Astro Bot wins Game of the Year

Astro Bot has received the highest prize on the videogame business’s largest awards ceremony.

The lovable and vibrant PlayStation platformer beat Ultimate Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Black Fantasy: Wukong, Metaphor: Refantazio Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Balatro to be named Sport of the 12 months at The Sport Awards .

Accepting the trophy, Nicolas Doucet, studio head of developer Group Asobi, appeared to pay tribute to rival Nintendo.

Astro Bot additionally picked up three different awards – Greatest Household Sport, Greatest Motion/Journey and Greatest Sport Path.

It was additionally a great night time for the poker-themed indie hit Balatro, which received three awards together with Greatest Cellular Sport.

Function-playing recreation Metaphor: ReFantazio additionally received three awards, in what was a robust night time for Japanese recreation builders.

Black Fantasy: Wukong, based mostly on Chinese language legends, proved as soon as once more to be vastly standard with followers, profitable the publicly voted Participant’s Voice Award.

It was a disappointing night time for Ultimate Fantasy VII: Rebirth, which had been nominated in seven classes however solely took residence the most effective music trophy.

Melina Juergens, from Cambridge, UK-based studio Ninja Concept, received the most effective perfomance prize for enjoying the title position in Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga.

There aren’t many occasions the place you may get performances from a full orchestra and Snoop Dogg.

The rapper dropped by to current the Greatest Ongoing Sport Award to Helldivers 2, and carry out a brand new music.

And it would not be gaming’s largest night time with out some shock superstar appearances.

Harrison Ford took to the stage alongside Troy Baker, the man who plays Indiana Jones within the current recreation based mostly on the movie sequence.

The Sport Awards – typically referred to as “the Oscars of gaming” – is usually criticised for spending extra time displaying commercials and trailers for brand spanking new video games than it does on handing out awards.

Nevertheless, final 12 months organisers claimed the occasion attracted 118 million livestream viewers, and people previews are one of many largest attracts for gaming followers.

In more moderen years, greater publishers have tended to avoid wasting their largest bulletins for their very own separate stay occasions.

As anticipated, there was no new info on Grand Theft Auto 6 or Nintendo’s subsequent console – two of essentially the most anticipated upcoming releases.

However that did depart room for a model new recreation from Naughty Canine, the PlayStation studio identified for hits together with The Final of Us, Uncharted and Crash Bandicoot.

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, launched with a shiny trailer combined to It is a Sin by the Pet Store Boys.

A sequel to Capcom’s Okami was additionally revealed, and Polish developer CD Projekt Crimson confirmed The Witcher 4 was in improvement.

A standard criticism about The Sport Awards is that it usually fails to acknowledge wider points within the business.

In opposition to a backdrop of widespread layoffs worldwide – a pattern that has continued this 12 months – critics of the 2023 present referred to as for winners to be given extra time on-stage to talk out.

This 12 months’s the occasion launched the Sport Changers Award.

The winner, Amir Satvat, a director at Tencent Video games within the US, arrange a private undertaking to assist lately laid-off recreation builders discover new work.

In an emotional acceptance speech, he stated “rising up, all I ever wished was to be part of the online game business”.

He additionally thanked his mother and father, who he stated “taught me that my worth lies in how I deal with different individuals”.

Larian Studios boss Swen Vincke, who introduced the Sport of the 12 months award after his staff’s Baldur’s Gate 3 received the title final 12 months, was additionally praised for his remarks.

He took purpose at chasing market share and “arbitrary gross sales targets” and mourned the “misplaced artwork” of studios making “a recreation they need to play themselves”.

This 12 months’s ceremony came about as a strike by online game actors over AI protections and dealing circumstances rumbled on.

Performing union SAG-Aftra and Sport Staff of Southern California introduced plans to distribute leaflets outdoors the Peacock Theatre venue, the place the ceremony is held, this 12 months.

Different controversies this 12 months have included the nomination of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree within the Sport of the 12 months class.

Some followers argued the growth pack – an add-on for 2022 Sport of the 12 months Elden Ring – should not have been eligible.

And others have been upset when three of 5 nominations for the Participant’s Selection prize – the one award totally voted for by followers – went to free-to-play cell video games together with Genshin Influence.

The remainder of the winners are determined by a panel of business specialists and a fan vote which counts for 10% of the ultimate rating.

There are 30 awards in complete throughout a variety of classes together with audio design, finest unbiased recreation and accessibility and innovation.

The complete record of winners is on the Game Awards website.

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