We’ve come to the end of 2023, and after a year of gigantic, highly anticipated releases and delightful surprises in the video game world, we’ve come to the expected conclusion. Some of the biggest games of the last few years, like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2, battled it out for the top prize amid a varied string of announcements Thursday night, with Baldur’s Gate 3 eventually emerging with six wins, including Game of the Year and Best Performance for Neil Newbon. Alan Wake 2, which had the same number of nominations as Baldur’s Gate 3, received three awards and stole the show with the Herald of Darkness live performance. Elsewhere, Cocoon and Sea of Stars scored in the indie categories, while Forza Motorsport snuck in with two wins.
However, the main focus of The Game Awards is the announcements, which set the stage for the next year of releases. Not only did we get details on Hideo Kojima’s Xbox game, but we also got reveals for Monster Hunter Wild, God of War DLC, Arkane Lyon’s new game, and so much more. Check out all the biggest announcements below.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons gets a remake
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a beloved indie from 2013 and, in the first announcement of the night, we learned it getting a remake, set to come out on February 28, 2024. This was the first game directed by Josef Faras at Hazelight Studios. he previously won Game of the Year for It Takes Two.
A new Pony Island is coming from the Inscryption dev
Daniel Mullins Games, which created the award-winning surprise hit Inscryption, made another surprise announcement during The Game Awards preshow with Pony Island 2: Panda Circus. We don’t know much about it from the trailer, but it looks to have some retro-gaming goodness and even SungWon Cho (aka ProZD) made an appearance.
Dead Cells devs reveal their new game (in 3D!)
Motion Twin stunned the gaming world with Dead Cells, a 2D roguelike that’s been released on every platform since its launch in 2018. At The Game Awards, the crew unveiled its new game, called Windblown, which is coming to PC early access on Steam in early 2024. Here, you play as a Leaper who will fight for their home while exploring new and dangerous open worlds. And don’t worry, it’s still a roguelike!
God of War Ragnarok is now a roguelike in upcoming free DLC
Kratos voice actor Chris Judge may have made an appearance to present Performer of the Year, but he’s also back in God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla, free DLC for last year’s award-winning blockbuster. It will bring roguelike gameplay to the franchise, but still looks like a God of War game. Oh, and it’s also releasing next week on December 12, 2023, on PS4 and PS5.
Ninja Theory shows off new Hellblade 2 footage
After a haunting musical performance, The Game Awards showed off new Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 footage, which featured the world, gameplay, and plenty of atmosphere. The game was first announced alongside the Xbox Series X|S in 2019, so it’s been a long time coming. It’s set for 2024 and will be available on day one on Xbox Game Pass.
Sega announces five games at once
Points for brevity, here; Sega decided to announce five games at once. All we know is that we’re getting new Shinobi, Crazy Taxi, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, and Jet Set Radio games. It’s unclear if these are new games in their respective series or remakes. They’re slated for launch over the next several years, according to Keighley.
A single-player Dead by Daylight game is coming in 2024
Supermassive Games, the maker of Until Dawn and The Quarry, have made a name for themselves as makers of choice-driven narrative horror titles. It’s now partnering up with Behaviour Interactive of Dead by Daylight fame for The Casting of Frank Stone, a single-player adventure set in the Dead by Daylight universe. Not much is known about it yet, but it’s set for sometime in 2024.
Hideo Kojima not only reveals OD, but that Jordan Peele is collaborating
Hideo Kojima made news when he was set to collaborate with Guillermo del Toro and Junji Ito on Silent Hills, and he’s continuing that horror icon streak by collaborating with Oscar-winning director Jordan Peele and others. OD, his latest game, leaked late last year, but we’ve now gotten our first official look in an eerie trailer revealing some of the cast, which includes Hunter Schafer (Euphoria) and Udo Kier (Blade). It’s unclear what the game is about (classic Kojima), but in an onstage interview, Kojima said it’s set to create a whole new medium by combining video games and film.
Arkane Lyon is making a Blade game
The studio behind the Dishonored series and Deathloop announced Marvel’s Blade. It stars the titular daywalker and takes place in Paris. Director Dinga Bakaba was on hand to talk with Keighley and said that it’s very much still an Arkane game, but revealed few other details. This is the latest Marvel project in the works, along with Insomniac’s Wolverine game and Black Panther from Cliffhanger Games.
No Man’s Sky team returns to Earth with Light No Fire
Sean Murray, managing director at Hello Games, appeared at The Game Awards to not only celebrate a decade of No Man’s Sky, but to announce the company’s new game. Light No Fire looks to be similar to No Man’s Sky, but it features a procedurally generated Earth instead of an expansive desolate universe. Murray says the Earth in the game is “a planet that’s as buried as a universe” and “the first real open world.” There’s no word on a release window, but he added that he wants to be updating it 10 years from now.
