The Game Awards 2021 rose quickly to become one of the most anticipated gaming events on the calendar year, thanks to promises of new looks at upcoming and unannounced games like a new Sonic the Hedgehog and a wild Matrix tie-in, among others. There was plenty of excitement for this year’s event, and plenty of reasons to tune in between spicy teases, rumours, and a host of top-tier celebrity guests.
With big announcements like Alan Wake 2, a Dune adaptation, a Wonder Woman adventure and a new Star Wars game, this year’s show didn’t disappoint.
Here’s everything major announced at the The Game Awards 2021.
Tunic made an appearance on the pre-show
Zelda-like fox adventure Tunic got a fresh new trailer to kick off The Game Awards 2021 pre-show, providing a cute glimpse into the game’s puzzle mechanics, and horrific, slimey enemies.
It also got a confirmed release date: 16 March 2022.
King of Fighters XV got a new look
King of Fighters XV got another showcase during The Game Awards pre-show, as well as a fresh new look at the fighters coming to the game.
It releases on 17 February 2022.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is getting a new multiplayer game
The next trailer on the pre-show featured an idyllic country town and a mysterious figure rocking a gnarly chainsaw. Hey, it’s Leatherface! The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is getting a fresh game adaptation, with multiplayer gameplay.
Homeworld 3 is coming in Q4 2022
A new Game Awards 2021 trailer announced a dazzling sci-fi adventure is on the way, in the form of Homeworld 3, coming in Q4 2022. The early trailer showed off a mysterious woman floating in space, plotting vengeance.
The Expanse is getting an adaptation from Telltale Games
Another sci-fi adventure was next, and it featured a grungy military-style space craft filled with prisoners. It turned out to be an adaptation of sci-fi franchise, The Expanse.
Read: The Expanse to get video game adaptation from Telltale Games
Babylon’s Fall gets a release date
Another game shown off in the pre-show was Babylon’s Fall, an upcoming fantasy adventure filled with mysterious figures, strange magics, alien creatures and hack-and-slash gameplay.
It’s coming on 3 March 2022.
Chivalry 2 got a brand new trailer
You can check out the new trailer for Chivalry 2 above (it is age-restricted, so you’ll need to head through to YouTube).
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak was showcased
Monster Hunter Rise is getting a new expansion in the form of Sunbreak, a massive story-based chapter.
The game is coming in winter 2022, and also features new amiibos.
Annapurna Interactive’s latest game is a dance-off simulator
In Thirsty Suitors, you’ll be taking part in dancing-based combat and mini-games.
Evil West is the cowboy vs. evil simulator of your dreams
Next game Evil West appears to be the spiritual Darkwatch successor everybody’s been dreaming of. In this title, you’ll face off against hordes of evil demons in shotgun cowboy combat.
Have A Nice Death stars an angry grim reaper
In Have A Nice Death, you’ll play as cutesy grim reaper just trying to maintain calm in a stressful workplace. It’s a side-scrolling adventure, and looks very goth.
It comes to early access in March 2022.
Planet of Lana features a desperate chase through sands
The next trailer was for Planet of Lana, a wild-looking adventure featuring a lengthy chase through a desert landscape as a young boy attempts to escape a number of machines.
It arrives in 2022.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is being ported to new consoles
As part of Persona‘s 25th anniversary, Atlus has announced at the Game Awards 2021 that Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is being ported to PS4,
Sting kicked off the main Game Awards show with impressive pipes
Sting (of The Police, not the wrestler) began The Game Awards 2021 with a haunting performance of a song from Netflix’s Arcane, kicking off the action with a full orchestra. It set the tone for a whopping night, and led into a flash reel of 2021’s best games.
Geoff Keighley made a stand against harassment and bullying in games
Activision Blizzard was not specifically named in this address, but Game Awards creator and host Geoff Keighley started the show by calling on the entire games industry to take a stance against harassment and forge a better future going forward. He encouraged speaking out online, and holding everyone to account.
Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga got a flashy new trailer
Ninja Theory finally showed off new footage and gameplay for the sequel to Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, highlighting deep caverns, plenty of grime, and an excellent, grungy soundtrack.
The trailer itself was captured in-game, despite looking like a phenomenal CG creation.
In the extended look, a giant man-like monster crawls through a dense cavern system as voices plague protagonist Senua and speak of her doom.
Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga was not given a release date.
Star Wars: Eclipse is coming from Quantic Dream
The first new game announcement of the show began with a mysterious drum being played as an eclipse took over the sun. It was announced as coming from Lucasfilm Games, and hey, you know what that means. It’s a fresh Star Wars game! The CG announcement trailer showed off a Cad Bane-like character travelling through a market as wild Jedi battles take place.
There was also space battles, various flashes of Jedi, and an oily, mysterious birth in this trailer. It’s titled Eclipse and set in the High Republic Era, as was previously rumoured.
Read: Quantic Dream’s Star Wars game may be set in the High Republic
Amazon’s Lost Ark MMO is coming in February
Lost Ark is a new MMO coming from Amazon, and it’ll arrive in February 2022. There’s plenty of flashy magic and hack-and-slash gameplay in this upcoming adventure.
Wonder Woman is getting a game adaptation
A new Wonder Woman game is coming from DC and Monolith, adding to a stacked roster of upcoming comic titles. The early trailer featured a look at Wonder Woman’s character design, and not much else.
Read: Wonder Woman game revealed, developed by Shadow of Mordor studio
Alan Wake 2 is coming in 2023
The next trailer featured a strange forest, a light-filled city, and rain smattering against a boardwalk. It’s Alan Wake 2!!!!!!!! According to developer Sam Lake, it’ll be a survival horror game, rather than an action-adventure like the original. He described it as ‘psychological’ and ‘deep’.
Remedy will be back next year, in winter 2022, to show more of the game.
Read: Alan Wake 2 announced, Remedy announces Epic Games partnership
Ben Schwartz introduces the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 trailer
The new trailer begins with Sonic snacking on a hot dog and driving a van, as is right. But of course, the calm doesn’t last for long as a giant cyclone arrives, and Dr. Robotnik returns to wreak havoc.
To combat the chaos, Sonic will team up with newcomer Tails to face off against Knuckles, who’ll be on team Robotnik.
It’s set to arrive on 31 March 2022 in Australia.
A new trailer for Horizon Forbidden West shows off machines, combat
Upcoming blockbuster Horizon Forbidden West got a new trailer at The Game Awards 2021. It showed off new costumes for Aloy, new machines, and fresh landscapes.
It was also accompanied by an orchestral performance of a song from the game.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade is coming to PC this December
Final Fantasy 7 Remake and its Intergrade chapter are arriving on PC via the Epic Games Store on December 16 2021.
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen gets a new showing
The next trailer features a trip to Mars a narrator calls ‘wrong’. There’s sci-fi marines, plenty of alien-killing, and a whole bunch of gooey goodness. It’s a fresh look at the next chapter in Destiny, The Witch Queen, which is set to launch in February 2022.
Slitterhead is a new horror game that looks disgustingly creepy
The new game from Bokeh Game Studio was next up.
This is a horror adventure from game director Keiichiro Toyama, and features worm-like creators with fleshy mouths, as well as a protagonist that rocks a sword, and what looks to be blood-controlling abilities.
Read: Slitterhead, a new horror game from the creator of Silent Hill, revealed
Nightingale features Victorian cities and fantasy monsters
The next trailer begins with a Victorian-era woman facing off against double-headed vampire monsters and a hulking creature. It’s a first person adventure set in ‘fae’ lands filled with magical creatures and wild landscapes.
The trailer also featured giants, industrial cities and plenty of guns. It’s a fresh new IP described as a survival crafting game, with both solo and co-op gameplay.
Nightingale will be in early access from early 2022.
