The 2019 Game Awards are over, and we now can summarize this amazing awards event from an incredible year in gaming. Like any awards show, this year's event saw its slew of winners, losers and surprises. But, one of the things that makes this event truly special is that it is more than just a review. It's a look towards the future in gaming! Here is a look at the winners and losers in gaming from 2019, and what we can look forward to in 2020.
The 2019 Game Award Winners
The big award of the night, of course, was game of the year, and the nominees were:
- Control
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Death Stranding
- Resident Evil 2
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- The Outer Worlds
Winning the coveted GOTY award was Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the action-adventure thriller from FromSoftware and Activision. The game is available for purchase on Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Windows.
Other winners from the night included:
- Best Community Support: Destiny 2
- Best Narrative: Disco Elysium
- Best Fighting Game: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Best Score/Music: Death Stranding
- Best Audio Design: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Best Art Direction: Control
- Best Strategy Game: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- Best Action Game: Devil May Cry 5
- Best Ongoing Game: Fortnite
- Best Family Game: Luigi's Mansion 3
- Best Mobile Game: Call of Duty Mobile
- Best Multiplayer Game: Apex Legends
- Best Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality Game: Beat Saber
- Best Performance: Mads Mikkelsen, Cliff (Death Stranding)
- Best Sports or Racing Game: Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
- Best Game Direction: Death Stranding
- Best Action or Adventure Game: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Content Creator of the Year: Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek
- Games for Impact: Gris
- Players Voice: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- Fresh Indie Game: ZA/UM for Disco Elysium
- Best Indie Game: Disco Elysium
- Best Role-Playing Game: Disco Elysium
From a summary perspective, Disco Elysium was the overall winner of the night, taking home four awards. Other multiple winners included Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (winning three awards), Death Stranding (three awards), and Fire Emblem (two awards).
These weren't all of the awards this year, as the 2019 Game Awards also delves into the land of Esports. Winners for Esports activities included:
- Best Esports Game: League of Legends
- Best Esports Coach: Danny "Zonic" Sorensen (Team Astralis, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- Best Esports Event: 2019 League of Legends World Championship
- Best Esports Host: Eefje "Sjokz" Depoortere,
- Best Esports Team: G2 Esports (League of Legends)
- Best Esports Player: Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf, Fortnite
The big announcement for next year: Xbox Series X
At long last, XBox's Project Scarlett has been announced to the public, and it's a big one: The next Xbox will be with us by the holiday season next year. It will be known as the Xbox Series X, and it was announced live at the Game Awards. According to interviews, the Series X will come with backward compatibility for thousands of titles and controllers, as well as the ability to use older controllers.
Also premiering as part of this announcement is a new game and IP: Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. The game will be available with the premier of the Series X. This marked the first time that we got a name for the latest next-generation console from Microsoft, and the first look at its new games. More information, including cost, additional sets, and system capabilities, are expected to be released in the future. For now, we'll have to satisfy ourselves with the knowledge that at this time next year, we will be able to buy the newest Xbox.
Games for Next Year
As is par for the course at these events, a slew of games appeared for us to look forward to next year. In addition to Hellblade II, it seems that we can look forward to at least twenty new games, all of which were announced at the Game Awards. These included:
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Godfall, a brand new fantasy and action RPG. This one will be available via the Epic Game Store in 2020. Not a ton is known yet about its plot, so we'll have to pay attention to see more.
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Humankind, a civ-like civilization builder in which you create your leader, design your avatar, and conquer the world via combat. Gameplay was light, but the concept looks interesting, and this one should be available in 2020.
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Maneater, a shark Role Playing Game. You read that right. In this one, you play as a shark, which kills everything in sight. So, that's different.
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Prologue, a new game from the same company which brought us PUBG. It's a first-person game and beyond that....? This was a 30-second teaser trailer, so we can almost certainly expect to get more soon.
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Fast and Furious Crossroads made its premiere, courtesy of an introduction by Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez. According to the trailer, it's a racing game, replete what the Fast & Furious Franchise is best known for Speed and explosions.
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Dark Alliance marks another effort to bring Dungeons & Dragons to the computer. This one is an action RPG, and the trailer was a thriller. It will be coming out in the next year.
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Nakara: Bladepoint is the new entry from 24 Entertainment. The game looks like fun, fast and button-smashy multi-player melee. Stretch those fingers.
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Multiple new MMOs appear set to launch in 2020. These include New World and a Magic: The Gathering MMO.
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Is the Final Fantasy VII remake FINALLY going to be available soon? Apparently, yes! After years and years of waiting, we can now expect the new FFVII to arrive in March of 2020. It will be on the PS4 exclusively for at least a year, which means we can expect it to be available on computers in March 2021.
Many already existing IPs announced expansions soon. For example, League of Legends premiered the trailer for Ruined King, a single-player adventure, which will operate as a turn-based RPG and expand on some of the lore found within the game. And that wasn't even the only single-player offering for League of Legends, as players will also be able to play CONV/RGENE, another League of Legends adventure, which has been billed as a single-player platformer.
Other series are set to get new entries including:
- Gears of War fans got their first look at Gears Tactics, a turn-based strategy game, which is set for premiere in April 2020.
- For fans of the old game Warframe, you're in luck: Warframe Empyrean, an expansion, was launched at the Game Awards - yes, you can get it now! Among other additions is a new co-op mode.
- Control Expeditions, a free update for Control. You can spend tokens and travel to new dimensions. This update is explicitly billed as endgame content (for those of you who have already powered your way through Control).
- After the demise of Telltale, it appeared that we'd never get the cliffhanger resolved, which took place at the end of The Wolf Among Us. However, good news! Here comes The Wolf Among Us 2, courtesy of AdHoc studios, which is made up of refugees from Telltale.
- Per a new trailer, The Elder Scrolls Online is getting an expansion. A new chapter is set to premiere in January 2020, and in this one, we're heading back to Skyrim
Performances and Pop Culture
Chvrches and Lauren Mayberry graced us with their presence, performing "Death Stranding," from the game of the same name. The performance was gorgeous and received well, both at the event and on social media afterward.
Famed tech entrepreneur, futurist, and occasional pot enthusiast Elon Musk made an appearance at the event, sitting beside his girlfriend, Grimes. Grimes was at the event to perform her Cyberpunk-themed song "4AEM," which appeared for sale on streaming platforms shortly after the performance.
Other celebrities attending the event included video game favorite and meme generator Reggie Fils-Aime, the former President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo.