The Game Awards 2016 recap - Death Stranding, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Prey, and more

This night the eyes of the gamers’ community around the world were fixed on Los Angeles-based The Game Awards 2016, hosted by Geoff Keighley. In this story, we present you the winners of the awards as well as the new announcements made at the show.

The Game Awards 2016 winners and nominees

Game of the Year

1. The winner: Overwatch (Blizzard)
2. Doom (id Software/Bethesda)
3. Inside (Playdead)
4. Titanfall 2 (Respawn/Electronic Arts)
5. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Action/Adventure Game

1. The winner: Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
2. Hitman (IO Interactive/Square-Enix)
3. Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
4. Ratchet & Clank (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
5. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Narrative

1. The winner: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/SIE)
2. Firewatch (Campo Santo)
3. Inside (Playdead)
4. Mafia III (Hangar 13/2K)
5. Oxenfree (Night School Studio)

Best Role Playing Game

1. The winner: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine (CD Projekt RED)
2. Dark Souls 3 (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
3. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos Montreal/Square-Enix)
4. World of Warcraft: Legion (Blizzard)
5. Xenoblade Chronicles X (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

Best Strategy Game

1. The winner: Civilization VI (Firaxis Games/2K)
2. Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
3. The Banner Saga 2 (Stoic Studio/Versus Evil)
4. Total War: Warhammer (Creative Assembly/Sega)
5. XCOM 2 (Firaxis Games/2K)

Best Sports/Racing Game

1. The winner: Forza Horizon 3 (Playground Games/Microsoft Studios)
2. FIFA 17 (EA Canada/EA Sports)
3. MLB The Show 16 (SCE San Diego Studio/SIE)
4. NBA 2K17 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)
5. Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 (PES Productions/Konami)

Best action game

1. The winner: Doom (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
2. Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
3. Gears of War 4 (The Coalition/Microsoft Studios)
4. Overwatch (Blizzard)
5. Titanfall 2 (Respawn/EA)

Best Fighting Game

1. The winner: Street Fighter V (Capcom)
2. Killer Instinct Season 3 (Iron Galaxy Studios/Microsoft Studios)
3. King of Fighters XIV (SNK/Atlus USA)
4. Pokken Tournament (Bandai Namco Studios/The Pokemon Co.)

Best Multiplayer Game

1. The winner: Overwatch (Blizzard)
2. Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
3. Gears of War 4 (The Coalition/Microsoft Studios)
4. Overcooked (Ghost Town Games/Team 17)
5. Titanfall 2 (Respawn/EA)
6. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)

Best E-sports Game

1. The winner: Overwatch (Blizzard)
2. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
3. Dota 2 (Valve)
4. League of Legends (Riot)
5. Street Fighter V (Capcom)

Best Independent Game

1. The winner: Inside (Playdead)
2. Firewatch (Campo Santo)
3. Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
4. Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe/Chucklefish Games)
5. The Witness (Thelka, Inc.)

Best Mobile/Handheld Game

1. The winner: Pokemon Go (Niantic)
2. Clash Royale (Supercell)
3. Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
4. Monster Hunter Generations (Capcom)
5. Severed (DrinkBox Studios)

Best Family Game

1. The winner: Pokemon Go (Niantic)
2. Dragon Quest Builders (Square Enix)
3. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (TT Fusion/WBIE)
4. Ratchet & Clank (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
5. Skylanders: Imaginators (Toy for Bob/Activision)

Best VR Game

1. The winner: Rez Infinite (Enhance Games)
2. Batman: Arkham VR (Rocksteady Studios/WBIE)
3. EVE: Valkyrie (CCP Games)
4. Job Simulator (Owlchemy Labs)
5. Thumper (Drool)

Games For Impact Award

1. The winner: That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games)
2. 1979 Revolution (iNK Stories)
3. Block’hood (Plethora Project/Devolver Digital)
4. Orwell (Osmotic Studios/Surprise Attack)
5. Sea Hero Quest (Glitchers)

Most Anticipated Game

1. The Winner: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
2. God of War (Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
3. Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
4. Mass Effect: Andromeda (Bioware/EA)
5. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)

Best Art Direction

1. The winner: Inside (Playdead)
2. Abzu (Giant Squid/505)
3. Firewatch (Campo Santo)
4. Overwatch (Blizzard)
5. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/SIE)

Best Performance

1. The winner: Nolan North as Nathan Drake, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
2. Alex Hernandez as Lincoln Clay, Mafia III
3. Cissy Jones as Delilah, Firewatch
4. Emily Rose as Elena, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
5. Rich Summer as Henry, Firewatch
6. Troy Baker as Sam Drake, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Best Music/Sound

