With the warmer months looming ahe??ad [cries in UK], there's gonna be a number of video game expos and conference to look forward to. Although E3 is no longer with us �for good or ill �it's at least being replaced by Summer Game Fest. Recently, the date for the event was confirmed.

As for what's being showcased, we don't know that just yet. You can expect there to be a decent amount of bu??zz surrounding?? the event as we get closer to June, though. For those who want to attend, public tickets will be going on sale from May 7.

When and where to watch Summer Game Fest 2024

As mentioned in a recent post from Geoff Keighley, SGF 2024 will be streaming live on Friday, June 7. Keighley describes it as a "cross-platform LIVE showcase of what's next for video games." A post on Twitter/X from ??the official Summer Game Fest account says it will be a two-hour event.

Last year's Fest was a pretty big hit, especially after the cancellation of E3 following a few years of uncertainty about the event. Summer Games 2023 saw showcases from the likes of Capcom, Xbox (Starfield in particular - remember how hyped we were about that?), and Final Fantasy XVI.

Before the summer period hits though, there are some other events and conferences, such as PAX East (March 21), the London Games Festival (April 9), and more. We've also got Day of the Devs coming up this Sunday.

Keighley began Summer Game Fest in 2020 in the wake of COVID-19. The pandemic led to much of the world having to remain isolated, which resulted in?? in-person shows being cancelled.

The post Su?mmer Game Fest 2024 (aka Not-E3) will take place on June 7 appeared first on Destructoid.

During the Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023 stream, two cool dudes—Todd Howard and Geoff Keighley—stood on stage and discussed Starfield.

"People have been wondering what the main questline is going to be after you create your character," Geoff explained to Todd, highlighting the deep character customization system in Starfield. "I saw even someone on the internet this week created you I think, did you see that? Someon??e tweete?d out a picture that they had somehow figured out to get you in there."

Todd laughed, then followed up with "I see a lot of things on the intern??et...I'm not sure that's real."

So that got me wondering: Did someone actually make Todd Howard in Starfield? After doing some searching, I was able to find this image of what appeared to be a pretty accurate portrayal of Todd Howard in Starfield:

[caption id="attachment_398417" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via @sergioodoardi on Twitter[/caption]

It looks like Todd Howard was right

As great as it looks, Todd Howard was right. It's not real. Even though it may look like a detailed version of Todd Howard in Starfield, it's just a fake. More than likely just a really good Photoshop. As @FabianoLPeres on Twitter pointed out, the hair shaders that we've seen from videos highlighting the character creation simply do not match up. Don't get me wrong??, the hair shaders look great and very detailed??—but not to this extreme.

Also, the Twitter user that first posted the Todd Howard in Starfield image, @Sergioodoardi, has posted another Starfield character creation fake: Commander Shepard from Mass Effect. However, in this image, it's a lot more obvious that this is just intended as a funny photo?shop.

With the Early Access launch of Starfield rapidly approachi??ng, it won't be long until we start seeing some cool creations. I'm sure we'll end up seeing a pretty solid depiction of Todd Howard after al??l.

Starfield releases on ??PC and ?Xbox Series X|S on September 6. It will also be on Xbox Game Pass.

The post Di??d someone actually make? Todd Howard in Starfield? appeared first on Destructoid.

Only a whole year to wait

Summer Game Fest 2023 is about ready to wrap up, but Geoff Keighley is already preparing people for next year's event. If you managed to check out, and enjoy, the showcases that have been broadcasting recently, you may well be excited for SGF's return in 2024. Actually, the event is even technically over yet, as Annapurna's showcase is still to come.

Not only is Keighl??ey eager to announce that Summer Game Fest will be back in June of next year, he goes on to say that this year's event was "record-setting." Not quite certain what that means, but it likely refers to the amount of people who attended the event, both in person and online. Given the dry spell from gaming conventions over the past two or three years, it wouldn't be surprising to see the likes of SGF see an uptick in attendees.

//twitter.com/?geoffkeigh??ley/status/1668638357608628225

Currently, there are no detail??s about the 2024 showcases, other than it will obviously be hosted by Keig?hley himself. There will also be the return of Play Days from studio iam8bit, but again, details won't be announced until further down the line.

Summer Game Fest 2023 saw a lot of content from a variety of studios, publishers, and industry experts. Trailers from the likes of Alan Wake 2, Mortal Kombat 1, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and lots more were on display. There was also the Day of the Dev event, hosted by iam8bit and Double Fine, which gave indie studios the opportunity to showcase what they've been working ??on.

With E3 being cancelled this year �perhaps never to return �that leaves the space open for SGF and other expos to c?ontinue their dominance of the summer period. See you all for Gamescom 2023.

The post Summer Game?? Fest will return in 2024, Keighley confirm??s appeared first on Destructoid.

Welcome back to Keigh-3

It's that time of year again, and I couldn't be more exhausted exci?ted for it! In just about an hour from now, Geoff Keighley will take to the stage of Hollywood Park's YouTube theater for the Summer Game Fest 2023 kick-off show �An evening of exciting game trailers and picking up after yourselves.

We can expect updates, previews, and reveals from some of the biggest names in the industry, as they prod and poke our hype engines with the games that they'll be expecting $70+ for the rest of 2023 and beyond. Games set to put in an appearance include Alan Wake 2 and Baldur's Gate 2, as well as the first-ever gameplay trailer for NetherRealm Studios' Mortal Kombat 1. There are whispers of a release date for Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and we're still to see anything from Activision regarding the 2023 iteration of Call of Duty. And all this is just scratching the surface.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY-lMH0R3AA

A pre-show will kick off about 30 minutes from now, with the presentation going live at 12:00 PT / 15:00 ET / 20:00 BST / 21:00 CEST. As always, the show will be way too long two hours in length, but we will all be on deck to bring you all of the latest news and updates, hurriedly typed and confusingly written in an all-out bid to please the Google Gods. We'd love it if you could join us for the show by following the stream above, and having your say in the comments below.

And, all jesting aside, I hope that you see at least one awesome game that gets the hype fires stoked??.

The post Join us for the Summer Game Fest? 2023 live stream! appeared first on Destructoid.

What time do you need to tune in?

In just a matter of hours, Summer Games Fest 2023 will be kicking o??ff. Hosted by Geoff Keighley, the event will span a number of days, giving you the chance to check out what some big names in the world of gaming have in store. But ?what specifically is happening today?

If you are interested in checking out the opening moments of this year's S?GF, the show kickstarts today - June 8 - at the following times: 12:00 PT / 15:00 ET / 20:00 BST / 21:00 CEST. Obviously, depending on where you live in the world, you'll need to keep an eye on which time is relevant to you. If you're not in any of these time zones, you can do a quick search to c??onvert to your own.

//youtu.be/1z3YwB8xnWk

But what's to be expected from today's event? Well, Keighely will officially introduce Summer Game Fest 2023, likely giving a brief overview of what to expect. That will commence at noon PT and will probably go on for a couple of hours. Immediately following this - at 15:00 PT - will be the Day of Devs event, a show by Double Fine, of Psychonauts and Psychonauts 2 fame, and iam8bit. The purpose of Day of the Dev is to give? the spotlight to indie games and studios, showcasing their insights and upcoming titles.

Then at 18:00, you can check out The Return of the Volvy, an "annual gaming extravaganza" for developers starring the titular mascot from Devolver Digital. Volvy has been the star of a number of games in the past, including Hotline Miami and Cult of the Lamb.

