Astro Bot wins Game of the Year award
SonyAstro Bot has won the grand prize at the video game industry’s largest awards ceremony.
The cute and colorful PlayStation Platform game beat out Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Black Myth: Wukong, Mephor: Refantazio Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Balatro to take home the Game of the Year award at The Game Awards.
Upon accepting the trophy, Nicolas Doucet, head of developer studio Team Asobi, appeared to praise rival Nintendo.
Astro Bot also took home three other awards – Best Family Game, Best Action/Adventure, and Best Game Direction.
Card games, RPGs, and ancient Chinese mythology
LocalThunkIt was also a good night for poker-themed indie game Balatro, which won three awards including best mobile game.
Role-playing game Metaphor: ReFantazio also won three awards, in a strong night for Japanese game developers.
Black Legend: Wukong, based on Chinese mythology, has once again proven to be very popular among fans, winning the publicly voted Player’s Voice award.
It was a disappointing night for Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, which was nominated in seven categories but only took home the award for Best Music.
Melina Jurgens, from the UK-based Cambridge studio Ninja Theory, won Best Performance for her role in the film. Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga.
Indiana Jones meets Indiana Jones
There aren’t many events where you can get performances from a full orchestra and Snoop Dogg.
The rapper was on hand to present the award for Best Continuing Game to Helldivers 2, and performed a new song.
It wouldn’t be the biggest night in gaming without some surprise celebrity appearances.
Harrison Ford took the stage alongside Troy Baker, The guy who plays Indiana Jones In the final game based on the film series.
Naughty Dog goes intergalactic
Naughty dogThe Game Awards – sometimes called the “Oscars of Games” – are often criticized for spending more time showing commercials and trailers for new games than handing out awards.
However, last year organizers claimed that the event attracted 118 million viewers via live stream, and that these previews are one of the biggest draws for gaming fans.
In recent years, major publishers have tended to save their biggest announcements for their separate live events.
As expected, there was no new information about Grand Theft Auto 6 or Nintendo’s next console – two of the most anticipated upcoming releases.
But that left room for a brand new game from Naughty Dog, the PlayStation studio known for hits including The Last of Us, Uncharted, and Crash Bandicoot.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, was released with a glossy trailer mixed with “It’s a Sin” by the Pet Shop Boys.
A sequel to Capcom’s Okami has also been revealed, and Polish developer CD Projekt Red has confirmed that The Witcher 4 is in development.
Game changers
A common complaint about The Game Awards is that they often fail to acknowledge broader issues in the industry.
Against the backdrop of widespread layoffs around the world – a trend that has continued this year – critics of the 2023 show have called for the winners to be given more time on stage to speak out.
This year the event presented the Game Changers Award.
The winner, Amir Satvat, US director of Tencent Games, created a personal project to help recently laid off game developers find new work.
In an emotional acceptance speech, he said: “When I grew up, all I wanted was to be part of the video game industry.”
He also thanked his parents, who he said “taught me that my value lies in the way I deal with others.”
His comments were also praised by Larian Studios president Swen Vincke, who presented the Game of the Year award after his Baldur’s Gate 3 team won the title last year.
He aimed to chase market share and “arbitrary sales targets” and lamented the “lost art” of studios making “a game they want to play themselves”.
This year’s ceremony was held as video game actors continued to strike over AI protections and working conditions.
SAG-Aftra Acting and Gaming Workers Union of Southern California Announced Plan to distribute flyers Outside the Peacock Theater, where the concert is being held, this year.
Other controversies this year included a nomination for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree in the Game of the Year category.
Some fans have argued that the expansion pack — an add-on for the 2022 Game of the Year Elden Ring — shouldn’t qualify.
Others were upset when three of the five nominations for the Player’s Choice Award – the only award voted on entirely by fans – went to free-to-play mobile games including Genshin Impact.
The rest of the winners are determined by a panel of industry experts and a fan vote that represents 10% of the final score.
There are 30 awards in total across a wide range of categories including Sound Design, Best Independent Game, Accessibility and Innovation.
The full list of winners is here Game Awards website.
