The biggest announcements and reveals at The Game Awards 2024
The Game Awards celebrated its tenth anniversary yesterday, and this year's show was jam-packed with major announcements and game trailers, including new titles from FromSoftware, CD Projekt Red, and others.
The Witcher 4, previously codenamed "Project Polaris," has finally been revealed with a new trailer following its announcement to be in full production last month. The game will center on Ciri, the now-adult Witcher following the events of the third game. It was also noted that the CGI trailer was rendered on a "unannounced RTX GPU" from Nvidia.
Despite FromSoftware's recent comments that Elden Ring fans may have to wait a while for another title, the studio has announced a new co-op game that involves defeating bosses and surviving waves of enemies. Nightreign, set to release in 2025, will have faster gameplay than Elden Ring and eight playable characters that can be upgraded.
The next installment in the Mafia franchise, which was announced earlier this year, has received a trailer revealing its new protagonist, Enzo, as well as a 2025 release window. The "start of a new crime saga" is set in 1900s Sicily and follows Enzo as he leaves behind a childhood spent working in sulfur mines to join a crime family led by Don Torrisi.
One of the most surprising announcements at the show was that former PlatinumGames founder Hideki Kamiya has returned to Capcom to lead a reformed Clover Studio, now known as Clovers. The team is working on a sequel to the cult classic 2006 game Okami, which will feature the original's unique ink wash painting art style.
Ryu Ga Gotoku, the developer behind Like a Dragon, has revealed its next project, Project Century, which takes place in 1915 Japan. Although little is known about the game, it seems that it will follow a similar formula to Like a Dragon and Judgment.
RGG Studio didn’t just stop with Project Century, as it has also confirmed that it is developing the next Virtua Fighter game. Simply titled "Virtua Fighter," the developer stated in its own Direct presentation that it aims to create the "most innovative fighting game" by combining old and new elements of the genre.
Gearbox has finally given fans their first in-game look at Borderlands 4, which includes a new cast of Vault Hunters, a variety of weapons, and strange enemies. The game is still scheduled for release in 2025, with the studio claiming that it will feature the "deepest and most diverse" skill trees the series has ever seen, as well as "the most expansive loot chase yet."
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
Naughty Dog's new IP, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, has been revealed, with a cast of familiar faces and a soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The title sees a bounty hunter attempting to escape a remote planet after becoming stranded with no communication with the rest of the galaxy.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and The Last of Us: Part 2 Remastered are coming to PC
Sony has announced that FF7 Rebirth will be available on PC on January 23, 2025, with TLOU 2 following on April 3. Both appear to support Nvidia's DLSS and will have improved textures, lighting, models, and other features compared to their PS5 counterparts.
Saber Interactive has announced Turok: Origins, a new third-person shooter based on the popular dinosaur-hunting shooter franchise Turok. Although it lacks a release date, it appears to feature the franchise's signature blend of sci-fi and prehistoric elements, as well as a variety of small and large dinosaurs to absorb powers from.
Split Fiction is the next project from Hazelight, following It Takes Two and A Way Out, and will also be a co-op only title. The game revolves around two writers who are experts in fantasy and sci-fi, respectively, who are thrown into each other's created worlds and must use their unique skills to find a way out. It is set to be released on March 6, and players will only need to buy one copy of the game to play co-op due to its pass system.
Obsidian's sequel to 2019's The Outer Worlds has received its first gameplay trailer, which showcases a number of intriguing locations and confirms a 2025 release window for Xbox Series X/S, PC, and even PS5. It will include "more action, more weapons, and more graphics," with Fallout creator Tim Cain advising on the project.
Capcom is reviving the Onimusha franchise after nearly two decades without a new installment. Way of the Sword is set in Kyoto during the early Edo period and follows a "lone samurai armed with the Oni Gauntlet" as he fights against "hellish creatures from another world" known as Genma.
Fumito Uedam, the designer behind cult classics Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, has revealed his next project, codenamed "Project: Robot." While the trailer did not share much, it has been confirmed that the game is being developed by his studio genDESIGN and will be published by Epic Games, with a release on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and the Epic Games Store.
Sega has announced that a new Sonic racing game is in development following the release of Sumo Digital's Team Sonic Racing in 2019. Very little has been revealed, but based on the title and Shadow's appearance in the teaser, we could expect tracks set in a more mature world, similar to those found in Sega's Shadow-focused games. CrossWorlds will be available on both current and last-generation consoles, as well as PC, but no release date has been confirmed.