We'll return later with even more details about what to expect from Summer Game Fest 2023, you can join us for all of the action?? right here on Destructoid.

The post Summer Game Fest 2023: What’s happening today? appeared first on Destructoid.

The big reveals show returns once more

It's another year, and summer's almost upon us. That means it's time for more showcas?es, reveals, and streams, including Gamescom Opening Night Live.

Show host Geoff Keighley confirmed the date and location today on social media, as the show will be hosted live from Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germ??any on August 22. No ?word on the time yet.

//twitter.com/?geoffkeighley/status/1643971101280681985

As for what to expect, well, it'll be a whole host of video game news. Gamescom Opening Night Live is usually the last big show of the summer of gaming news, sitti??ng right near the end of August and leading right into the Gamescom event.

What this means is a lot of reveals, trailers, and spotlights on upcoming games. For example, last year is where we saw Dead Island 2 get a release date (that would eventually get delayed), a leaked Sonic Frontiers date got confirmed, and Hideo Kojima announced his ??podcast.

After the streams of summer have gone

The summer is going to look quite different this year, though. E3 has officially bowed out of the conversation, with the ESA and PAX organizer ReedPop calling off?? their plans for in-person a??nd digital. Though we've been without a proper in-person E3 for a few years now, this news feels a bit like a nail in the coffin.

Meanwhile, Keighley's Summer Game Fest is still cruising along. The SGF show will air live on June 8, with a live audience. Xbox and Ubisoft are also planning their own shows for the summer, too. Even without E3 in the mix, the summer seems set to ??roll on.

The post G??amescom Opening Night?? Live 2023 locked in for August appeared first on Destructoid.

The Game Awards are more popular than ever

The Game Awards actually turned out to be a good show this time around, at least compared to previous years, and it seems the fans agree �Geoff Keighley announced via his Twitter that The Game Awards in 2022 "hit a new viewership milestone" of "103 million livestreams," making it "the most-watched Game Awards in his??t??ory." Keighley goes on to detail some of the stats in the thread under his tweet, including that Twitter's stream of the event was a hit this year with 11.5 million viewers, and that the Steam Deck giveaway drew 9.5 million viewers to the platform's native stream, with a peak of over 850K concurrent viewers.

That's a staggering number of people who tuned in, and I have my own theories as to what caused the numbers to skyrocket this year. One of them is that there were some rivalries heating up this year, particularly with fans of Elden Ring pitted against God of War Ragnarok, and Sonic fans against Genshin Impact. The fandoms were squabbling in?? the weeks leading up to the awards, so it's likely more people than usual tuned in to see if their "team" won.

//twitter.com/geoffkeighley/status/16037974716539??57632

Then there's the fact that musicians like Halsey and Hozier performed. I'm sure there were a good portion of gamers who don't know who they are, but I'd bet money that some viewers who don't even play games tuned in just to watch their favorite artists onstage. If I know anything about Hozier and Halsey fans, it's that they are loyal as hell. Finally, ?games are just becoming more and more popular all the time, so it makes sense to me that the live events surrounding the hobby w??ould be garnering more attention as well.

Look, I know that we're all tired of talking about The Game Awards for the year, but I have to admit that this is a pretty impressive milestone. The 2022 Super Bowl had a staggering 99.8 million viewers, and TGA was able to top that easily this year. I don't know if that has more to say about sports fans or gamers, but the fact that one of the year's biggest gaming events was able to surpass one of the biggest sporting events of the year in viewers only further solidifies the trend of Gen Z being far less interested in sports than the generations before them.

The post Geoff Keighley says The Game Awards “hit a new viewership milestone” this year appeared first on Destructoid.

The Game Awards in person are a doozy

Last month, I got a mysterious email in my inbox. What's that? I was being invited to be a seat filler at The Game Awards? There's no way this is legit. Oh wait, it is legit? Okay, I guess I can't pass up on a?n opportunity to go to TGAs for free, right? Right. At least I'll get some good content out of it.

For those who don't know (because I certainly didn't when I got that email), seat fi??llers are people that go to large, televised events like the Oscars or, in this case, The Game Awards, and sit in seats that are visible onscreen that would otherwise be e?mpty. You're basically a placeholder, and can be moved around if you're in someone's seat who comes late, or if they need people to fill out the front rows while presenters or award recipients go backstage. There are other scenarios too, but the gist is that you're there to make the auditorium look as full as possible.

Luckily, I'm local

Living in Los Angeles, I'm lucky enough to be local to a lot of events in games, and The Game Awards is one of them. With traffic, it was only a fairly short drive to get there, and I felt especially thankful for that after being reminded that some people flew across the country, or even around the world, to be there for the event. Of course, I had to get a new dress for the occasion �for those who care, it was a blazer dress with rhinestone ligh??tning bolts on the lapels, which felt like the most Game Awards-y thing I could possibly find. I'll take an?y excuse to dress up all fancy that I can get.

After my friend and I arrived and found our way to the line for seat fillers. We were standing in a line outside the theater, turns?? out there was some logistical issue inside. N??o worries, we can wait. Oh hey, another friend! We walked back to join her in line behind us, along with some of her coworkers.

We got to talking, and I found myself thinking: I may be a games journalist, but I understand that they didn't reach out to me with an industry ticket. There are a lot of us, and you can't get everyone. What I did find odd, however, was that my friend and her colleagues were being honored as part of the 2022 Game Awards Future Class (a group of "50 inspiring individuals who represent the bright, bold and inclusive future of video games"), and yet they weren't given "real" tickets, but instead attended the show ?as sea??t fillers. But I digress.

There was also a Master Chief cosplayer out front, which was fun to see. He did take off his mask after a while, and it felt weird to look at him. I get that a man needs to breathe, but the already fragile illusion was almost instantly shattered. I guess he was trying t??o save it for when the "real" guests started arriving.

Taking our seats

Once we finally got inside and made it through the security checkpoint, they counted us off into a group and gave us a quick briefing before taking us into the auditorium proper. Basically, our job was to leave two seats empty for every group of four people, and we could be moved at a moment's notice if they needed us to. I grew up attending a megachurch for the majority of my formative years, so playing musical chairs in a giant auditor?ium and listening to the every command of an usher is a strong ?suit of mine. It was almost like I was back home.

As we settled into our seats, I could finally take a breath and take in the atmosphere. I will say, they spare no expense at the production value. The stage had those tunnels on their side with screens behind them, and you could see from the audience that the large, seemingly free-floating metal bars that made up the tunnels were actual?ly suspended by metal wire... things? I h??ave no idea what to call it, but I do know that it looked pretty cool.

We were also seated three rows from the little stage platform that's off to the side, which was neat, because we could turn around and see whoever was standing there quite closely. As a casual fan of fashion, I was delighted to see Sydnee Goodman's bright pink, feathery dress from that close, and we could also see that she was wearing Louboutins with the highest heel they make them in �a shoe that is notorious for being ?one of ??the most uncomfortable you can possibly wear, while also being one of the most coveted designer heels. Good on you, Sydnee; there's no way I could walk in those all night.

The trailers started soon enough, and thinking we would simp?ly be watching a good portion of the show on the smaller screens on their side of the stage, I was shocked to see a giant LED screen lower into the center of the stage itself. It was massive, and I can't understate enough just how much it added to the hype, along with the trailers being blasted into an auditorium with enough bass to make my ears ring the rest of the night.