A new look at The Lord of the Rings: Gollum showed off Mordor
Daedalic Entertainment’s The Lord of the Rings: Gollum got a new trailer at The Game Awards 2021, promising to tell the ‘untold story’ of Gollum. It featured the titular character journeying through Mordor and using his skills to pour hot lava onto unsuspecting orcs.
This was followed by a new CG trailer for PUGB: Battlegrounds, which is available to play for free from January 12.
Somerville is a mysterious adventure game
A spooky follow up trailer showed off a kind of land speeder traversing an alien landscape, and a man running from mysterious mechanical creatures.
Not much else was seen of the game, titled Somerville, and it remains a big mystery.
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course DLC got a release date
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course DLC got a brilliant 1920s-themed orchestral performance alongside a fresh stop-motion trailer for the game that confirmed it would release on 30 June 2022.
The new Sonic game is titled Frontiers
Sonic the Hedgehog is getting a brand new game in 2022. The early CG trailer showed off Sonic’s desperate attempt to escape from a magical mystery machine, and his arrival in a vast, green open world.
The game is coming in Holiday 2022, and while there’s no confirmation it will be open world, the trailer did seem to imply it would be. Definitely Breath of the Wild vibes here.
Hideo Kojima introduced Guillermo Del Toro’s new film, Nightmare Alley
Is there any better friendship in pop culture? The movie is set in a haunted fairground, and will release in Australia on 13 January 2022.
The new trailer showed off a whole bunch of spookiness and horror.
Tchia is coming in Autumn 2022
The next trailer began with some folk music strongly reminiscent of Lord of the Rings as a young character explores a vast island, Breath of the Wild style. They’ve got some cool backflips, a range of customisation options, and even the ability to turn into a bird, shark, and other creatures.
The game is coming in autumn 2022.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League gets a new trailer
Amanda Waller herself got on stage to introduce a fresh look at Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which is coming from Rocksteady in 2022. The trailer kicks off with Aussie supervillain Captain Boomerang hassling Barry Allen, AKA The Flash, who has been brainwashed by villain Brainiac.
It also featured plenty of looting, shooting and running as the Suicide Squad put their abilities to the test against alien warriors and the Justice League itself.
No release date was confirmed, but it will still launch in 2022.
Forspoken got a brand new look
Forspoken is a new fantasy game starring Frey Holland, a woman who is transported to a medieval fantasy world, where she learns a number of abilities including invisibility and force blasting.
It looks like a real treat, and it’s set to launch on 25 May 2022.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is on the way
The Game Awards 2021 also featured a new game in the Warhammer franchise, which got a CG trailer featuring the iconic space marines facing off against a number of clawed aliens.
This is Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, the long-awaited sequel to the original game.
Saints Row got a fresh trailer hyping up the reboot
Saints Row got a fresh new trailer which showcased the game’s cast of characters, its rainbow aesthetic, and wild desert landscapes players will be able to traverse on tanks and bikes.
As always there’s plenty of wild weapons and combat in this game, and you can even ride a golf buggy or hang glider this go around.
The game arrives on 23 August 2022.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is coming to Fall Guys
In a new update to Fall Guys, players will be able to dress up as Jack Skellington, Sally and the Mayor of Christmastown.
There’s also new costumes for gaming icons on the way, including Bomberman, and the goose from Untitled Goose Game.
Dune is getting a game adaptation
Funcom, Shiro Games and Level Infinite are bringing a brand new Dune game to the menu, with Dune: Spice Wars.
It’s described as a 4X game, but no further details were revealed.
Read: New Dune strategy game revealed, called Dune: Spice Wars
Ashly Burch and Will Arnett introduced a new look at Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
The new trailer for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands introduces a bunch of characters, including a barbarian voiced by Andy Samberg. It also shows off the game’s RPG roots and overworld, which includes floating sheep, giant dice, sentient skeletons and a bunch more.
It’s arriving on 25 March 2022.
Among Us is getting a VR port for PSVR and Oculus Quest
Among Us is coming to VR. We live in wild times.
An Oni-inspired hero is coming to Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact is getting a brand new hero soon. He looks great!
