For the ninth year in a row, The Game Awards will celebrate the last year of video game releases, while looking forward to what’s coming next. Each year promises a handful of brand-new announcements on top of the usual updates for upcoming games. Host and creator Geoff Keighley has said this year that this is the “biggest production to date.” To catch you up and keep you up to date, here’s everything you can expect from The Game Awards 2023.
When Is The Game Awards 2023?
The Game Awards will take place on December 7, 2023, at 3pm PT. The show takes place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, but will of course be available for streaming through a variety of ways.
The Game Awards can be streamed on nearly every major platform, including the show’s official YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, the streaming service Kick, and even Steam. The show will be co-streamed by major sites like IGN and Gamespot.
On top of that, if you live in China, India, South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, or Germany, The Game Awards website has additional options for how to watch.
What Games Are Confirmed For The Game Awards 2023
Fortnite’s new racing mode is one of the confirmed announcements for this year’s show.
There’s a small handful of announcements we know a little bit about already, and Keighley has said this year’s show will run roughly two and a half to three hours. The biggest draw so far is some kind of announcement from Sega.
Earlier this month, the company sent out letters to streamers and influencers urging them to tune in, with the words “New era, new energy.” It’s hard to say what the announcement could be, as it could go anywhere from a revival of a classic series, to a first glimpse of Sega’s “super game” in development.
It seems likely that Xbox is gearing up for some kind of announcement at the show, as the company has been sending out emails and promotional materials this week that state “Celebrate the best games of the year and the big winners live at The Game Awards on 7. December at 19:30 ET / 4:30PM PT / 12:30A+1 GMT along with important announcements that you don’t want to miss!”
We also know that Epic Games will show off Fortnite’s new mode, Rocket Racing at the show. This is one of three new modes coming, which also include a LEGO mode and a musical experience made by Rock Band developer Harmonix.
Apart from those major announcements, here are a few other quick hits that we know about or have been rumored.
- The reveal of a new EA Originals game
- Info on Warframe’s Whisper in the Walls expansion
- A date for Baldur’s Gate 3’s Xbox release
- Nexon’s new action RPG The First: Berserker: Khazan
- Reveal of a new game from Sharkmob and Level Infinite
What to Expect at The Game Awards 2023
Helldivers 2 is the only first-party PlayStation game that has any kind of firm date, so it’s possible we could see info on that game, or a new announcement.
The reveals we know about mean there’s still a lot of time to fill in The Game Awards two and a half hours. Keighley has said this year will feature more “new reveals” than any year before, and if past years are any indication this will likely be a mix of small titles, indies, and AAA games.
There are bound to be quite a few surprises, but there are a few companies we can likely bank on seeing. Square Enix seems like a shoo-in, as the company has a long tradition of appearing at Keighley’s events. Earlier this year Square closed out Summer Game Fest with a huge Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth trailer, and last year’s Game Awards featured a Final Fantasy XVI trailer and a surprise Forspoken demo. With Rebirth releasing in February, a trailer seems likely, or we could see a new announcement.
PlayStation and Nintendo are also two likely candidates that have often had reveals at the show. At the moment, Helldivers 2 is the only first-party PlayStation game we have a date for, so The Game Awards might be a good place to give PS5 owners an idea of what’s next.
Last year, Nintendo announced Fire Emblem Engage DLC and Bayonetta Origins at The Game Awards, but previous years have also seen announcements for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, No More Heroes 3, and more.
A likely candidate from this year with more good tidings is Alan Wake 2, which is nominated for Game of the Year. Remedy has teased that New Game Plus is coming in December, and one of the musical presentations of the show is Poets of the Fall performing a track from Alan Wake 2.
Of course, one of the big questions is Hideo Kojima and the upcoming sequel to his 2019 PlayStation exclusive, which was first announced at the show last year. Keighley’s friendship with Kojima has led to him appearing at shows a lot, and we know that on top of a new iconic sequel, Kojima is currently working on a project with Xbox.
Those are likely ideas of what we’ll see, but Keighley setting the stage with more “new reveals” than before means we probably don’t know about a lot of what is going to be shown this year. For more on that, check out Inverse for the latest.
