It Takes Two took the top honor at the eighth annual Game Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Thursday. The event recognized the best creative and technical achievements in studio and independent video games.
It Takes Two, from Electronic Arts (under its EA Originals label) and Swedish game developer Hazelight Studios, explores relationships and divorce with playful humor and a touch of darkness. Its director, Josef Fares, is known in Hollywood for his first game, Brothers.
Hosted by The Game Awards creator and executive producer Geoff Keighley and streamed live around the world, the ceremony included performances from musical acts such as Imagine Dragons and Sting and trailers for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the Halo TV series. Stars who appeared included Ben Schwartz, Giancarlo Esposito, Guillermo del Toro, Jim Carrey, Keanu Reeves, Ming-Na Wen and Simu Liu.
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Best game direction went to Deathloop, while Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy was recognized for its outstanding narrative.
In the acting category, Maggie Robertson was awarded for her performance as Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits won best indie and best debut indie. In the “games for impact” category, which identifies a thought-provoking title with a pro-social meaning or message, Life Is Strange: True Colors emerged as the winner.
See the full list of winners below.
Game of the Year
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA) – WINNER
Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo)
Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Best Game Direction
Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda) – WINNER
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Best Ongoing
FINAL FANTASY XIV Online(SQUARE ENIX) – WINNER
Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward/Raven/Activision)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Genshin Impact (MiHoYo)
Best Indie
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab) – WINNER
12 Minutes (Luis Antonio/Annapurna Interactive)
Death’s Door (Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital)
Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital)
Loop Hero (Four Quarters/Devolver Digital)
Best Debut Indie
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab) – WINNER
Sable (Shedworks/Raw Fury)
The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers)
Valheim (Iron Gate/Coffee Stain)
Best Narrative
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX) – WINNER
Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
Life Is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/SQUARE ENIX)
Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
Best Art Direction
Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda) – WINNER
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
Best Score and Music
NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 (Keiichi Okabe, Composer) – WINNER
Cyberpunk 2077 (Marcin Przybylowicz, Piotr T. Adamczyk, Composers)
Deathloop (Tom Salta, Composer)
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Richard Jacques, Composer)
The Artful Escape (Johnny Galvatron & Josh Abrahams, Composers)
Best Audio Design
Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios) – WINNER
Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
Best Performance
Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village – WINNER
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
Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake, Deathloop
Games for Impact
Life Is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/SQUARE ENIX) – WINNER
Before Your Eyes (GoodbyeWorld Games/Skybound Games)
Boyfriend Dungeon (Kitfox Games)
Chicory: A Colorful Tale (Greg Lobanow, Alexis dean-Jones, Lena Raine, Madeline Berger, A Shell in the Pit/Finji)
No Longer Home (Humble Grove, Hana Lee, Cel Davison, Adrienne Lombardo, Eli Rainsberry/Fellow Traveler)
Best Community Support
FINAL FANTASY XIV Online (SQUARE ENIX) – WINNER
Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
Destiny 2 (Bungie)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Mobile Game, Presented by Verizon
Genshin Impact (MiHoYo) – WINNER
Fantasian (Mistwalker)
League of Legends: Wild Rift (Riot Games)
MARVEL Future Revolution (Netmarble)
Pokemon Unite (TiMi Studios/The Pokemon Company)
Best VR/AR
Resident Evil 4 (Armature Studio/Capcom/Oculus Studios) – WINNER
Hitman 3 (IO Interactive)
I Expect You to Die 2 (Schell Games)
Lone Echo II (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studios)
Sniper Elite VR (Coatsink/Just Add Water/Rebellion Developments)
Best Action
Returnal (Housemarque/SIE) – WINNER
Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock/WB Games)
Chivalry II (Torn Banner Studios/Tripwire Interactive)
Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)
Best Action/Adventure
Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo) – WINNER
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX)
Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Best Role Playing
Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco) – WINNER
Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
Scarlet Nexus (Bandai Namco)
Shin Megami Tensei V (Atlus/Sega)
Best Fighting
Guilty Gear -Strive- (Arc System Works) -WINNER
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles (CyberConnect2/Sega)
Melty Blood: Type Lumina (French-Bread/Delightworks)
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (Ludosity/Fair Play Labs/GameMill)
Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown (Sega)
Best Family
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA) -WINNER
Mario Party Superstars (NDcube/Nintendo)
New Pokémon Snap (Bandai Namco/The Pokémon Company/Nintendo)
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Nintendo)
WarioWare: Get It Together! (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
Best Sports/Racing
Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios) -WINNER
F1 2021 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
FIFA 22 (EA Vancouver/EA Sports)
Hot Wheels Unleashed (Milestone)
Riders Republic (Ubisoft Annecy/Ubisoft)
Best Sim/Strategy
Age of Empires IV (Relic Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios) – WINNER
Evil Genius 2: World Domination (Rebellion Developments)
Humankind (Amplitude Studios/Sega)
Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver)
Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios)
Best Multiplayer
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA) – WINNER
Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock/WB Games)
Knockout City (Velan Studios/EA)
Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
New World (Amazon Games)
Valheim (Iron Gate Studio/Coffee Stain)
Most Anticipated, Presented by Prime Gaming
Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) – WINNER
God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
Innovation in Accessibility, Presented by Chevrolet
Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios) – WINNER
Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Creative Bytes Studios/Falling Squirrel)
Content Creator of the Year
Dream – WINNER
Fuslie
Gaules
Ibai
TheGrefg
Best Esports Game, Presented by Grubhub
League of Legends (Riot Games) – WINNER
Call of Duty (Activision)
CS:GO (Valve)
DOTA2 (Valve)
Valorant (Riot Games)
Best Esports Athlete
Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev – WINNER
Chris “Simp” Lehr
Heo “ShowMaker” Su
Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
Tyson “TenZ” Ngo
Best Esports Team
Natus Vincere (CS:GO) – WINNER
Atlanta FaZe (COD)
DWG KIA (LOL)
Sentinels (Valorant)
Team Spirit (DOTA2)
Best Esports Coach
Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun – WINNER
Airat “Silent” Gaziev
Andrey “ENGH” Sholokhov
Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi
James “Crowder” Crowder
Best Esports Event
2021 League of Legends World Championship – WINNER
PGL Major Stockholm 2021
PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
The International 2021
Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters
