The Game Awards 2018 – Live Blog
Good morning/afternoon/evening from wherever you are, and welcome to SquareXO’s coverage for The Game Awards 2018!
My name is Lloyd and I’m covering this event which has been promising not just announcements but plenty of surprises!
The show is starting any minute now, so be sure to go watch on Twitch, Mixer, Youtube or anywhere else and keep this page open at the same time for some hot takes, reactions, and hopefully a few laughs as well! All times are in UK time.
04:50 – Looks like that’s a wrap. What a wonderful event. Bravo!
If you’ve enjoyed my ranting, you can follow me on Twitter @lloydcoombes. Above all else, be sure to follow @Square_XO for a wealth of content including our Game of the Year Prize Draw. Thank you so much for checking out our content, and have a wonderful day!
04:47 – Can we get one more “BOY?” please? Just one. No? Ok then.
04:45 – WOW. GOD OF WAR is your 2018 Game of the Year. Did NOT see that one coming. Not that it doesn’t deserve it, it’s one of my favourite games of all time. What an incredible game – time to start New Game Plus I reckon.
04:43 – In fact, special mention again to Mr Keighley for bringing this all together. The production values are astounding. Review scores and awards may be inconsequential to many, but tonight has been a true celebration of gaming as a medium. It’s the kind of show you can watch with your relatives and they can see just why gaming means so much to so many.
04:40 – Here we go for Game of the Year. Jeff Kaplan from Blizzard is presenting. He’s another one that you could go for a pint with, nice lad our Jeff.
Lovely performance from the Orchestra who are playing a snippet from each nominee’s soundtrack. The Orchestra have been phenomenal throughout.
04:37 – If you’re in the UK, congratulations – its nearly time for work. Wherever you’re following this blog from, thank you. The view count is over 4500, which is madness. You’re the real MVPs. Side note: Diablo 3 on Switch looks so good. We’re in the “commercial break” now – Shadow Of The Tomb Raider is demonstrating Dolby Atmos.
04:35 – The Orchestra are now playing the main theme of Super Smash Bros Ultimate, a song I’ve been humming incessantly since about E3. So that’s not going away anytime soon. My partner will be thrilled.
04:33 – Joker is in the first DLC pack for Smash. All of the DLC fighters are new, and from the sound of things they’re going to all be surprising. Would love P5 on Switch. Hell, I’d take P4: Golden on Switch.
04:31 – JOKER FROM PERSONA 5 IN SMASH. I MIGHT FAINT.
04:29 – Brief update – looks like the Crash Team Racing remaster is on PS4/Xbox One/Switch at launch. No timed exclusivity like there was with the Crash trilogy.
04:26 – The Russo Brothers are presenting Best Ongoing Game – tough group but I can’t see past Fortnite for the impact it’s had on the gaming world. And the winner is… FORTNITE. It also wins Best Multiplayer Game.
04:25 – I’m pretty sure PUBG Mobile runs better than the console version.
04:24 – Russo Brothers are up next. The directed this little independent movie called Avengers: Infinity War, you may have heard of it.
04:20 – RAGE 2 is up next, and it looks so much fun. I’m really looking forward to it. Some of the weaponry looks fantastic, and movement looks to be nice and fluid – almost Doom-esque. May 14th 2019.
04:15 – It’s Fortnite O’Clock. This game has reached a whole new stratosphere of popularity this year, I wonder what they could be revealing today since the new season only just began. Do you reckon Donald Mustard sleeps on a bed of cash at this point? Or V-Bucks?
The Block is a new area where user-created content will be showcased. It replaces Risky Reels on the map.
With all this terraforming I’m not surprised the Fortnite island is abandoned. Poor folks look out of their window and see a huge cube, an iceberg, or goodness knows what else.
04:11 – Best Game Direction Award is up now, presented by the composer of Celeste. I’m expecting God of War to grab this one. I was right, GOD OF WAR wins Game Direction AND Best Action/Adventure Game. Cory Barlog accepts the award. This has got to mean Red Dead wins overall Game of the Year right? I’m gutted Spiderman hasn’t won anything – at least not yet.
