game awards 2024 reveals

The Game Awards 2024: Every Major Announcement

The Game Awards just dropped more gaming bombshells than Borderlands has guns. From The Witcher’s new star Ciri to Naughty Dog’s space bounty hunter, let’s dig through the digital avalanche that had the internet’s jaw permanently stuck to the floor.

The Game Awards 2024 delivered an unprecedented night of gaming reveals, with over 40 new announcements spanning every platform. From surprising revivals to ambitious new IPs, here’s our comprehensive breakdown of every major reveal from gaming’s biggest night.

The Night’s Biggest Reveals

Naughty Dog’s Space Opera

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet marked the night’s “One More Thing” reveal, showcasing Naughty Dog’s bold departure from The Last of Us. Directed by Neil Druckmann with music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the game follows bounty hunter Jordan A. Mun (played by Tati Gabrielle), who becomes stranded on Sempiria, a mysterious planet cut off from the universe for 600 years. Drawing inspiration from anime classics like Akira and Cowboy Bebop, the game has been in development since 2020 and features partnerships with major brands, including Sony, Adidas, and Porsche.

The Witcher’s Next Chapter

CD Projekt RED unveiled The Witcher 4 with a stunning six-minute trailer confirming Ciri as the protagonist. Built in Unreal Engine 5, this single-player open-world RPG promises to continue the series’ tradition of complex storytelling while leveraging Ciri’s unique time-and-space-bending abilities. The studio has emphasized their commitment to avoiding another Cyberpunk 2077-style launch situation.

FromSoftware’s Cooperative Vision

Elden Ring Nightreign represents a fresh take on the Lands Between, offering a standalone cooperative experience for up to three players. Set in a parallel world, the game features a condensed version of Limgrave with randomized enemies and structures, creating unique challenges each session. Game director Junya Ishizaki has emphasized this isn’t a live service game, maintaining FromSoftware’s commitment to focused gaming experiences.

Legendary Returns

Team ICO’s New Vision

Fumito Ueda‘s new project, codenamed “Project Robot,” showcased a stunning sequence featuring a character climbing a humanoid mech before detaching its head to escape a devastating shockwave. The brief glimpse demonstrated the same atmospheric storytelling that made ICO and Shadow of the Colossus beloved classics.

Okami’s Surprise Revival

The unexpected announcement of an Okami sequel brought the house down, complete with a traditional Japanese drum performance. While details remain scarce, the reveal promises to bring back the series’ distinctive celestial brush mechanics and Sumi-e art style.

Onimusha’s Modern Resurrection

Capcom’s Onimusha returns in 2026, answering years of fan requests. The supernatural samurai series will receive a complete modern overhaul while maintaining its distinctive blend of historical fiction and demonic warfare.

Major Sequel Announcements

The Outer Worlds 2

After a lengthy silence, Obsidian Entertainment pulled back the curtain on The Outer Worlds 2, showcasing fresh gameplay footage and confirming a 2025 release for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The sequel promises to expand upon the original’s corporate-dominated space frontier with larger environments, deeper character customization, and the series’ trademark satirical take on capitalism run amok.

Borderlands 4

Gearbox Software’s reveal of Borderlands 4 brought the series’ signature mayhem back with style. The gameplay footage showcased new Vault Hunters in action, promising billions more procedurally generated weapons and what appears to be the most ambitious story in the franchise yet. The game maintains the iconic cel-shaded art style while pushing technical boundaries. The reveal trailer also hinted at new movement mechanics and combat abilities that could shake up the established formula.

New Takes on Classic Franchises

Turok: Origins

Saber Interactive’s reimagining of Turok shifts to third-person cooperative gameplay, allowing up to four players to hunt dinosaurs together. The game introduces a biomorphic suit system where players can capture DNA from enemies to gain new abilities, including lightning powers.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound

Launching Summer 2025, this 2D side-scrolling take on Ninja Gaiden introduces new protagonist Kenji Mozu facing off against a demonic army. The game promises to maintain the series’ notorious difficulty while offering a fresh perspective on its combat.

Thick as Thieves

Led by gaming legend Warren Spector, this multiplayer evolution of the classic Thief formula pits players against each other in addition to traditional guards and traps. The game maintains stealth elements while introducing faster-paced gameplay and competitive mechanics.

New Original Adventures

Split Fiction

Hazelight Studios, the team behind the hit couch-co-op game It Takes Two, unveiled their latest cooperative adventure (releasing March 6, 2025). The game follows two aspiring writers trapped in their own simulated stories. Players must navigate between sci-fi and fantasy worlds, solving puzzles that span both genres.

Project Century

RGG Studio‘s new IP transplants their signature action style to 1915, promising an alternate history narrative with the studio’s characteristic blend of drama and over-the-top combat. It looks to play very much like Yakuza / Like a Dragon but with a more violent alt-history angle.

Stage Fright

Hello Games is publishing this new cooperative adventure from Ghost Town Games, the creators of Overcooked. The game promises to take players on a journey filled with escape room puzzles, challenging obstacles, and an ancient mystery to unravel, marking a creative departure from the team’s cooking chaos roots.

Dispatch

This narrative-driven adventure boasts an all-star cast including Aaron Paul, Jeffrey Wright, and Laura Bailey. Players take on the role of Robert Robertson, a former superhero forced to work at a dispatch center after losing his mech-suit.

Expansions and Updates

Palworld: Feybreak

Arriving December 23, 2024, this expansion introduces the largest island yet, supposedly six times bigger than Sakurajima. It promises harsh environments and new mysteries to uncover.

Dave the Diver: In the Jungle

The quirky restaurant management/exploration game expands to the jungle in late 2025, taking its unique gameplay formula to a completely new environment.

Final Fantasy XVI Meets Tekken 8

In an unexpected crossover, Final Fantasy XVI’s Clive Rosfield joins Tekken 8’s roster as the final Year 1 Character Pass addition, bringing his distinctive combat style to the fighting game arena.

PC Ports and Release Dates

  • Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth hits PC on January 23, 2025, with enhanced features and mod support
  • The Last of Us Part 2 arrives on PC April 3, 2025, joining PlayStation’s growing PC portfolio
  • The Outer Worlds 2 targets a 2025 release across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC
  • Mafia: The Old Country launches Summer 2025, telling an origin story set in 1900s Sicily

The night concluded with Astro Bot claiming Game of the Year, while the inaugural Game Changers award recognized Amir Satvat for his crucial work helping laid-off developers find new positions in the industry.

Published by Adam Birney

As a Senior Writer and Editor for The Cultured Nerd, Adam is as dialed-in to pop-culture as Bruce with the Batcomputer. In an era where clickbait reigns supreme and misinformation runs rampant, Adam strives to provide well-researched, accurate and unbiased insights to the realms of movies, video games, superheroes and more. After all, that's what being a 'cultured nerd' is all about.