‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Takes Best of Gamescom Award

For Polish studio CD Projekt Red, at least, Gamescom was a success. 

Cyberpunk 2077, the studio’s long-awaited action role-player, was the big winner at the 2020 European games fair, winning the overall Best of Gamescom Award as well as prizes for best PlayStation game, best PC game, best roleplaying titles and the Most Wanted consumer prize voted on by regular gamers.

 The dystopian title, in which players take on the role of a mercenary called an edgerunner, a cyberpunk figure who jacks into a Matrix-esque version of the “deep net,” has been at the top of gamers’ wish lists at least since last year’s E3 conference when designers revealed that Keanu Reeves who play the character of Johnny Silverhands, a legendary edgerunner whose character lives inside the player’s mind.

In June, Netflix announced it had ordered a 10-episode anime series based on the game, which Trigger Studio will produce and Hiroyuki Imaishi is attached to direct. The series is set to debut in 2022. Cyberpunk 2077  the game is set for release Nov. 19. 

CD Projekt Red also won over the online gaming community, which was forced to stay home and experience Gamescom virtually this year. The trade fair, Europe’s largest, which ran Aug. 27-30, was online-only due to the coronavirus pandemic. Fans gave Cyberpunk 2077 the Best of Gamescom Award as the number one title on offer.

Other winners, announced Sunday, included best family game for KeyWe, a cute puzzler from Stonewheat & Sons involving a pair of Kiwi birds who work at a post office; historical turn-based title Humankind from SEGA and Amplitude Studios, which won best strategy game; and 2K’s shooter Borderlands 3, which took the award for best ongoing game. 

Gamescom organizers said more than two million viewers in more than 180 countries caught the market’s opening ceremonies, broadcast online, on Aug. 27. Gamescom recorded some 300 million views for challenges on social media platform TikTok using the Gamescom hashtag. 

To compare, some 370,000 attended in person in Cologne, Germany for Gamescom 2019. If the pandemic permits it, organizers plan to restart the physical trade fair in August 2021. 

A full list of Gamescom winners is below.  

WINNERS OF THE 2020 GAMESCOM AWARDS

Best of gamescom

Cyberpunk 2077, CD PROJEKT RED

gamescom “Most Wanted” Consumer Award

Cyberpunk 2077, CD PROJEKT RED

Best Action Adventure Game

Watch Dogs: Legion, Ubisoft
Best Action Game

Star Wars: Squadrons, Electronic Arts

Best Family Game

KeyWe, Stonewheat & Sons

Best Ongoing Game

Borderlands 3, 2K

Best Racing Game

DIRT5, Codemasters

Best Remaster

Mafia: Definitive Edition, 2K

Best Role-Playing Game

Cyberpunk 2077, CD PROJEKT RED

Best Simulation

Project CARS 3, Bandai Namco Entertainment

Best Sports Game

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2, Activision

Best Strategy Game

Humankind, Amplitude Studios & SEGA Europe

Best Multiplayer Game

Operation: Tango, Clever Plays

Most Original Game

Voidtrain, Hypetrain Digital

Best Indie Game

Curious Expedition 2, Maschinen-Mensch

Best Microsoft Xbox Game

Tell Me Why, Microsoft

Best Nintendo Switch Game

Little Nightmares 2, Bandai Namco Entertainment

Best Sony Playstation Game

Cyberpunk 2077, CD PROJEKT RED

Best PC Game

Cyberpunk 2077, CD PROJEKT RED

Most Wanted Hardware/Technology

Xbox Series X, Microsoft

Best Announcement

Unknown 9: Awakening, Reflector Entertainment

Best Lineup

Bandai Namco Entertainment

Best Presentation/Trailer

Little Nightmares 2, Tarsier Studios

Best Show

World of Tanks Blitz gamescom Stream, Wargaming

Best Streamer

Erik “Gronkh” Range

Heart of Gaming Award

Indie Arena Booth, Super Crowd Entertainment