The Game Awards 2022 were held earlier today, marking the epic conclusion to this year’s season of games, and promising more in the years to come. The lengthy three-and-a-half-hour show was held at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, with returning host Geoff Keighley, backed by a tremendous musical orchestra and an even louder in-person audience. With Elden Ring taking home the coveted Game of the Year award, prime celebrity appearances, a slew of new title reveals, and an individual who snuck up on stage before they were arrested, this year’s celebration felt like quite a grand affair. The most notable announcements this time include Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding 2, the studio’s first-ever sequel in Hades II, gameplay for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Diablo 4, a release date for Street Fighter 6, and more.
Without further ado, here’s a list of the biggest video game announcements at The Game Awards 2022, hosted by Geoff Keighley.
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Death Stranding 2
Yes, this is a working title, but the rumours were true. Hideo Kojima is expanding on the arc of Death Stranding, with a trailer featuring Fragile (Léa Seydoux), who is being pursued by an unseen assailant, hoping to hunt down her baby — or BB. However, her body no longer looks tainted with wrinkles, as a result of the timefall from when Higgs (Troy Baker) tortured her.
Norman Reedus returns, of course, as Sam Porter Bridges, though he seems to be aged and stuck at a crossroads on whether he wants to join the Drawbridge corporation. Kojima appeared on stage, later, to confirm that the COVID-19 pandemic caused him to rewrite the entire script for the sequel. Death Stranding 2 also stars Elle Fanning and Shioli Kutsuna.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
Release date: May 26, 2023
Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox Series S/X
Rocksteady Studios finally dropped a release date for its hotly-anticipated Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, with a new trailer that honours legendary voice actor Kevin Conroy, who passed away last month following a short battle with cancer. Batman, whose identity is revealed publicly as Bruce Wayne at the end of Arkham Knight, dons the cowl once more, looking to hunt down Amanda Waller’s prime footsoldiers from the shadows. Having succumbed to Brainiac’s mind control, this version does not shy away from killing, promising a formidable opponent to our volatile misfits.
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores DLC
Release date: April 19, 2023
Platform: PS5
Adept huntress Aloy returns in Horizon Forbidden West’s Burning Shores DLC, as she heads to a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, now a treacherous volcanic archipelago. As per developer Guerrilla Games, the story picks up right after the main game’s events, promising a “massive” machine threat lurking in the shadows of the overgrown and fractured city, bubbling with lava. Despite being an add-on, players can explore the lands by taking a dip in water bodies or by riding the back of a Sunwing.
The Last of Us Part I PC
Release date: March 3, 2023
Platform: PC
The Last of Us Part I finally has a PC release date, which undoubtedly, will host tonnes of enhanced features tailored to the PC gamer. The emotional, zombie-killing survivor game was supposed to arrive “very soon” after the PS5 version release, but it seems like developer Naughty Dog is taking its time to get things right.
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Returnal PC
Release date: 2023
Platform: PC
Another PlayStation exclusive heading over to PC is Returnal, the third-person roguelike experience that sets you among the stars to investigate a mind-numbing death loop. While the gameplay, at first glance, feels like a generic shooter, where you gun down swarms of aliens, it’s the psychological horror and the addictive, unpredictable dungeon-crawling elements that keep it from fizzling out.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor gameplay
Release date: March 17, 2023
Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox Series S/X
Picking up five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen order, Cal Kestis is now a powerful Jedi Knight, pushing himself to the limits as he furthers his perilous crusade against the oppressive Empire. As promised, EA has delivered a gameplay trailer, showing off his telekinetic abilities as he grabs firing Stormtroopers from afar, and uses their gunpower to inflict damage onto enemies.
General combat feels in familiar territory to a Souls-like, as you’re armed with a lightsaber, while for traversal you can tame wild, intergalactic beasts to ride on. Also, the release date leak from earlier this week missed out by only two days — so close!