Of course, it also helped to be in said auditorium with hundreds, if not thousands of other video game fans (the place wasn't entirely full so it's hard to say). There's absolutely something to be said about having the energy of all those other people in the room with you. The Game Awards are kind of like a concert in th?at regard �the stage and lights certainly look cooler in person, but what really makes seeing it in person worthwhile is the electricity that you can only get from a live event. I thought for sure the event organizers would tell us in our briefing to make sure we were clapping and looking excited, but as someone who easily gets swept up in the hype, that was not a problem for me in the slightest.

Showtime!

Geoff Keighley came out in a fancy blue velvet suit, although considering he's the host, it certainly could have been more well-tailored. I hate to say it, but the rivalry between Geoff a??nd Josef Fares lives on, because Josef's suit was so immaculately cut that he kind of showed Geoff up in the fashion department. Just saying.

Seeing Al Pacino live was certainly a real treat. It was very cool to see Christopher Judge receive his award, but I have to admit that it was kind of funny to turn around and see the sign flashing for him to wrap it up... only for it to keep f?lashing, and flashing, and flashing.

Highlights from the World Premiere trailers for me were absolutely Hades II and Judas. Both of those trailers started out with the logos from their respective studios, and seeing those names immediately sent my friend and me into raucous cheers. If you've never gotten to yell for your favorite game studio like they're a sports team in your life, I highly recommend you do so at any given opportunity, because it's a very freeing and cathartic experience. I was also screaming my head off for Immortality to grab Best Nar?r??ative, but alas, we can't win 'em all.

The musical performances were a highlight for sure, because not only am I a fan of both Hozier and Halsey, but they both looked and sounded great. The stage looked amazing as well �fake snow started falling from the ceiling during Hozier's performance of his song from God of War, and Halsey performed a new song for Diablo IV, and was accompanied by a legion of dark monks, or something? I don't know, I don't really play Diablo. I also have to shout out the guy during the Hozier performance down front and center with the hur??dy-gurdy. The performers all did an excellent job, and their songs actually related to the games this year, so bonus points for that.

It was nice every once in a while to see someone get to come up to accept their awards �I particularly enjoyed hearing from Bear McCreary, winner of the Best Score/Music for God of War Ragnarok, and Caroline Marchal, accepting on behalf of As Dusk Falls for the Games for Impact award. However, as we've all come to expect, those moments were few are far between. Most of the awards were given offscreen and rushed through without so much as a pause. I say it?? every year, but it's such a shame that a Game Awards show doesn't focus more on actually gi??ving out awards, which is supposed to be the whole point of the event. But whatever.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA7gxqXpV-M

During the commercials, they simply play the commercials on the screens to the sides of the stage while they set up for whatever is coming next. Most of my behind-the-scenes knowledge comes from the game development side of things, so I know very little about how live events like awards shows are run. I found my own fun a lot of the time b??y getting a peek of a cameraman roaming around the house and the stage to get his shots, and it was?? pretty hilarious to watch Geoff jog to get to his mark before he was back on. Sometimes it ruins the magic to see how the sausage is made, but from my view, getting even the smallest glimpse into how these shows are run was a pretty good time for me.

How much longer?

After we crossed hour two, though, things were starting to get a bit tedious. We were seeing fewer and fewer awards given out, and soon only Game of the Year was on the horizon. As we got bombarded with trailer after trailer, I felt myself slowing. A man in the row behind us had fully fallen asleep in his seat by this point. I also really had to use the restroom? after slamming a cocktail in the lobby before the show (w??hich they sell, but don't allow in the theater), so I was reaching a point of desperation as the minutes ticked down. Geoff said explicitly that the show was only going to be 2.5 hours, but it clocked in at 3.5.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHAUcP4PZjo

Of course, the big moment finally arrived: the Game of the Year award. Josef was right when he introduced the Game Awards Orchestra, because I did indeed get goosebumps as they played their overture. I thought Elden Ring was absolutely deserving of GOTY, and it was really nic?e to see how touched Hidetaka Miyazaki was to have received?? the award.

Then, of course, there's the instance everyone was talking about: that random kid who walked up to the mic. There was a moment of awkward silence as he spoke into the mic to no avail, and I think it's safe to say that not a single person in that room had any idea what was going on. Then ?they turned the mic on and, well, that didn't seem to clear things up either. Considering the staff was on top of things all night from my perspective, I'm shocked he was even able to get up there, but hey, these things happen.

...And that's our show

And just like that, a frazzled Geoff signed us off, and the show was over. I filed out of? the nearest door like everyone else out into the chilly December night air, and it was all over in a flash. I enjoyed my?? experience, for the most part, but I'm not sure if I would do it again. Going to an awards show is admittedly exhausting for a homebody like me, and it's tempting to return to my home viewing of the show in my pajamas.

I also didn't realize the?? staff never moved us ??around at all during the show, which is what I had come to expect as a seat filler. Part of me was a little bit bummed to miss out on that extra little bit of excitement from the experience, and it also would have maybe been a good opportunity to get to the restroom mid-show. I guess we did what they needed though, so it all worked out in the end.

The Game Awards was a better show than usual this time around in terms of both acts, trailers, an?d an overall decrease in cringe, but a lot of that simply comes down to what trailers developers are ready to show, and what games came out over the preceding year. The production value is impressive, if nothing else, which is likely how The Game Awards gained some of its legitimacy in the first place. At the end of the day, though, it's another vehicle for companies to try to sell us stuff, and parts of the experience certainly feel heartless in that sense. The key word here is "parts," because I'm still not ready to give up on the idea that The Game Awards could become mo?re focused on actually supporting and celebrating developers in time.

Even though the rest of my night turned into a whirlwind adventure of its own, seein??g the Awards themselves in person is an experience?? I'll never forget. Until next year, Keighley.

The post I was a seat filler at The Game Awards â€?here’s how it went appeared first on Destructoid.

Here's everyone that took home some hardware tonight

The curtains have closed on The Game Awards 2022. World premieres have been shown, games locked in for launch, and Animal from The Muppets made an appearance. Plus, some winners took home some coveted Game ??Awards troph?ies.

Througho?ut the night, we saw publishers, developers, and players receive their trophies for the games released in the last year. Now that the dust has settled, we put together a neat rundown of the night's events, for whether you skipped out on the show or just need a refresher.

Here's the winners of The Game Awards 2022, noted in bold, alongside the nominees.

Game of the Year

• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Stray
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Game Direction

• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Immortality
• Stray

Best Performance

• Ashly Burch (Horizon Forbidden West)
• Charlotte McBurney (A Plague Tale: Requiem)
• Christopher Judge (God of War Ragnarok)
• Manon Gage (Immortality)
• Sunny Suljic (God of War Ragnarok)

Best Multiplayer

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• MultiVersus
• Overwatch 2
• Splatoon 3
• TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge

Best Ongoing Game

• Apex Legends
• Destiny 2: The Witch Queen
• Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
• Fortnite
• Genshin Impact

Best Art Direciton

• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Scorn
• Stray

Best Score

• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Metal Hellsinger
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Audio Design

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Gran Turismo 7
• Horizon Forbidden West

Innovation in Accessibility

• As Dusk Falls
• God of War Ragnarok
• Return to Monkey Island
• The Last of Us Part 1
• The Quarry

Best Narrative

• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Immortality

Games For Impact

• A Memoir Blue
• As Dusk Falls
• Citizen Sleeper
• Endling â€?Extinction is Forever
• Hindsight
• I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