04:08 – I’m flagging a bit here, two coffees down. Another inspiring story from the Facebook Gaming section here about a young man who developed a game in a Ugandan Refugee camp. Makes you think about how lucky you are.
04:05 – Phil Spencer is here. “We can do better” he says of 2018. Hard to argue, but I think Microsoft are pushing towards being very competitive next year. ASHEN is on Game Pass now, BELOW is coming soon. 2019 will see ORI, CRACKDOWN and GEARS. A new trailer for DEVIL MAY CRY 5 is now up.
04:02 – Ok, ok. I’m composed now. Terrified the cat when I saw Scorpion’s grapple there…
PsychoNauts 2 is back after a bit of a hiatus from the spotlight, and seems to be coming in 2019.
03:57 – ED BOON IS HERE. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. He’s presenting Best Sport/Racing… BUT WAIT! MORTAL KOMBAT IS BACK. I’m beaming right now. The footage shows Raiden breaking a fair number of Scorpion’s bones – then exploding his head for good measure. Because, why not? Oh, and Classic Scorpion is back! MORTAL KOMBAT 11 launches April 23rd, so that’s another day I need to book off of work.
Ok now we’re presenting Best Sport/Racing – FORZA HORIZON 4 is your winner here, folks.
03:50 – The Duffer Brothers, creators of Stranger Things, are here. A 16-bit Stranger Things game is coming which follows Season 3. Looks like a brawler from an isometric view and I am HERE FOR IT. Man, I’m gonna watch Stranger Things Seasons 1 and 2 again.
03:48 – Man. Musical medley from Red Dead Redemption 2. I can pinpoint where these songs come in the story and I’m having all the feels right now. What a game. What a soundtrack. Get it on streaming services already Rockstar!
03:46 – An anti-vaping campaign ad, followed by Magic: The Gathering. Elaine Chase is here to talk about MTG’s push into eSports, starting in March at PAX East – $1 million dollars up for grabs for all you budding Doctor Evils out there. Oh, and if you enter the promo code GAMEAWARDS you can get free cards in MAGIC: Arena.
03:42 – SURVIVED BY is releasing tonight on Steam Early Access for free and comes with a nice light-hearted trailer.
03:41 – Something new here from AnnaPurna – THE PATHLESS is coming 2019 to Epic Games Store and PS4.
03:40 – Mad to think it’s nearly 4am and I’m still awake. Is anyone out there? Insomniacs, unite!
03:36 – Peppy the Prawn from The Muppets and Ninja are presenting Best Independent Game. I kid you not. The winner is… CELESTE, which also wins the Games for Impact Award.
03:34 – World Premiere from BioWare. DRAGON AGE 4 – maybe? They just showed the hashtag #thedreadwolfrises.
03:33 – More awards!
Best Debut Indie Game winner is The Messenger.
Best Fighting Game is Dragon Ball Fighterz.
Best Family Game is Overcooked 2.
Best Strategy Game is Into The Breach.
03:31 – Crackdown 3 time. I will never not watch Terry Crews. A reminder that it’s launching 15th February 2019. Also, a random skit showing that people still play Elder Scrolls Online.
03:26 – The developers of Ark, Wildcard Studios are showing their new game ATLAS which lands 13th December on Steam and it looks like Sea of Thieves mixed with magic. Honestly, it looks great, and is coming to Xbox Game Preview next year. It certainly can’t be any worse than the Switch Port of Ark which I reviewed here.
03:21 – Couple of the lads from Weezer are here to introduce the composer of DEVIL MAY CRY 5. We’re gonna see a live performance of Devil Trigger. I’ll be honest, took a while to get going but we got there – it’s a throwback to nu-metal and not a particularly good one, but hey it was fun!
03:20 – New trailer here for PUBG – looks like it’s finally getting that snow map that was teased a while back. Available tonight on PC Test servers. It’s a 6 vs 6 map with footprints, new weapons and a snowmobile. Coming to consoles in January. A reminder that PS4 gets PUBG later today.