Hades II
Platform: PC (early access)
Supergiant Games is exploring Greek mythology even further, with its timeless roguelike mechanics that reward you with unpredictable stakes upon each run. This time, you play as the underworld princess Melinoë, daughter of Persephone and Zeus, who is armed with a plethora of bewitching, ranged spells to vanquish incoming enemies. The godly conflict has higher stakes this time, as it’s no longer an argument between father and son, but a matter of time and cosmos — literally, since you go up against Chronos, the personification of time.
Watch the Announcement Trailer for Hades II
Hades II has you fight against Chronos, the personification of time
Photo Credit: Supergiant Games
Street Fighter 6
Release date: June 2, 2023
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series S/X
You need to appreciate the guts demonstrated by PlayStation, leaking the release date for Street Fighter 6 a day before The Game Awards 2022. Capcom’s latest fighting game is now up for pre-orders across the aforementioned platforms, and we’ve got a new trailer, boasting its diverse roster of characters, which includes the returning Dee Jay, Manon, Marisa, and JP. We also got a glimpse of its single-player World Tour mode, where you could meet up with Masters to learn special movesets.
Tekken 8
Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox Series S/X
Jun Kazama, who was presumed dead in Tekken 2, reunites with her son Jin, in the upcoming fighter Tekken 8. Wanting to cleanse the world of its “evil and corruption,” the duo partake in high-stakes battles across the story mode, against several returning characters, including Paul Phoenix, Marshall Law, Jack-8, King, and Lars. The game is built on Unreal Engine 5, and resumes the tragic tale of the Mishima and Kazama bloodlines.
Idris Elba in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Release date: 2023
Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox Series S/X
Having improved upon its technical issues, Cyberpunk 2077 announced its first major expansion pack, Phantom Liberty, earlier this year, teasing a storyline that sees V pledging allegiance to the New United States of America.
Well, you can now add Idris Elba (The Suicide Squad) into the cast lineup as a veteran, Solomon Reed, who will help you complete an “impossible mission of espionage & survival.” Take note of CD Projekt Red’s naming schemes — this is a paid expansion.
Diablo 4
Release date: June 6, 2023
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
Decades after the events of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, the demon Lilith and angel Inarius are bitter enemies, resorting to waging war against each other. Diablo IV introduces a fifth playable class — the cunning Necromancer, who can conjure vengeful hordes of the undead, and command them in battle. Pre-ordering the game grants early access to the Diablo 4 open beta.
Crash Team Rumble
Release: 2023
Platform: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
As previously promised, the Crash Bandicoot team has revealed its latest entry to the vibrant universe, which goes into a whole new direction. Crash Team Rumble is a 4v4 multiplayer experience, that tasks players with collecting and dropping off the most Wumpa fruits, whilst navigating through obstacles and platforms, dashing past opponents, and making use of the iconic characters’ — Crash, Dingodile, Dr. Cortex, and more — abilities to emerge victorious.
Final Fantasy XVI
Release date: June 22, 2023
Platform: PS5
The long-delayed Final Fantasy 16 finally got a release date and a series of gameplay clips. Titled “Revenge,” the trailer transports us to the medieval-inspired world of Valisthea, as we’re shown a closer look at the colossal, summonable Eikons — Ifrit, Shiva, and Garuda — duking it out in large-scale arenas. Also, you can add Torgal the pet dog as a loyal party member, for when you venture out into the wild. Final Fantasy XVI also happens to be the first title in the series to ditch its turn-based combat system for a hack-and-slash mechanic.
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
Release: 2023
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
It hasn’t even been a year since Elden Ring came out, and FromSoftware has already teased its newest project, where you wheel around as giant robots and best foes in dramatic battles, involving tonnes of explosions, missiles, and what seems to be an EMP-based attack. Odd to see robots carelessly carrying it around with them.
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon continues the celebrated developers’ oldest series, but this time, games director Hidetaka Miyazaki is involved. So it couldn’t be far fetched to expect some Souls-like elements, could it?