1. The winner: Doom (id/Bethesda)
2. Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
3. Inside (Playdead)
4. Rez Infinite (Enhance Games)
5. Thumper (Drool)

Best Studio/Game Direction

1. The winner: Blizzard (for Overwatch)
2. Dice (for Battlefield 1)
3. id Software (for Doom)
4. Naughty Dog (for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End)
5. Respawn (for Titanfall 2)

Trending Gamer

1. The winner: Boogie2988
2. AngryJoeShow
3. Danny O'Dwyer
4. JackSepticEye
5. Lirik

Best E-sports Team

1. The winner: Cloud 9
2. SK Telecom T1 (League of Legends)
3. Wings Gaming (Dota 2)
4. SK Gaming
5. ROX Tigers (League of Legends)

Best E-sports Player

1. The winner: Coldzera – Marcelo David (SK Gaming, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
2. Faker – Lee Sang-hyeok (SK Telecom T1, League of Legends)
3. ByuN – Hyun Woo (StarCraft II)
4. Infiltrator – Lee Seeon-woo (Team Razer, Street Fighter V)
5. Hungrybox – Juan Debiedma (Team Liquid, Super Smash Bros.)

New announcements and trailers

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild new gameplay

TGA 2016 saw a new trailer and some gameplay footage from the open-world The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The next installment of this legendary series is coming next year for Nintendo Switch.

Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition to be released by Gearbox Publishing

Randy Pitchford from Gearbox Software used his time at TGA 2016 to announce that his company is opening a publishing branch, called Gearbox Publishing. The first title in their catalogue will be Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition, an enhanced version of People Can Fly’s 2011’s shooter. Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition is going to hit PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro (where the game is promised to run in 60 FPS at 4K resolution) on April 7, 2017. Here’s the reveal trailer, starring Duke Nukem.

Death Stranding new trailer starring Mads Mikkelsen

Probably the biggest guest of the night was Hideo Kojima, who received a late award for last year’s Metal Gear Solid V. While on stage, Mr Kojima presented a brand new trailer for his next game, Death Stranding, which also revealed the production’s co-star Mads Mikkelsen.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series confirmed

Previously, we only heard rumors about Telltale making a Guardians of the Galaxy game, but this has now been confirmed. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series has been announced to launch next year, and… that’s it for now.

Dauntless, a free-to-play online game, announced

Phoenix Labs, a studio that gives employment to former BioWare, Riot Games and Blizzard developers, revealed Dauntless, a free-to-play online PC game scheduled for next year. In the game, small teams of players will join forces to fight so-called Behemoths. Dauntles has got an official website, where you can find more info. Here’s the first glimpse at the game.

Prey new gameplay

As expected, Arkane Studios appeared at TGA 2016 to show off a new gameplay footage from Prey, an interesting sci-fi shooter. This video focuses on some unique weapons, which are going to have more uses than just killing aliens. They also made a mention of the latest issue of Game Informer, which features an exclusive coverage of the game.

Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment DLC announced

The successful arcade game Shovel Knight is going to get a free DLC called Specter of Torment in spring 2017. The add-on will feature a new character with unique weapons and skills.

Halo Wars 2 new story trailer

Know your enemy, they say. In order to honor that rule, 343 Industries showed off a new trailer that introduces the main antagonist in Halo Wars 2, a Brute leader named Atriox.

What’s more, everyone who buys Halo Wars 2 Ulimate Edition will also receive Halo Wars: The Definitive Edition – the enhanced version of the first game will be available on December 20.

The Assassin’s Creed movie clip

To catch a breath between all these game announcements at TGA 2016, a clip from the Assassin’s Creed movie was shown. What we can see here is a carriage chase, somewhere in the 15th century Spain. The movie will hit the big screen on December 21, 2016.

Dead Rising 4 holiday season trailer

As we know, Dead Rising 4 is going to be set around Christmas, and here is the new Christmas-themed trailer. The next installment of this cult open-world action game about killing zombies is coming out for PC, XONE and PS4 on December 6.

Mass Effect: Andromeda gameplay

Ladies and gentlemen, here’s the star of the night, the “first” Mass Effect: Andromeda gameplay, right from TGA 2016:

The Walking Dead: Season 3 first gameplay

Last, but by no means least, is the debut gameplay from The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier. The video introduces Javier, a new playable character, and his family, early after the outbreak. Interestingly, the series’ third season premiere is so big that it didn’t fit into one episode. That’s why Telltale decided to release a two-episode premiere at the same date, on December 20.