Best Independent Game

• Cult of the Lamb
• Neon White
• Sifu
• Stray
• Tunic

Best Mobile Game

• Apex Legends Mobile
• Diablo Immortal
• Genshin Impact
• Marvel Snap
• Tower of Fantasy

Best Community Support

• Apex Legends
• Destiny 2
• Final Fantasy XIV
• Fortnite
• No Man’s Sky

Best Debut Indie Game

• Neon White
• NORCO
• Stray
• Tunic
• Vampire Survivors

Best VR/AR Game

• After the Fall
• Among Us VR
• Bonelab
• Moss: Book II
• Red Matter 2

Content Creator of the Year

• Karl Jacobs
• Ludwig
• Nibellion
• Nobru
• QTCinderella

Best Action Game

• Bayonetta 3
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
• Neon White
• Sifu
• TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge

Best Action/Adventure Game

• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Stray
• Tunic

Best RPG

• Elden Ring
• Live a Live
• Pokemon Legends: Arceus
• Triangle Strategy
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Fighting Game

• DNF Duel
• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R
• The King of Fighters XV
• MultiVersus
• Sifu

Most Anticipated Game

• Final Fantasy XVI
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Resident Evil 4
• Starfield
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Best Adaptation

• Arcane: League of Legends
• Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
• The Cuphead Show!
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Uncharted

Best Family Game

• Kirby and the Forgotten Land
• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
• Nintendo Switch Sports
• Splatoon 3

Best Sim/Strategy Game

• Dune: Spice Wars
• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
• Total War: Warhammer III
• Two Point Campus
• Victoria 3

Best Sports/Racing Game

• F1 22
• FIFA 23
• NBA 2K23
• Gran Turismo 7
• OlliOlli World

Best Esports Game

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
• Dota 2
• League of Legends
• Rocket League
• Valorant

Best Esports Athlete

• Jeong “Chovyâ€?Ji-hoon
• Lee “Fakerâ€?Sang-hyeok
• Finn “karriganâ€?Andersen
• Oleksandr “s1mpleâ€?Kostyliev
• Jacob “Yayâ€?Whiteaker

Best Esports Team

• DarkZero Esports
• FaZe Clan
• Gen.G
• LA Thieves
• LOUD

Best Esports Coach

• Andrii “B1ad3â€?Horodenskyi
• Matheus “bzkAâ€?Tarasconi
• Erik “d00mbr0sâ€?Sandgren
• Robert “RobbaNâ€?Dahlström
• Go “Scoreâ€?Dong-bin

Best Esports Event

• Evo 2022
• 2022 League of Legends Worlds
• PGL Major Antwerp 2022
• The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational
• Valorant Champions 2022

Players Voice

• Sonic Frontiers
• Genshin Impact
• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Stray

The post The Game Awards 2022: All the winners from tonight’s show appeared first on Destructoid.

Look out for Big Theatrical Moments

Where does the year go? It only seems 12 months ago that I was writing up a special watch post, inviting the jbsgame.community to join us for The Game Awards 2021, and now I'm writing up a special watch post, inviting t??he jbsgame.community to join us for The Game Awards 2022. Sunrise, sunset...

Yes, it's that time of year again, as Geoff Keighley and pals, supported by an advisory board consisting of the most powerful company directors in gaming, take to the stage for a look back on mega hits that have been whirring in our HDDs (and SSDs) for the past year. And what a year it has been, populated with smash-hit sequels, epic adventure titles, the return of some M.I.A. IPs, and the debut of some entirely new worlds and characters. Sure, I know everything came out in the first three months of the year, but what's a calendar chockful of 2021's?????????????????????????? delayed games between friends?

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl9yakt_5tc

And so, we'd like to invite you all to join us as we watch The Game Awards 2022. The pre-show kicks off in 30 minutes, with The Game Awards proper beginning at the top of the hour. Earlier today, Mr. Keighley suggested that this year's event would be "probably the shortest show [we've done]", and is expected to run 2:30, filled with trailers, world p??remieres, live performances, developer appearances, and, of course, the awards themselves. Keighley also promises some "Big Theatrical Moments", so keep an eye out for those.

Of course, if you cannot watch the show this year, never fear, as we will be bringing you all of the big news and exciting reveals right here on the good ship Destructoid. And if you are sticking around?? for the show, then be sure to speak your brains in the comments, it's always a fun time! E??njoy the show!

(You can watch the normal TGA 2022 feed in the video above, or watch a Live Reaction?? feed featuring our video crew in the stream below.)

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=t71_7NNZnpk

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Play along on the stream!

The Game Awards is simultaneously the most anticipated and dreaded night of the year in games. It's awkward, cringe-worthy, and the titles that are widely considered the best of the year don't usually get credit where it's due. Despite the annoyances, though, it's s??till a night we all come together to watch, whether it's for the new trailers and announcements, to see who actually won, or just to watch the trainwreck happen in slow motion. It can be either a miserable or somewhat enjoyable experience, and I choose the latter by making my own fun out of spite.

So, I brushed off my immaculate MS Paint skills and made a bingo card for this year's 2022 Game Awards, because let's be honest, it's gotten pretty predictable at this point. New trailers, mispronunciations, and Geoff's mention of Hideo Kojima are basically all givens, but I wanted to throw some wildcards?? in there too.

My predictions

For example, the coveted Game of the Year award is a toss-up this year, with titles like God of War, Elden Ring, and Horizon Forbidden West in the front running. I went ahead and predicted Elden Ring was going to make it out on top, because God of War and Horizon certainly had t??heir time in the sun, but FromSoft's newest release dominated the conversation for weeks, if not months. Plus, I just think it'?s the best game that came out this year.

Another prediction I'm begging to come true is Immortality winning Best Narrative. I know that, again, the conversation in regard to this award centered around Elden Ring and God of War when nominees were announced, but from where I stand, Immortality was an interactive narrative that was beautifully, elegantly told, had interesting things to say about art and the people who make it, and was the first game I've played in years that I felt brought a whole new perspective to how we use this medium to tell stories. It's in a league of its own, and in my eyes, anything less than a win for Immortality is absolutely criminal.

The Game Awards can be a fun way to reflect on the games that came out this year and start conversations about them, but at the end of the day, the outcome isn't really the end-all-be-all to the players. It seems like our bizarre relationship to the event as we know it isn't going away any time soon (unless someone bests Kei??ghley in hand to hand combat), but at least for now I?? can poke fun at it.

So feel free to use my bingo card, or maybe make on??e of your own! You can watch the livestream of the Game Awards on Thursday, December 8, with the preshow starting at 7:30p ET / 4:30p PT on all major streaming platforms.

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More killer less filler

Welcome back! It’s another Tuesday, which means tonight there will be a new episode of the Spot Dodge Podcast exclusively on Destructoid. Topics: Geoff Keighley's Game Awards event is right around?? the corner. So I thought it'd be fun for everyone to bring their predictions for the show to the table. Along with that, we dive into what we're playing!

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8mFf9xuL8M&ab_channel=SpotDod?g??e

Geoff Keighley confirmed that The Game Awards will be significantly shorter this year due to feedback from previous years. While I've always enjoyed watching The Game Awards, it's no secret that the show was excruciatingly padded in length to filter in dozens o?f advertisements. It's great to see the TGAs may be pivoting away from that and offering a more streamlined showcase. TGA never fails to give us some awesome a??nnouncements, it just sucks you usually have to trudge through three hours of nonsense to see them.

Lastly, I'm still worried that the actual "awards" will continue to be an afterthought during the presenta??tion. Which is a bummer, considering this is the "Game Awards". I love watching nervous devs give awards speeches for the game they worked tirelessly on for years. It's cringey, adorable, and easily one of the best parts of Geoff Keighley's Game Awards.

Our lovely cast from around the web: Bret??t Medlock (me) and Mary Stowe from Destructoid, John Friscia from The Escapist, Greg Bargas from PC Invasion, and Brett Larsen, our extra special guest. Behind the scenes, G??amurs�Eric Weichhart is live-editing this week’s show. Let us know in the comments!

Spot Dodge is a weekly Nintendo-fo?cused Podcast here at Destructoid where we dedicate an hour or two to go over the latest Nintendo news and discuss the games we’re playing. If you’re a fan of Nintendo S?witch, RPGs, or having a good time, Spot Dodge will be a great addition to your podcast rotation. So be sure to subscribe!

Spot Dodge is streaming live every Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. PT / 7:00 p.m. ET on Twitch channel. ICYMI: We now have a dedicated Spot Dodge YouTube channel! All future episodes will be live-streamed and?? uploaded there.

Afterward, the show will be available on-demand for audio listeners via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more. The live video version will remain on both YouTube and Twitch (don’t forget to follo??w and subs?cribe). So many options!

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Here's hoping

This week will see the return of The Game Awards, as the great and good of 2022's run of digital entertainment gather together in hopes of bagging some recognition for their efforts �all squeezed between endless game trailers and piss-break live entertainment. It's usually a long affair... a really long affair. Last year's event, including the pre-show, clocked in around the four hour mark.

However, as reported by VGC, host and organizer Geof??f Keighley has seemingly taken some of t??he tired-eyed feedback of TGA viewers and media types on board, suggesting that this year's event should be a little less bum-numbing.

"O?ne thing we’re doing this year is we’re trying to make the show a little bit shorter," Keighley said in a Twitter-based audio stream. "I won’t say anything officially until we’re through our rehearsals, but ??we think it’s going to be a significantly shorter show this year."

"We think there’s been a little bit of fatigue about how long the show has been, there are lots of games and lots of things that want to be a part of it, but we’re cutting back on those things to hopefully have a bit more of a? streamlined show," continues Keighley. "We definitely have cut back pretty significantly in terms of the runtime on the show and just you know kind of fewer games, fewer bigger games that’ll be?? in there."

//twitter.com/geoff??keighley/status/1599452442197782529?s=20&t=9kiN7FmsDHs7nAzZY8G7EQ

Despite these comments, Keighley has already suggested that there will be around "30-40" games featured at the show, calling this year's event "the biggest show yet" in an interview with Epic Games. While the post-E3 market has seen myriad publisher live streams and stage presentations attempt to cut themselves their own unique piece of the Nintendo Direct pie, the fact remains that many of?? these publishers fail to understand the "less is more" concept, with perhaps only Capcom being slick enough to deliver the goods while also keeping it under 30.

The Game Awards is, of course, a prestigious industry event. And with the eyes of the gaming world on Geoff's stage, it makes sense that publishers will all be jockeying for position to get their wares in the spotlight. But these event organizers really need to look at these two-hours-plus shows and ask themselves if it's actually what the people want to sit through and the media wish to cover. Rather than offering an epic? evening of entertainment, it just becomes completely exhausting, leading to a legitimate sense of dread in its preceding hours, rather than any actual excitement.

The Ga??me Awards 2022 t?akes place Thursday, December 8 at 17:00 PT / 20:00 ET / 01:00 BST

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Plenty of world premieres to go around

Summer Game F??est is locking in its 2023 plans, and they involve a live studio audience. The kickoff of Summer Game Fest 2023 will? take place on June 8, 2023.

The show will ai?r on live streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch. And this time around, it'll have an audience in attendance. The Summer Game Fest kickoff show will have a live audience, a first for the SGF. It'll take place at the YouTub??e Theater at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California.

Tickets will go on sale, if you want to be there, sometime in early 2023. You can keep an eye on the happenings and sign up for updates here.

//t??witter.com/summergamefest/status/1598361294234689536

The full lineup for the Summer Game Fest, including more participants and activities, will be announced sometime in the future. Show host and organizer Geoff Ke?ighley said in a press release that SGF will also highlight other publisher digital events, as well as demos and "more surprises" to be announced.

The summer looms in the distance

We're stil??l working our way towards the end of 2022, but this summer is shaping up to be an interesting one for gaming news. The pandemic put a hold on a lot of the usual events, inclu??ding the arguably largest show in E3.

But E3 is returning in 2023 with help from PAX organizer ReedPop, with plans to host indu??stry and consumer days. The E3 2023 action will run from June 13 through 16, with digital showcases starting on June 11.

Summer Game Fest was originally conceived as an answer to the pandemic shutdowns and lockdowns. The digital-only festival has become a recurring staple of summers since, and has also blanketed the ?summer's usual bout of gaming news and announcements.

With a live au??dience now in tow, it looks like this year will see shows trying to return to the way things were. I'm a bit curious to see how it all shakes out now, after years of digitally focused events.

There are still world premieres in our near future though, as The Game Awards 2022 kicks off a week from today.

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All hands on Deck

Valve has announced that, during next week's The Game Awards festivities, it is planning to give away one Steam Deck for every minute of the annual award ceremony. I am resisting the urge to make a "so that'll be 7000 Steam Decks" joke. Please bear with me during this diffi?cu?lt time.

The rules are simple, yet frightening. Anybody can sign up for the giveaway, providing that t?hey live within the UK, Europe, Canada, or the United States. All entrants must have made a Steam purchase between November 14, 2021 and November 14, 2022 in order to officially confirm their home country. Additionally, your Steam account must be in good standing, and not be limited for bad behavior or any other penalizations.

Then on December 8, be sure to tune into The Game Awards via the Steam app. All qualifying participants, who are currently watching the ceremony via Steam will be placed into a lottery. Names will be drawn at random on a minute-to-minute basis, with each winner bagging themselves a 512GB Steam Deck. Full terms, conditions, and rules are available over on the official Steam website.

If you were planning on watching the show anyway, then this might be a fine way to potentially bag yourself a reward for doing so. We can assume that a helluva lot of people will enter the sweepstakes, and given that The Game Awards 2021 was watched by some six million viewers on Twitch and YouTube alone, there's gonna be more than a few names in the hat. Still, worth a shot, right? Besides, every participant will automatically bag themselves this super cute digital sticker.

The Game Awards 2022 takes place Thursday, December 8, at 16:30 PT / 1??9:30 ET ?/ 00:30 BST.

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Geoff's Big Bash returns

As we hit October and the nights grow colder, we already begin the countdown to this year's GOTY season, as video game fans the world over pick over their favorite titles, to ascertain which games represented the crowning achievements of good tech and good times in 2022. And, of course, it wouldn't be the GOTY season without the coming of Geoff Keighley's big-ass extreme bash: The Game Awards.

This year, ticket-buying members of the public will be able to purchase entry to the live event. This marks the first time the public is allowed entry to the event, having been understandably being barred from attending since the onset of COVID-19. For the 2022 event, however, we mere peasants will be allowed to rub shoulders with the game industry's great and good, (there are some, honestly), to enjoy a few hours of live performances, trophy handouts, and trailer, after ?trailer, after trailer �no doubt rounded out with a 20-second video from Hideo Kojima.