Steelrising is a new game featuring clockwork automatons
A sick new steampunk game called Steelrising was shown off with a fresh new trailer. It features clockwork Victorian automatons and major clashes.
This trailer was followed by a new look at Metal: Hellsinger, introduced by Trivium guitarist and lead singer Matt Heafy, as well as a look at new vehicles coming in Rocket League: Sidesweep.
Star Trek: Resurgence is coming in autumn 2022
A new game from former Telltale Games developers will take players to the stars in a new Star Trek adventure where players must save the galaxy from new threats.
Leonard Nimoy’s Spock features in the game, and it’s coming in 2022.
Read: Star Trek: Resurgence revealed by former Telltale Games developers
Rumbleverse is bringing the beatdown to 2022
A cartoon trailer introduced a brand new game from Epic Games Publishing.
It’s a city-based multiplayer brawler which utilises a similar aesthetic to Fortnite. There’s wild fighters, plenty of special moves, and a range of wild characters to fight against.
A Plague Tale: Requiem is continuing the morbid journey of the original
A Plague Tale: Requiem is a sequel to A Plague Tale: innocence, the award-winning adventure game. This go around, you’ll be exploring yet another morbid medieval town as you fight for survival against all odds.
It’s coming in 2022 for next gen consoles.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human gets a fresh showcase
A cover of Pixies classic ‘Where Is My Mind?’ introduces a new, devastating look at Dying Light 2, the survival sequel featuring zombies and plenty of darkness.
CrossfireX is a new military shooter
In CrossfireX, you’ll run and gun your way through hostile landscapes as enemies advance. There’s plenty of guns, paramilitary weapons, and lots of explosions in this trailer. It’s coming to Xbox consoles on 10 February 2022.
This trailer was followed by new looks at Fortnite‘s upcoming season, and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt, arriving in autumn 2022 as a free-to-play game.
GTFO is officially out
After a period of early access, survival game GTFO is officially out.
The new trailer showed off spooky monster battles, sandstorms, and plenty of terror.
The Halo TV series got a first look trailer
The highly-anticipated TV adaptation of Halo was revealed at The Game Awards 2021, with a fresh trailer showing off a number of characters, wild sci-fi landscapes and a very fresh-looking Master Chief suit. It was brief, but very effective.
It’s coming to streaming service Paramount+ in 2022.
Read: Halo TV show for Paramount+ reveals a first look trailer
Elden Ring‘s Pot introduces a new trailer for Elden Ring
The new trailer for Elden Ring introduced more of the story elements behind the game, including the shattering of the Elden Ring itself. It was introduced by a cute automaton of the Pot from the game.
Hopefully, this is the last Elden Ring trailer we see ahead of the game’s release on 25 February 2022.
Synced: Off-Planet is bringing alien weaponry to 2022
The next trailer was for a multiplayer game starring alien robots and heroes with the ability to grow special high-powered limbs, called Synced: Off-Planet.
ARC Raiders features giant mechs and major battles
Then, we got a look at gameplay for ARC Raiders, a gorgeous-looking adventure spanning wild forests and outposts, and featuring a plenty of wildlife.
ARC Raiders appears to be a post-apocalyptic journey where players take on the role of the resistance against evil machine forces.
Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss introduce a new clip from The Matrix: Resurrections, and The Matrix Awakens
A new clip from The Matrix Resurrections was revealed at The Game Awards 2021. It featured Neo and a new blue-haired character travelling through a train in Tokyo, and ending up in a theatre with Morpheus on the other side.
Reeves also bigged up the changing boundaries between film and video games at the show, and introduced a new look at The Matrix Awakens, a new experience expanding on the world of the film.
The game features wild CG character models for Neo and Trinity, although the early trailer did dip into the uncanny valley. It’s available for everyone now.
Read: The Matrix Awakens, a new video game tie-in, launches on Friday
And that was The Game Awards 2021! There were plenty of surprises, plenty of underdogs in the winners, and a whole lot of games. Expect to hear more about each title as we head towards 2022.
This article has been updated since its original publication.
