The Game Awards was packed with surprises, including a new Elden Ring co-op title, the trailer for The Witcher 4 and Naughty Dog’s next game.
The Witcher 4 will feature Ciri as the protagonist
Photo Credit: CD Projekt Red
The Game Awards 2024, held live at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles Thursday, honored the best games of the year across genres, celebrating developers and creators in the industry. Team Asobi's PS5 exclusive Astro Bot was named Game of the Year at the ceremony, while breakout roguelike deckbuilder Balatro won in three categories, including Best Debut Indie Game, Best Independent Game and Best Mobile Game.
We've covered the full list of winners from the show separately, but aside from the awards themselves, the event also featured several major announcements, game reveals and world premiere trailers. In addition to some expected updates, The Game Awards presented a few truly surprising announcements, including a new Elden Ring co-op title from FromSoftware, the reveal trailer for The Witcher 4 and a first look at Naughty Dog's next game.
As 2K had promised ahead of the event, Borderlands 4 and Mafia: The Old Country were showcased with first-look trailers; both games are set for release in 2025. Hazelight Studios' Josef Fares also revealed his next game, Split Fiction. Just like It Takes Two, the game is a co-op action-adventure, and it's set for release on March 6. Here are the biggest announcements from The Game Awards 2024:
The Witcher 4 finally received a first-look trailer at the Game Awards 2024. Developer CD Projekt Red has been working on a new The Witcher saga for some years now, and the cinematic trailer finally provided a glimpse into the new chapter of the franchise. As was previously rumoured, Ciri was confirmed as the protagonist for The Witcher 4. But you can hear Geralt's voice towards the end of the trailer, suggested the Butcher of Blaviken might have role to play. There's no release date for the game yet, but it's expected to arrive on PC and current-gen consoles.
Hidetaka Miyazaki recently said that FromSoftware didn't have plans for Elden Ring 2. Turns out he was a right — somewhat. Bandai Namco and FromSoftware announced Elden Ring Nightreign, a standalone multiplayer co-op action survival game that challenges players to team up to defeat the Nightlord. The game features co-op PvE combat set in the familiar world of Elden Ring. Players can team up in squads of three or can also choose to take on tough bosses solo. Bandai Namco is already calling the game's world “harsh and unforgiving”; cue memories of walking out into Limgrave and running into the Tree Sentinel. Elden Ring Nightreign will launch in 2025 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One and PC via Steam.
The Outer Worlds 2 was announced way back in 2021 at Xbox and Bethesda's E3 showcase. At The Game Awards 2024, the long-awaited sequel finally received its first gameplay trailer, promising “more action, more weapons, and more graphics.” The Obsidian RPG will be set in a brand-new colony, Arcadia. Players can also enlist a crew of companions to help them in quests. The Outer Worlds 2 arrives on Xbox Series S/X, PC (via Steam and Xbox app on Windows), and PS5. The game will be available on day one with Game Pass.
Hazelight Studios founder Josef Fares took the stage at The Game Awards 2024, dropped expletives and revealed his next game in his own style. Split Fiction is a two-player co-op title where players switch between sci-fi and fantasy worlds and work together to take on distinct challenges. As always, Fares promised that each level would come with unique game mechanics and abilities, making Split Fiction's gameplay a diverse experience. Split Fiction arrives on PC, PlayStation and Xbox on March 6, 2025.
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is quite busy these days. The Japanese developer is gearing up to release Yakuza spinoff Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii in February 2025. But the studio is not hitting pause after that. At The Game Awards, RGG Studio announced two new games in development — a new Virtua Fighter game and an action game, titled Project Century. The trailer showed off a Yakuza-style action game with plenty of gore, a dense game world and a 1915 period setting. The gameplay trailer showcased a grittier, darker game than RGG's Yakuza series. There's no release date for Project Century yet.
The reverred Onimusha series from Capcom is making a comeback. The Japanese studio surprised everyone with an announcement trailer for Onimusha: Way of the Sword. The trailer for the action title showed off brutal sword combat, challenging enemy encounters and the rich setting of the historic Japanese capital of Edo-era Kyoto. Onimusha: Way of the Sword arrives on PC (via Steam), PS5 and Xbox Series S/X in 2026.
Eighteen years after the release of Okami on the PlayStation 2, Capcom and director Hideki Kamiya are returning for the sequel. Okami Sequel got a surprise reveal at The Game Awards, showcasing the trademark beautiful ink wash art style, vibrant colours, evocative music and the iconic white wolf Amaterasu. Okami Sequel does not yet have a release date, and the teaser trailer suggests the game is a few years away.
Naughty Dog is back with its next project, and no it's not a remake or a remaster of an older title. At The Game Awards, the studio first announced The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered for PC, arriving April 3. But then, the show's final announcement turned out to be a surprise reveal for the Sony-owned studio's next game. Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, a brand-new franchise currently in development for the PS5, is a sci-fi action game with a retro-futuristic aesthetic. And for the icing on the cake, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross will be scoring the game.
There were a ton of other reveals and announcements at The Game Awards 2024, with show producer, creator and host Geoff Keighley presenting a packed lineup of upcoming games. The ceremony also saw trailers for sequels to Slay the Spire and Dave the Diver. Square Enix, on the other hand, announced Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth for PC, coming January 23, 2025. We also got a teaser for the next game from Fumito Ueda, the lead designer and director of Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian. While the game remains untitled, credits suggest a possible codename — "Project Robot".
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