So, if you fancy heading to Los Angeles for this year's event to see Elden Ring win everything, then keep your eyes glued to both Geoff Keighley's Twitter, and the Microsoft Theater website. Tickets will go on sale on November 1, though the price for entry is yet to be b??een announced. Be sure to iron your T-shirt with a tuxedo? drawn on it, and don't forget to bring your wheelie shoes and invisible dog leash. We'll make them sorry that they ever re-opened the doors to the little people.

The Game Awards ?2022 will take place December 8 at Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles.

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11.5 million rolled their eyes at Everywhere

Last week saw the return of Europe's largest gaming industry event, Gamescom, which arrived in both a physical and online capacity for the first time in several years. And, according to live stream host Geoff Keighley, it was quite the popular event, with over 12 million viewers tuning in to day one stream Opening Night Live.

The stream, which took place on the evening of August 23, featured a selection of trailers, updates, and reveals on some of the hottest games headed our way in the coming year (or two). Titles such as the mysterious Soulslike Lies of P, the goofy Goat Simulator 3, brutal sci-fi horror The Callisto Protocol, and the long-in-development Dead Island 2 all found time in the spotlight, with the two most watched trailers of the entire stream being the previews for Sonic Frontiers and an update for Genshin Impact.

//twitter.com/geoffkeighley?/status/1563947341337485322?s=20&t=6NCQfoav20yFFrvFLVZC-w

In addition to the success of the ONL stream, Geoff not?es that around 265,000 visitors from over 100 countries made the journey to the Koelnmesse complex in Germany to be part of the live show. Attendees had the opportunity to chat with developers and publishers, play demos, and catch up with ?some of their long, lost industry pals. It seems, on the whole, that Gamescom 2022 was a success, providing Europe's leading live event brand with some much-needed positive press.

The next major gaming event will be Tokyo Game Show, which will take place September 15-18 in Chiba, Japan. Of course, just like with Summer Game Fest and Gamescom, we will be sure to report al?l of the hottest news and reveals from the event right here on Destructoid.

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Two Hours + 30 Games = Infinite Fun*

It's that time of year again. And as Europe dips in and out of its hottest temperatures on record, Germany is getting set to welcome the return of the continent's biggest gaming event, Gamescom.

The week-long event returns in a physical capacity for the first time in two years, once again descending upon the Koelnmesse complex in Cologne. Developers and publishers from across Europe and elsewhere will b?e gathering to show off their new and upcoming hardware and software, with press and public attendees afforded the chance to check out some of 2022's (and even 2023's) newest releases.

But, before we get to all of that, there is the matter of Gamescom's annual live stream, Opening Night Live. Once again hosted by Geoff Keighley, this year's stream promises two hours of trailers, updates, reveals, and world premieres, with an estimated 30 titles showing out for the home audience. We can expect to see Sega's Sonic Frontiers, Krafton's The Callisto Protocol, Warner Bros.' Gotham Knights, as well as a special announcement regarding Gearbox's Borderlands. I would not be surprised if Deep Silver took this opportunity to officially lift the lid on the development hell sequel Dead Island 2.

The Gamescom Opening Night Live stream kicks off 30 minutes from now, at 11:00 PT / 14:00 ET / 19:00 BST and you can catch all the action in the embed below. As is always the case for these events, we will be bringing you all of the hot headlines as they occur, so why not mosey on down into the comments and share with us and your fellow community members your thoughts on ?the show and its featured titles. Y'always do a grand job of brightening up these affairs.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf0w41SfT6g

_{*Fun experienced may have a finite limit.}

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The Awards are back this December

It's another year, and that means another bout of The Game Awards. Today, the show confirmed its stream date for this year will be Thursday, De??cember 8. And The Game Awards 2022 is also adding another category, for Best Adaptation.

In a press release, the awards organization announced it will introduce Best Adaptation, a category for adaptations of video game intellectual properties into other media. This includ?es (but is no??t limited to) theatrical movies, streaming shows, podcasts, novels, and comic books.

This awards category could p?otentially include a number of different adaptations, though no nominees are locked in just yet.

The Game Awards 2022 will stream live on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTo?k Live. The show will also partner with IMAX to host a live community IMAX event in different cities around the world. More details will be announced in the coming months for that.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KZ3MKraNKY

The wide, wide world of adaptations

News of this category isn't too surprising, as video game adaptations have become quite the trend. Even last year's Game Awards showed off a teaser for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the Halo TV series.

The sheer volume of incoming adaptations is pretty massive, too. Just today, a new report dropped of Sony developing a Gravity Rush film, alongside last week's report of a Days Gone feature in production. We also just got a look at Sony's upcoming The Last of Us HBO series.

Those wouldn't be in the running for this year's awards (barring a sudden and speedy debut), but several other projects would be. The aforementioned Halo series would be though, as would the Netflix Resident Evil series. If we're going by December-to-December rules, that leaves League of Legends series Arcane out of the mix unless something drops between now and the Awards. Sonic 2 is a presumptive frontrunner, most likely.

We'll le?arn more as we get closer to The Game Awards 2022 air date on December 8.

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New record for The Geoff & Company Power Hour

Because time no longer exists, it has already been a whol??e fortnight since we all sat down to watch Geoff Keighley and an array of publishers and deve??lopers showcase their wares during the Summer Game Fest live stream �and it appears that the show has been a tremendous success, breaking its own viewership records for the third year running.

According to a tweet posted by host and organizer Keighley, Summer Game Fest 2022 �which broadcast on th??e afternoon of June 9 �hit a peak concurrent 3.5 million viewers during t?he course of its 90-minute runtime. Over 6,000 accounts co-streamed the broadcast, while "Twitter Conversation" was up 100% on last year's stream, with the usage of "#thegameawards" hashtag up by 69%. Nice.

//twitter.com/g??eoffkeighley/status/1539641914810572800?s=20&t=6MQpfa6v2i_FLxnf0HoA5g

Over the course of the? Summer Game Fest stream, viewers were ?able to check out new trailers, news, reveals, and updates on a wide variety of titles currently in development for PC and consoles.

Among the many games featured we saw a trailer for Guile in Street Fighter 6, footage of space horror The Callisto Project, a cinematic for Marvel's Midnight Suns, a release date for TMNT: Shredder's Revenge, campaign footage from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, footage of Nightwing kicking ass in Gotham Knights, and the long-awaited reveal of Naughty Dog remake The Last of Us Part I, which had, unfortunately, been leaked mere minutes before the show began.

Summer Game Fest will return in June of 2023. Before then, we can expect to see Keighley do his stage show thang thing at Gamescom's Opening Night Live stream on August 24, and, of course, at The Game?? Awards 2023, which is scheduled to take place this winter.

You can check out our full coverage of Summer Game Fest 2022 right here.

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No appearance planned for summer show's return

Sony Interactive E?ntertainment has announced that the PlayStation brand will not be in attendance at this summer's Gamescom 2022 event, nor will it be featured as part of the Open?ing Night Live stream.

Speaking in an interview with German publication Games Wirtschaft, a PlayStation spokesperson confirmed that the PS5 and its respective wares would not be putting in an appearance at this year's event, which takes place in Cologne, Germany in late August, PlayStation joins several other major brands including Blizzard Entertainment, Nintendo, and Take-Two who will be staying home this summer. It is likely that PlayStation is happy with the news and updates offered on i??ts upcoming titles during the recent Sony State of Play and Summer Game Fe??st presentations.