Square Enix shadow drops Final Fantasy 16 DLC
Final Fantasy 16 picked up an award tonight, and it got more time in the spotlight with two DLC announcements. The first, Echoes of the Fallen, is now available on PS5. The second one, The Rising Tide, will be available in spring 2024.
Destructible arena shooter The Finals is out tonight
Surprise! The Finals, the free-to-play, combat arena battle shooter from Embark Studios, is now out of beta and officially available across platforms — so Steam, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5. The game is the first title from the studio, which is made up of former Battlefield alumni, and promises to offer a unique experience with fully destructible environments.
Monster Hunter Wilds stampedes onto platforms in 2025
For the final “World Premiere” of the night, Capcom revealed Monster Hunter Wilds, the latest in the internationally popular adventure series. We got the first trailer, which showed a desert transforming into a lush landscape. It’s set for 2025, but we can expect more information this summer.
Everything else announced
- Rise of the Golden Idol, a sequel to murder mystery Curse of the Golden Idol, was announced and is coming to all the usual platforms and Netflix.
- Usual June is the latest from Finji and will take you back to high school in 2025.
- The Odd Gentlemen announced Harmonium: The Musical, and unveiled a trailer full of charm, great-looking animation, and ASL. It’s coming to Netflix Games and Game Pass.
- Thrasher, from the artist and composer behind the cult hit Thumper, dares you to say Thrasher and Thumper five times fast when it releases in 2024.
- Persona 3: Reload got a new trailer ahead of its February release.
- Two of the biggest sea-based games from 2023 are teaming up for a crossover. Dredge is coming to Dave The Diver on December 15, 2023.
- Metaphor: ReFantazio, the next game from the Persona devs at Atlus, got a new trailer and a fall 2024 release window.
- World of Goo 2 is the sequel to the indie hit from all the way back in 2008. It’s set for 2024.
- Archetype Entertainment, a division of Wizards of the Coast, announced Exodus with the help of Matthew McConaughey.
- House House brought people together with Untitled Goose Game and seeks to do it again with Big Walk, set to release in 2025.
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown got a new trailer, and a free demo is coming on January 11, 2024.
- Since becoming a meme, Ikumi Nakamura, formerly of Tango Gameworks, has started her own studio. She was at The Game Awards this year to unveil its first project, titled Kemuri.
- Moon Studios, the team behind the Ori series, has an action RPG in the works. We’ll learn more about No Rest for the Wicked on March 1, 2024.
- Dragonball Sparking Zero doesn’t have a release window yet, but it’ll be released on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
- Visions of Mana is the latest in the Mana series from Square Enix, and is coming in 2024.
- Playstation-exclusive Rise of the Ronin got a new trailer and a release date: March 22, 2024.
- The Outlast Trials has been scaring people on PC in early access and now it’s coming to consoles, too. It’ll officially release on March 5, 2024.
- What if you got left behind in Jurassic Park? Jurassic Park Survival is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
- Rocket Racing is coming to Fortnite tomorrow, December 8.
- Black Myth: Wukong leaned into its Journey to the West roots with a new trailer. It was previously delayed, and is now set for August 20, 2024.
- After getting delayed, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League got a new trailer at The Game Awards. The new release date is February 2, 2024.
- Warframe: Whispers in the Walls looks futuristic with a touch of steampunk, and it’s coming to all platforms on December 13, 2023.
- Ready or Not is leaving early access and hitting 1.0 on December 13, 2023.
- Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a gorgeous, African mythology-inspired 2.5D side-scrolling platformer from EA Originals. It’s set to launch on April 23, 2024.
- The team behind the Life is Strange franchise showed off Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, a narrative adventure that follows characters in their teens and in adulthood. It’s scheduled for late 2024.
- The First Berserker: Khazan (previously called Arad Chronicle: Khazan) is set in the world of Dungeon Fighter Online and got a new trailer at The Game Awards.
- Can’t wait for Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth? Well, get ready for a crossover event in Apex Legends on January 9, 2024.
- Oh, it looks like Skull & Bones is finally set to release on February 16, 2024.
- Anthony Mackie made an appearance to present the award for Best Ongoing Game and to announce Twisted Metal on Peacock is coming back for season 2.
- Tencent’s Lightspeed Studios revealed its first game, called Last Sentinel, with a cinematic trailer.
- Nexon’s The First Descendant is coming in summer 2024.
- Zenless Zone Zero, the next Hoyoverse game, got a new trailer. It’s also set to arrive in 2024.
- Ever wanted to be in a mech? Mecha Break is getting a closed alpha test soon.
- GTFO: The Final Chapter is getting a free weekend on Steam until December 10, 2024.
- 10 Chambers, the creators of the Payday series, announced its new heist game, Den of Wolves.
- Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodhunt developer Sharkmob revealed its next title. Exoborne is an upcoming open-world extraction shooter. No other details were revealed.
- Actor Simu Liu debuted a new trailer for Stormgate, Frost Giant Studio’s upcoming RTS. It’ll be hitting Steam Early Access in summer 2024.
- Palia comes to Nintendo Switch on December 14.