03:12 – Joel McHale is here to present Best eSports Player. The winner is: ME! Just kidding, I’m bad at games – literally all of them. Best eSports Player goes to SONICFOX. He collects the award with a full mask and tail – he donated a significant portion of his winnings to a friend’s Dad to pay for cancer treatment. Well done that man.
03:11 – Another surprise from Mr Keighley, this time from Hello Games. Can we just take a minute to appreciate the work that team did to rebuild No Man’s Sky? This is something entirely new, labelled as a “Short”. Really cool trailer, nice and colourful but with a mood to it. It’s called THE LAST CAMPFIRE.
03:10 – I genuinely ache for Smash Bros. Stop showing trailers, you’ve hit gold damn it. Also, Magic The Gathering: Arena looks amazing. Can’t wait for it to hit iPad.
03:06 – Another trailer! This one is a CGI trailer for the more fantasy-themed DAUNTLESS which looks a bit like a more cartoony Monster Hunter. April 2019.
03:03 – Co-creators of Fallout on stage to announce THE OUTER WORLDS from Obsidian. Nice quirky trailer, and a very “Fallout” aesthetic – albeit in Space. They specifically mentioned that its single-player, too. It actually looks like a really fun time, and it’s coming in 2019. Steam/PS4/Xbox One.
03:00 – Kratos and BOY are on the stage to introduce Content Creator of the Year. AHHHHHH he said it! NINJA wins, in a move that surprises no one.
02:55 – Oh my, Crash Bandicoot is in the house – World Premiere of CRASH TEAM RACING NITRO-FUELED. My year is complete. It’s here 21st June 2019.
02:54 – Casey Hudson from BioWare here to tell us some more about Anthem (my most-anticipated game for 2019). He mentions they have some surprises coming, new trailer for Anthem shows some of the narrative. Hot damn this game looks good. An eery performance now from the orchestra.
02:51 – Dead By Daylight showcased and guess what – it has a lot of horror icons now. I might have to jump in for some Michael Myers. Mat Cote is here to announce dedicated servers are coming Summer 2019, as well as new chapter Darkness Among Us.
02:49: A quick reminder that Warframe is on Switch – it’s really quite good. And a reminder that Shadow of the Tomb Raider has a free trial, and it too is very good.
02:46: A flurry of awards:
Best Audio Design is also won by RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2.
Best Art Direction goes to RETURN OF THE OBRA DINN.
Best Mobile Game is FLORENCE.
ASTROBOT RESCUE MISSION wins Best VR Game.
02:43 – Brendan Urie is here, that bloke from Panic! At The Disco. He’s presenting the Best Music award. Another win for that little indie title RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2.
02:40 – Another World Premiere – and I’m struggling to keep up. Geoff, can you cool it for like five minutes buddy? No? Ok then. This is our first look at SCAVENGERS from Midwinter, a new studio made up of (among others) ex-Halo and ex-Battlefield staff. It’s a survival game with a focus on teamwork. You can sign up the Beta Programme now for 2019.
02:38 – Girls Make Games segment now, and I think it’s so important to promote creativity in the next generation. A wonderful initiative.
02:34 – FORZA HORIZON 4 expansion “Fortune Island” is out 13th December, brief trailer shown, it’s the one we found out about at XO18.
02:33 – Patrice Desilets of Assassin’s Creed fame is here to talk about new survival game and show some actual gameplay of ANCESTORS: A HUMANKIND ODYSSEY. Lots of games called Odyssey these days. Looks like you play as a pretty nimble ape and fight to survive African predators like crocodiles and huge snakes. Looks really cool, if a bit rough around the edges.
02:31 – Another World Premiere, this time from Supergiant Games. A rogue like, isometric, dungeon-crawler, called HADES. Looks really cool. Available in Early Access NOW on the Epic Games Store.
