The Game Awards 2024: What to expect from this year’s nominations

The Game Awards 2024 nomination announcement will be made later today, November 18, at noon ET, 9 AM PT, and 5 PM GMT. The announcement will include the names of gaming titles for 29 categories, with Game of the Year being the most anticipated category.

Geoff Keighley, an acclaimed video game journalist and presenter will reveal the nominees in a live broadcast for TGA aka “Oscars for games” at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

The gaming industry has been going through a chaotic period with layoffs, budget cuts, and cancellations of several projects. This has caused limited releases for 2024, with everyone wondering what titles would take center stage for the prestigious Game Awards.

This year, big game publishers like PlayStation have released fewer titles. Although Xbox has stayed busy, it is behind in hardware relevance with fewer console sales. Nintendo’s awaited Switch 2 also never got launched this year.

Titles dividing opinions for this year’s game awards

The TGA debates are usually dominated by strong blockbusters like The Legend of Zelda or Elden Ring.

Astro Bot is a mainstay on the Gaming Award’s stage. The contender created by Team Asobi was critically acclaimed with a Metascore of 94. The game earned praise for its technical aspects and is a solid option for the Best Design or Innovation Award category. It could also be in with a shout under the Audience Award for its enjoyability and sense of nostalgia, which made it a fan favorite.

However, Astro Bot falls in the family-friendly category of games, a class that has struggled in the GOTY ranks. There are exceptions in cases where games excel on narrative, but Astro Bot does not rank high in that category either.

Metaphor: Refanzio is another strong contender. This RPG by Atlus is knitted with detailed gameplay, a strong narrative, and characters that leave a mark. This gives it a chance for Best Narrative. While its outdated turn-based combat may make it less appealing to the audience, its Metascore of 93 and increasing popularity make it eligible for TGA.

The third game title expected among the nominations is Final Fantasy Rebirth. The game’s stunning visuals and beloved legacy hold stock among fans. Its Metascore is equally impressive. It could easily score a nomination for the Best Visual and Audience Award. However, it has also endured underwhelming sales and some criticism about its pacing.

Silent Hill 2 is similar to previous GOTY nominations 

A remake that gained a lot of appreciation this year was Silent Hill 2. The game has the technical excellence for a survival horror classic which was creative yet faithful to the original. It can be nominated under categories like Best Narrative, Best Technology, and Best Audio.

It is also similar to previous GOTY nominations like Resident Evil 2 and 4. On the other hand, it faces strong competition in the final votes like such genre of games usually do.

The Game Awards 2024 throws in a twist. It allows nominations of expansions, remasters, and DLCs as well. This makes Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree a stronger contender with its diverse content and great reception. It can also easily challenge the traditional nominations for the GOTY awards even though there are debates that these update releases will unfairly overshadow standalone titles.

With the nominations announcement just two hours away at the time of writing, the public voting will shape the final results for The Game Awards live event on December 12 at 7:30 ET.