On Tuesday, The Game Awards organization unveiled the nominees for the awards ceremony. The 2016 edition of the show will feature some changes in contrast to past years, including the addition of a VR category.
This year’s Game Awards see Nintendo notoriously absent from the competition, with only a couple of titles standing in a few categories. On the other hand, Sony’s ‘Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End’ is in contention with other games in nearly all categories.
Fans can watch the acclaimed award ceremony live on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook Live, and even Snapchat. The Game Awards 2016 will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 1.
What are The Game Awards?
The Game Awards is a ceremony created by Geoff Keighley to honor the latest achievements in the gaming world. The video game journalist has been producing and hosting the show since 2014.
The show consists of 20 categories decided by a preselected Jury and six others in which fans can vote for their favorites. 29 media outlets comprise the Jury for the 2016 edition of The Game Awards.
Sites like Eurogamer, Famitsu, Gamespot, Polygon, Kotaku, and IGN cast ballots alongside renowned world outlets like WIRED, The Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, and Mashable.
Global fan voting decides eSports categories, and media platforms like Yahoo eSports, Twitch.Tv, YouTube, and ESPN helped the organization decide this year’s nominees.
Geoff Keighley created The Game Awards with support from industry leaders like Microsoft, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Nintendo of America, Ubisoft, Valve, Activision, EA, and AMD.
The Game Awards 2016: Nominees
‘Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End’ sits at the top of the list this year, with an impressive total of eight nominations. ‘Overwatch’ closely follows it with 7, and ‘Battlefield 1,’ ‘Doom,’ and ‘Firewatch’ are all tied with five nominations.
Below, some of the most important categories of The Game Awards 2016 and its contenders:
Game of the Year
• Doom (id Software – Bethesda)
• Inside (Playdead)
• Overwatch (Blizzard)
• Titanfall 2 (Respawn – Electronic Arts)
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog – Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Independent Game
• Firewatch (Campo Santo)
• Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
• Inside (Playdead)
• Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe – Chucklefish Games)
• The Witness (Thelka, Inc.)
Best Mobile/Handheld Game
• Clash Royale (Supercell)
• Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems – Nintendo)
• Monster Hunter Generations (Capcom)
• Pokémon GO (Niantic)
• Severed (DrinkBox Studios)
Best VR Game
• Batman: Arkham VR (Rocksteady Studios – WBIE)
• EVE: Valkyrie (CCP Games)
• Job Simulator (Owlchemy Games)
• Rez Infinite (Enhance Games)
• Thumper (Drool)
The full list of categories and nominees is available at The Game Awards official site.
When is the Game Awards 2016 and how to watch it?
The Game Awards organization will stream the event live both on its official website and on a variety of other platforms.
Fans and gaming enthusiasts can tune into the show on their social media site of choice, including Facebook Live, Twitter, and Snapchat. YouTube and Twitch.tv will also stream the event.
Outlets like Gamespot and IGN will also host a live feed of the ceremony on their pages, as well as Valve’s Steam platform.
Moreover, players can even watch The Game Awards 2016 on their console of choice. A broadcast of the event will be up on Xbox Live and PlayStation. The show starts on Thursday, December 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET and 5:30 p.m. PT.
Source: The Game Awards