This year sees Gamescom return in a physical capacity for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic forced restrictions on global travel and social gatherings. Gamescom 2022 has been described as a "hybrid" event by organizers, and will feature a host of online streams and activities in addition to its live show �which is once again being held in Cologne's Koelnmesse center. Gamescom, as always, will kick off with a special Opening Night Live stream, hosted by Geoff Keighley.

Gamescom 2022 will take place from August 24-28. You can check out more info and details pertaining to the event and its respective activities over on the official Gamescom website. We will, of course, be bringing you all of the top headlines over the course of the week right here on De?structoid.

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Get your Keigh-3 on

It only seems like only yest??erday we were steeling ourselves for a tidal wave of new?s from Summer Game Fest 2021, and now we are a mere 45 minutes away from yet stream of updates, trailers, reveals, and "WORLD EXCLUSIVES" from summer king Geoff Keighley and his posse of industry publishing pals.

The show, which kicks off at the top of the hour, is expected to run somewhere between 90 minutes and two hours, (I got a tenner on 2:14), and will feature an array of new and previously announced titles spotlit for your video game lovin' eyes. Mr. Keighley has already told the audience to temper their expectations �noting that the stream will be primarily focused on "already announced" titles �but did note that Street Fighter 6, Gotham Knights, Marvel's Midnight Suns, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, The Calisto Project, and many mo?re titles wil??l be putting in an appearance this afternoon.

There might even be some surprises! One might be all over Twitter already!

So, please join our team for two hours (and 14 minutes) of mass marketing pomp and circumstance in this year's Summer Game Fest. Here's hoping that you see something fabulous to get your hype engine in gear for the 2022?-2023 gaming season. We are still a long, long way from the end of 2022's summer gaming news extravaganza, but today's show is s?ure to kick the front door wide open.

Sit back,?? have fun, oh, and remember to stay hydrate??d!

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFO4BJbdpPg

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Over 30 major companies in attendance

And with the arrival of June, comes the road to E3 �or, as we call it these days, "Geoff Keighley and his mates advertizin' stuff." With yet another abs?ence form filled in by the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the spotlight falls on the Summer Game Fest, a seemingly endless showcase of publisher wares that will roll out over those hot summer nights.

Yesterday, Mr. Keighley got the hype machine in gear with a brand new post on Twitter, spotlighting 30 of the larger partner companies that will be taking part in this year's event. The whole gang is present and accounted for, with a who's who list that includes 2K Games, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Bloober Team??, Activision Blizzard, Sega, Square Enix, Skybound, Devolver Digital, Dotemu, Epic Games, and many, many more. In fact, there are very few major publishers not featured in the splash image... save, of course, for Nintendo �notoriously standoffish when it comes to playing with others.

The core of the Summer Game Fest showcase is set to take place between June 9-12, via a selection of live streams, online presentations, social media reveals, and exceedingly long days for your friends at Destructoid and other gaming outlets. This will not suffice, h??owever, as players can expect news, reveals, trailers, and other surprises throughout the summer months.

The action kicks off tomorrow, June 2, as Sony hosts its first State of Play stream of the new season. Be sur?e to tune in at 15:00 PT / 18:00 ET /?? 23:00 BST for 30 minutes of news and headlines pertaining to all things PlayStation. Of course, over the course of this summer, we will be working tirelessly to bring you all of the pertinent details regarding all of the hottest scoops right here on Destructoid.

Who will survive and what will be left of them?

//twitter.com/?geoffkeighley/status/1531666856989237253?s=20&t=yHz5BzozfwFlvv6Sm52jjw

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The big reveals showcase is airing in IMAX

This year'??s Summer Games Fest kickoff date has be??en locked in. Summer Game Fest Live and Day of the Devs will air on Thursday, June 9 at 2 p.m. ET, 11 a.m. PT.

The full show, ??titled Summer Game Fest! featuring Day of the Devs: Summer Game Fest Edition, will combine the usual world premiere fest with Double Fine and iam8bit's indie showcase Day of the Devs. The Summer Game Fest stream will air first, followed by Day of the Devs.

Both shows will air on most major streaming platforms, including YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and others. Streamers will also be allowed to co-stream?? the ??event, for those who want a bit more talk-over for their showcases.

//twitter.com/geoffkeighley/stat??us/15222379??66902460417

Showrunner Geoff Keighley also confirms on Twitter that this year's festivities will be airing in? IMAX theaters. On June 9, those interes?ted will be able to watch the showcase in select IMAX theater locations, for those who really want to see the world premieres on the biggest screen possible.

Are you ready for the summer?

With the confirmation of a date for the kickoff, it looks like the summer of gaming news and announcements is upon us. The Summer Game Fest site is tracking events, as we've already had a few anno????unced.

Alongside the Summer Game Fest Live and Day of the Devs streams, Xbox and Bethesda have locked in a date for their stream. The joint games showcase will take place o??n June 12, a few days after the SGF show. The Tribeca Games Spotlight, meanwhile, will highlight some interest??ing projects on June 10.

It'll be an interesting year, seeing as there is no E3 taking place this summer, ev?en in digital form. No other plans have been formally announced yet??, though with June rapidly approaching, I imagine we'll start to see more publishers and companies lock in their streaming plans.

The post Summer Game Fest Live 2022 airs on June 9 appeared first on Destructoid.

For realsies this time, honest

As we push toward the second quarter of 2022, industry folk are starting to lay out their plans for summer's extravaganzas. Europe's premier live event, Gamescom, has announced its?? intention to run a hybrid event for its next? iteration, combining a live in-person event with a slew of online elements.

The live event, (assuming that it does go ahead this time), will see the Gamescom expo return to Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany for the first time in two years �the past two live shows having been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Gamescom 2022 will take plac?e in late-August, and will run for four days, with organizers assuring visitors that safety and hygiene protocols will be in place for those in attendance.

In addition, Gamescom is working with environmental concern ClimatePartner to promote a "GamescomGoesGreen" campaign. This project will endeavor to see that the summer's event will be as "clima?te-friendly" as possible, offsetting the show's emissions and footprint with numerous green??-themed side-activities. These will include teaming with planting group Treener to finance a major reforestation effort in Bayreuth, Germany, as well as numerous charity drives and collections, as well as free transport options within the vicinity of Koelnmesse.

For more details on Gamescom and the GamescomGoesGreen project, visit the official website. Gamescom 2022 will take place online and at Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany between August 24-28. The Opening Night Live st??ream will return August 23.

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Gotta be honest, I was in bed

The Game Awards has announced that the 2021 iteration of the event set yet another online audience record. According to the number crunchers behind the annual end-of-year show, this year's showcase smashed the 85 million live stream mark, representing a small but meaty 2% increase on The Game Awards 2020.

Broken down, this equates to somewhere in the region of 3.35 million viewers on streaming platform Twitch alone, with YouTube logging a cumulative 1.75 million hours of the near three-hour showcase. Additionally, viewership in China re?ached "double-digit" growth year-on-year, with Chinese audiences tuning in via a variety of platforms including Bilibili, Huya, and Tencent Video. Altogether, it is believed that around 30 different online networks carried the show.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTo_fc7k7HY

Outside of viewership details, some 1.6 million tweets were posted pertaining to the event and its reveals, while audience voting was up by over a full quarter �a 27% increase in voting for a grand total of 23.2 million votes. All of the above numbers represent continued growth for The Game Awards, which continues to find year-on-year success ev?er since its initial debut in 2014??.

