The Game Awards 2021 were unlike any other games show we’ve seen yet. Some of this year’s biggest and most well-received games fought it out for Game of the Year, while others walked away with awards in specialized categories like Best Ongoing, Best Narrative, and Best Art Direction. At the end of the day, only one game could take home Game of the Year, and that game was It Takes Two, one of the year’s biggest indie darlings.
This year, Deathloop and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart led the field of nominees, but that only scratched the surface. Metroid Dread, It Takes Two, and Psychonauts 2 were just a few of the heavy hitters that battled for this year’s top awards. Halo Infinite kicked off the gold derby by taking home a player’s choice trophy (even though the game launched yesterday and wasn’t eligible for any other categories).
The show premiered on almost every social media platform, including Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and more. No one game swept the awards, which speaks to the diversity of gaming experiences that were available to players in 2021. Here is the full list of winners.
Game of the Year
- Deathloop
- WINNER: It Takes Two
- Metroid Dread
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
Player’s Choice
- WINNER: Halo Infinite
- Metroid Dread
- It Takes Two
- Forza Horizon 5
- Resident Evil Village
Best Game Direction
- WINNER: Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Returnal
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Best Ongoing
- Apex Legends
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- WINNER: Final Fantasy XIV Online
- Fortnite
- Genshin Impact
Best Indie
- 12 Minutes
- Death’s Door
- WINNER: Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Inscryption
- Loop Hero
Best Debut Indie
- WINNER: Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Sable
- The Artful Escape
- The Forgotten City
- Valheim
Best Narrative
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Life is Strange: True Colors
- WINNER: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Psychonauts 2
Best Art Direction
- WINNER: Deathloop
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- The Artful Escape
Best Score and Music
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Deathloop
- WINNER: NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- The Artful Escape
Best Audio Design
- Deathloop
- WINNER: Forza Horizon 5
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
- Returnal
Best Performance
- Erika Mori as Alex Chen, Life is Strange: True Colors
- Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo, Far Cry 6
- Jason E. Kelley as Colt Vahn, Deathloop
- WINNER: Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village
- Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake, Deathloop
Games for Impact
- Before Your Eyes
- Boyfriend Dungeon
- Chicory
- WINNER: Life is Strange: True Colors
- No Longer Home
Best Community Support
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- WINNER: Final Fantasy XIV Online
- Fortnite
- No Man’s Sky
Best Mobile Game
- Fantasian
- WINNER: Genshin Impact
- League of Legends: Wild Rift
- MARVEL Future Revolution
- Pokémon Unite
Best VR/AR
- Hitman 3
- I Expect You To Die 2
- Lone Echo II
- WINNER: Resident Evil 4
- Sniper Elite VR
Best Action
- Back 4 Blood
- Chivalry II
- Deathloop
- Far Cry 6
- WINNER: Returnal
Best Action/Adventure
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- WINNER: Metroid Dread
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
Best Role Playing
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Monster Hunter Rise
- Scarlet Nexus
- Shin Megami Tensei V
- WINNER: Tales of Arise
Best Fighting
- Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles
- WINNER: Guilty Gear -Strive-
- Melty Blood: Type Lumina
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
- Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown
Best Family
- WINNER: It Takes Two
- Mario Party Superstars
- New Pokémon Snap
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
- WarioWare: Get It Together!
Best Sports/Racing
- F1 2021
- FIFA 22
- WINNER: Forza Horizon 5
- Hot Wheels Unleashed
- Riders Republic
Best Sim/Strategy
- WINNER: Age of Empires IV
- Evil Genius 2: World Domination
- Humankind
- Inscryption
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
Best Multiplayer
- Back 4 Blood
- WINNER: It Takes Two
- Knockout City
- Monster Hunter Rise
- New World
- Valheim
Most Anticipated
- WINNER: Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarök
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Starfield
Innovation in Accessibility
- Far Cry 6
- WINNER: Forza Horizon 5
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown
Content Creator of the Year
- WINNER: Dream
- Fuslie
- Gaules
- Ibai
- TheGrefg
Best Esports Game
- Call of Duty
- CS:GO
- DOTA 2
- WINNER: League of Legends
- Valorant
Best Esports Athlete
- Chris “Simp” Lehr
- Heo “ShowMaker” Su
- Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
- WINNER: Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
- Tyson “TenZ” Ngo
Best Esports Team
- Atlanta FaZe (COD)
- DWG KIA (LOL)
- WINNER: Natus Vincere (CS:GO)
- Sentinels (Valorant)
- Team Spirit (DOTA 2)
Best Esports Coach
- Airat “Silent” Gaziev
- Andrey “ENGH” Sholokhov
- Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi
- James “Crowder” Crowder
- WINNER: Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun
Best Esports Event
- WINNER: 2021 League of Legends World Championship
- PGL Major Stockholm 2021
- PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
- The International 2021
- Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters
