Now that E3 has seemingly taken its final bow, there’s no bigger gaming event than The Game Awards. The eleventh edition of the awards show took place on Thursday night, and in addition to handing out dozens of trophies, the 2024 show also featured huge announcements from the biggest game studios around the world.
The main show was three hours long, so rather than running through each and every trailer and reveal, we decided to round up our favorite announcements of the night. Some of the highlights include The Witcher 4, Borderlands 4, and Elden Ring Nightreign.
Biggest news from The Game Awards 2024
Pac-Man goes grimdark in Shadow Labyrinth
Prior to the main show, Bandai Namco threw us all for a loop with the trailer for a new 2D action platformer called Shadow Labyrinth. You play as Swordsman No. 8, and like other Metroidvania games, you’ll fight your way through a dangerous world while gaining new skills and abilities. But the twist is that you will do it all alongside your yellow, circular companion, Puck (aka Pac-Man). When you defeat certain enemies, Puck will consume them.
Ciri will lead the charge in The Witcher 4
CD Projekt Red kicked off the main event with the first cinematic trailer for The Witcher 4. We learned that Ciri will be the protagonist of this entry and that this single-player, open-world RPG is being developed using customized Unreal Engine 5 technology. Geralt of Rivia will still have a role to play in the sequel, but this is Ciri’s story now.
Elden Ring Nightreign is a new adventure in the Lands Between
FromSoftware is releasing an entirely new Elden Ring game in 2025, but it’s not quite a sequel. This standalone spinoff reimagines the core design of the 2022 original by putting you in control of unique champions with their own specific sets of skills. And this time around, you’ll be fighting through the Lands Between with up to two friends.
Shadow of the Colossus creator is back with a new game
We didn’t get a title, but we did get a glimpse at the next game from Fumito Ueda, the creator of Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian. Though there appear to be elements from his previous titles, this new project seems to have a sci-fi theme.
It Takes Two developer’s new game is Split Fiction
Over the last few years, Hazelight Studios has made a name for itself as the king of co-op, with A Way Out and It Takes Two both receiving critical acclaim. The studio’s next co-op adventure is Split Fiction, and this one is about young writers Mio and Zoe, who become trapped in the sci-fi and fantasy stories they write. They’ll have to work together to make it out alive.
We got our first look at Borderlands 4 gameplay
Borderlands 4 brings the popular looter shooter to an all-new world full of billions of weapons to collect and countless enemies to annihilate. Four Vault Hunters make their way to Kairos, where they’ll battle against the Timekeeper, who rules the planet with an iron fist. As in previous entries, you can play through the whole game with up to three other players.
What is Ryu Ga Gotoka Studio’s Project Century?
Yakuza/Like a Dragon developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio pulled back the curtain on a new game codenamed Project Century at The Game Awards. It looks similar to the original Yakuza games, with over-the-top hand-to-hand combat, but this one is set in 1915.
Onimusha is back after 20 years
Capcom might have had the biggest surprises of the evening at The Game Awards, starting with Onimusha: Way of the Sword. This 2026 release will be the first full-scale Onimusha game since 2006’s Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams for PS2. This long-awaited sequel is set in Kyoto in the early Edo period and will feature the same skillful sword combat as previous entries.
Okami is finally getting the sequel it deserves
Nearly twenty years after Capcom released its Zelda-like action-adventure Okami, a sequel is in the works. Hideki Kamiya, director of the original game, is back to direct the sequel, which many assumed would never happen after Okami sold poorly.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is up next for Naughty Dog
After spending the last decade and a half completely focused on Uncharted and The Last of Us, Naughty Dog has announced a new title called Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. The team has been working on this game since 2020, but it debuted at The Game Awards. You play as Jordan A. Mun, “a dangerous bounty hunter who ends up stranded on Sempiria – a distant planet whose communication with the outside universe went dark hundreds of years ago.” Tati Gabrielle stars as Jordan, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are doing the score.