This year's event, emanating from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, saw live performances from Sting and Imagine Dragons, numerous awards handed out to winning publishers, developers, and streamers, and a seemingly endless reel of trailers, reveals, and advertisements. The night ended with Josef Fares accepting the Game of the Year award for Hazelight Studios' co-op title It Takes Two. While the show was praised by critics and fans for both its high-quality presentation and the tireless commitment of long-time producer Geoff Keighley, some criticized the event for both its exhausting length and its muddled approach to acknowledging recent industry reckonings.

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Sonic Frontiers, Space Marine 2, FFVII Remake on PC, Alan Wake 2, and other TGA highlights

The time ha??s come for another big end-of-year Keighley get-together, and? we're calling on you, the community �and anyone else who wants in on this rapid-fire madness �to watch along with us. There's quite a bit of news on deck for The Game Awards, plenty of incremental updates about games that are (or at least were) on our radar, and yeah, there are some awards to hand out to the best of the best before 2022 gets any closer.

There's only one appropriate image for times like this, so we're using it again.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS4m2O3V93o

You can watch live on YouTube as well as Twitch and other platforms.

The pre-show starts at 4:30 p.m. Pacific, which means it's gonna be a late and potentially delirious night depending on your time zone. According to a day-before AMA response from Keighley, the actual 2021 Game Awards should be "around three hours lo??ng."

If you're more into The Game Awards as a platform to recognize great games, and less into the well-oiled marketing machine, you can check out the list of nominees for 2021. We'll? be posting the winner recap at the end of the night once every category is locked in.

As for gaming news, Keighley has confirmed a long list of appearances from upcoming games ranging from the experiential Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 project, to ARC Raiders (aka that shooter with the ball), to "the next Sonic game." These events tend to show off a mix of mostly known quantities, probable guesses that get fans fired up, and a couple of genuinely surprising moments. Expect trailers. So many trailers. Hype being what it is, it's easy to get wound up, and there's a fun element of guesswork with all of the teases and eye emojis. Just don't be too bummed when something is a no-show.

Geoff said he passed his "final COVID test" and is fit to host, so let's do this thing.

(For anyone who stumbles on this out-of-contex??t comment thread a??fter the Game Awards 2021 has already wrapped, trust us �it made sense at the time.)

The biggest announcements at The Game Awards 2021

• Here’s all the winners from The Game Awards 2021
• Tunic locks in a release date for March
• Thirsty Suitors is a game about famil??y, relationships, and self com??ing soon
• There’s a Texas Chain Saw Massacre multiplayer g?ame coming ??from Gun
• Babylon’s Fall will release on March 3, 2022 a?cross?? PS4, PS5, and Steam
• Alan Wak??e 2 is coming to light up the night in 2023
• Wonder Woman game is in the works from Monolith
• Star Wars Eclipse i?s a H?igh Republic action-adventure game from Quantic Dream
• Final Fant?asy VII Remake Intergrade hits PC next week
• Son??ic Frontiers is an open world Sonic game coming in late 2022
• Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course ?is out June 30 (for real this time)
• Tiny ??Tina’s Wonderlands shows off multiple celebrity roles at The Ga??me Awards
• Long overdue Warhammer ??40K: Space Marine 2 fi?nally announced
• The ?first trailer for the Halo TV show is finally here
• It’s Sonic vs. Knuckles in the first trailer for Sonic the Hedg??ehog 2
• Suicid?e Squad’s first gameplay foo??tage looks very promising
• Sen??ua’s Saga: Hellblade II shows off some pa??rticularly prescriptive gameplay
• Persona 4 Arena? U??ltimax lands on Steam, Switch, and PS4 next year
• This new Elden Rin?g s?tory trailer makes the wait for it more annoying
• Thereâ€?™s body horror galore in the debut ??trailer for Slitterhead
• Dune: Spice Wars will see the series relive its strategic pas??t
• The Mat?rix Awakens is a cool tech demo with a surprising bit ?of charm to it
• I swear on the Precious, I wish t??his Gollum trailer had more gameplay

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Stance confirmed after cries of hypocrisy from viewers

Following an online backlash directed at the event and its organizers, Geoff Keighley has confirmed that, outside of any respective award nominations, publisher Activision Blizzard w?ill not be featured at The Game Awards 2021.

The TGA indecision angered critics, many of whom were swift to point out that Keighley himself has previously used The Game Awards' platform to cast shade at publisher Konami, who refused to allow Metal Gear Solid creator (and personal friend of Keighley) Hideo Kojima from collecting an award. The trepidation by Keighley was seen as a huge double standard, where The Game Awards was specifically used? to platform one controversy, but seemingly not another, far? more important controversy.

Following the backlash, it appears that Activision Blizzard's products will now not be featured as part of next week's ceremony �though the studio remains eligible for any awards in the categories for which it is nominated. You can find an abridged timeline of the Activision Blizzard controversy, investigation, and response right here.

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I'll be watching you

One of the best parts of The Game Awards every year, in my opinion, is finding out which musical guest will be performing at the show. It can sometimes be jarring to see beloved bands like CHVRCHES or Green Day inse??rted in the middle of such a meme-worthy event, but it can still make for some pretty awesome performances, plus it helps break up the monotony of the award presentations after a few hours. As Geoff Keighley just announced on Twitter, this year's special guest will be none other than 17-time Grammy Award-winning rock legend Sting.

Before going solo, Sting served as the frontman for The Police, best known for tracks like "Roxanne," "Every Breath You Take," and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic." He will be performing his song "What Could Have Been," which is an original track from the soundtrack of Arcane, a Netflix animated series based on the lore of League of Legends.

//twitter.c??om/geoffkeighley/status/1465728176722628??608

The show's soundtrack is chock-full of songs from really talented, established artists, such as Bea Miller, Woo?dkid, and Pusha T just to name a few �and who could forget that banger of a main theme by none other than Imagine Dragons. "What Could Have Been," which also features artist Ray Chen, can be heard in the show during Episode 9, the final episode of the season.

Arcane has been a huge success on pretty much every front, so it comes as a surprise to no one that the show has already been greenlit for a second season. I've personally really enjoyed having a way into the world of League of Legends that I otherwise wouldn't have, and the music that comes along with it is well-deserving of the praise it's ?receiving.

Sting is only one of the featured musical acts that will be present at the e??vent this year, as more are slated to be announced in the coming weeks. The Game Awards will take place on Thursday, December 9th at 8pm ET / 5pm PT, and will be available to stream on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and more.

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Place Your Bets

Geoff Keighley continued to stoke the flames of hype this weekend, as the clock counts? down to this year's Game Awards event. Speaking on his Twitter just yesterday, producer Keighley teased a world premiere reveal set for the December event, which will announce a brand new game almost th??ree years in the making.

"Just saw the final cut of a #thegameawards world premiere we have been working on with a developer for 2.5 years. Truly honored we are entrusted to share this work with the world," said Keighley of the mystery title. "2.5 years sou??nds like a long time, but summer of 2019 was actually my last global tour to visit developers. I always have so much fun vis?iting studios and hearing about their projects. Hope to do it again in 2022."

What could it be? Could be almost anything, frankly, but there are a host of IPs and franchises that have been churning in the rumor mill for some years. All will be revealed a little over a week from today, when The Game Awards emanates live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Viewers can expect a metric ton of trailers, updates, and reveals, along with the titular awards themselves. Check out the full list of categories and nominees.

The ??Game Awards 2021 will take place December 9 at 17:00 P?T / 20:00 ET / 01:00 BST.

//twitter.com/geoffkeig?hley/status/14648126862444?01153?s=20

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