Hazelight Studios and EA’s It Takes Two took home several prizes at The Game Awards 2021, including best family game, best multiplayer game, and game of the year. The annual ceremony returned to a live ceremony at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Thursday, after it went virtual in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandmeic.
It Takes Two bested fellow GOTY nominees Resident Evil Village, Deathloop, Metroid Dead, Psychonauts 2 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Also taking home numerous honors during the evening ceremony were Kena: Bridge of Spirits and Forza Horizon 5.
Like the 2020 iteration and previous years, The Game Awards 2021 featured some major starpower, with Simu Liu, Ben Schwartz, Keanu Reeves, Giancarlo Esposito and Ming-Na Wen among the ceremony’s presenters. Schwartz and Sonic the Hedgehog co-star Jim Carrey came together to tease the film’s upcoming sequel with the first trailer.
The pre-show also featured news for gaming takes on entertainment titles, including Amazon’s The Expanse and horror classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which gets a multiplayer spin from Gun Interactive and Sumo Nottingham. Dune will also get the gaming treatment with a real-time strategy title.
Thursday’s awards show comes at a precarious time in the gaming industry, as major studios, including Activision Blizzard, have come under fire with toxic workplace allegations surrounding their work. Creator and host Geoff Keighley started off the ceremony addressing the grave headlines, denouncing toxic behavior.
“We should not and we will not tolerate abuse, harassment…by anyone including our online communities,” he said. “I call on everyone to do their part to build a better, safer video game industry.”
Additional highlights include the trailer for Paramount+’s Halo series, starring Pablo Schreiber, Imagine Dragons’ performance of their Arcane theme and updates for a number of major gaming titles including Warner Bros. Games’ Wonder Woman, Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Remedy’s Alan Wake II and Fromsoftware’s Elden Ring.
See the full list of winners at The Game Awards below.
Game of the Year
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
Best Game Direction
Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
Best Ongoing
FINAL FANTASY XIV Online (SQUARE ENIX)
Best Indie
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
Best Debut Indie
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
Best Narrative
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX)
Best Art Direction
Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
Best Score and Music
NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 (Keiichi Okabe, Composer)
Best Audio Design
Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)
Best Performance
Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village
Games for Impact
Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/SQUARE ENIX)
Best Community Support
FINAL FANTASY XIV Online (SQUARE ENIX)
Best Mobile Game, Presented by Verizon
Genshin Impact (MiHoYo)
Best VR/AR
Resident Evil 4 (Armature Studio/Capcom/Oculus Studios)
Best Action
Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
Best Action/Adventure
Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo)
Best Role Playing
Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco)
Best Fighting
Guilty Gear -Strive- (Arc System Works)
Best Family
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
Best Sports/Racing
Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)
Best Sim/Strategy
Age of Empires IV (Relic Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)
Best Multiplayer
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
Most Anticipated, Presented by Prime Gaming
Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Innovation in Accessibility, Presented by Chevrolet
Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)
Content Creator of the Year
Dream
Best Esports Game, Presented by Grubhub
League of Legends (Riot Games)
Best Esports Athlete
Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
Best Esports Team
Natus Vincere (CS:GO)
Best Esports Coach
Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun
Best Esports Event
2021 League of Legends World Championship