02:27 – John Sebastian Decont (I’m sorry, my spelling is bad) is presenting FAR CRY: NEW DAWN – an apocalyptic take on the franchise. Can’t be much more divisive than Fallout 76… It’s certainly one of the more colourful apocalypses we’ve seen and looks to bring back Joseph Seed in some capacity. It launches on February 15th.
02:22 – New snippet from Alita: Battle Angel. This movie looks RAD. Rosa Salazar and Christoph Waltz in the house, here to present Best Performance. The winner is ROGER CLARKE as Arthur Morgan from a little known title called RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2.
02:20 – Rocket League DLC – the game that keeps growing. Looks like it’s getting the McLaren 570S. Side note, I’m so bad at Rocket League.
02:19 – A section on Able Gamers’ Steven Spohn. A truly inspiring young man. Able Gamers allows for people with disabilities to play video games.
02:11 – Jonah Hill is here, looking very smart. He’s presenting Industry Icon to Visual Concepts’ Greg Thomas. A very humble acceptance speech too from the big man.
02:10 – Oh my. We have an exclusive here, and it’s a little game from Marvel. Ultimate Alliance 3 is a Nintendo Switch EXCLUSIVE!
02:05 – JackSepticEye and Pokemane are here to present Best Narrative. Huge audience cheers for God Of War and Spiderman as they play the sizzle reel. The Winner is RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2.
02:03 – Crikey, Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson Williams, plus The Game Awards Orchestra. That’s a lineup. Loving the music too. It’s almost making me forget that it’s 2am.
02:01 – Thats a wrap on the pre-show. Here we go! Lovely moment where we have Reggie from Nintendo, Phil from Xbox and Shawn from PlayStation on stage together. Wonderful. I wonder if they’ll duke it out to the death in a Battle Royale.
02:00 – New trailer for something called AMONG TREES. I’m gonna be honest, this has my colleague Rebecca Stow written all over it.
01:58 – Best Student Game is COMBAT 2018 – imagine winning a Game Award as a student, quite the resume. Oh, and it’s now known as Tanknarok. So that’s a catchier name(?)
01:58 – Wonderfully tongue in cheek trailer for The Stanley Parable. It’s getting new content AND coming to console. LOVE that trailer.
01:56 – Wow. A lot of Esports awards dished out very rapidly. Which is nice, but my poor fingers couldn’t keep up.
01:52 – Sorry, Wifi glitched out there. MONSTER HUNTER WORLD wins Best RPG. The developers mentioned some news coming in a few days too.
01:50 – World Premiere. Typhoon Studios and 505 Games with support from Epic. JOURNEY TO THE SAVAGE PLANET. No gameplay but it looks really interesting – Sci-fi vibe but not a lot given away.
01:45 – Josef Fares is back. Wonderful smile, and is almost as animated as he was last year. A Way Out is up for an award or two tonight. He’s presenting Best Action Game.
DEAD CELLS from Motion Twin is our first winner of the night! Spoiler alert, I love Dead Cells.
01:41 – World Premiere for Switch. SAYONARA: WILD HEARTS looks like a beautiful fever dream. Got some Persona 5 vibes! Lovely soundtrack too.
01:38 – Lot of love in these early videos for Into The Breach. I reviewed it for the site, and you should check it out here. The most shameless of plugs.
01:37 – More “New Game” Announcements than ever before. If Splinter Cell happens I’ll be running around my street, shouting.
01:36 – Pre-show begins! I’d like to go for a beer with Geoff Keighley. He seems nice young man. Your Nan would like him, I reckon.
01:35 – My predictions are Crash Team Racing, Mortal Kombat 11 and maybe a Smash DLC announcement given Nintendo’s previous output at this event. My wildest dreams involve Splinter Cell and Super Mario Odyssey 2. Lets see.
01:32 – It’s all kicking off any moment now. If you’re anything like me, that means its time for an early morning coffee and a bowl of cereal. Before we get started, what is everyone predicting to take home the gongs tonight? What are you hoping for in terms of announcements?
