best Game Direction: Astro Bot
- Best Narration: Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Best Art Direction: Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Best Music: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Best Audio Design: Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
- Best Performance: Melina Juergens (Hellblade 2)
- Best Service Game: Helldivers 2
- Best Community Support: Baldur’s Gate 3
- Best Indie Game: Balatro
- Best First Indie Game: Balatro
- Innovation in Accessibility: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
- Best Mobile Game: Balatro
- Best VR/AR Game: Batman Arkham Shadows
- Best Action Game: Black Myth: Wukong
- Best Action-Adventure Game: Astro Bot
- Best RPG: Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Best Fighting Game: Tekken 8
- Best Family Game: Astro Bot
- Best Sports Racing Game: EA Sports FC 25
- Best Multiplayer Game: Helldivers 2
- Most Anticipated Game of 2025: Grand Theft Auto 6
For our part, we will really remember 5 elements from these 2024 Game Awards, namely the (deserved) consecration of Astro Bot as GOTY (even if he was already one in our gaming hearts), the shattering announcement from The Witcher IV, which we haven’t heard the last of, but also the superb Split Fiction, which promises to put cooperative play in the spotlight once again. Of course, experienced gamers (the “old” ones?) will also keep a keen eye on the returns of Ninja Gaiden, Okami, Onimusha, but also a certain Turok with Origins.
Added to this is a ceremony that is generally better mastered than in the past, always with a few lengths and an escalation of advertisements, but a nicely worked rhythm and a real desire to pay homage to video games as a whole. Finally, it is difficult not to highlight the absence of a certain GTA 6 which, contrary to what various influencers and other “insiders” suggested, did not benefit from any trailer. The game nevertheless won the title of “Most Anticipated Game of 2025“. A lesser evil.
And you, what is your GOTY in 2024?
