Gamers Shouldn’t Miss What’s Coming in Under 2 Weeks

The pace of new video game releases tends to slow down as we head into December. Instead, many of us are focused on catching up with the games we missed. But there is one major gaming event that falls towards the end of the year: The Game Awards. This annual awards show has slowly transformed into a mix of award presentations and exciting world premieres for new trailers, game announcements, and more. So even if you don’t necessarily care which games win this year’s Game Awards, you probably still want to tune in.

The Game Awards were started by Geoff Keighley, who still hosts the event to this day. The first rendition aired 11 years ago in 2014, with the aim of honoring major achievements in the gaming industry. It’s one of the biggest annual gaming awards around, and is a must-watch event if you want to start making your list of games to look forward to in 2026. This year’s Game Awards will be on December 11th, and I suggest you don’t miss it. Here’s everything you need to know about watching The Game Awards this year, and why you should.

What To Expect from The Game Awards in 2025

If you’ve never tuned into The Game Awards before, know this: it’s a lengthy affair. The show itself tends to run for 3-4 hours, and there’s usually a pre-show that lasts roughly 30 minutes. Why such a long runtime to give out a few awards? Well, because The Game Awards are so widely viewed, many game developers vie for a spot to air their new trailer, announce a new project, and more.

Typically, The Game Awards feature a mix of award-winner announcements, game trailers, and game announcements. Bigger awards, like Game of the Year, get a traditional award presentation with someone on stage reading out the nominees and winners. Some awards are quickly listed off by hosts like Geoff Keighley to make space for all those trailers and announcements.

While I’ll certainly be tuning in to watch Umamusume: Pretty Derby win Best Mobile Game, there’s another big reason to watch The Game Awards. There will be world premieres of new game trailers for anticipated games, which often include release date confirmations and more. Many studios also choose this time to reveal their new games with announcement trailers, as well. So if you like to stay current on gaming news, The Game Awards is a can’t miss event.

There are always a few surprises mixed in with the world premiere trailers and announcements. But we’ve already got a few teasers for what to expect at The Game Awards this year. Archetype Entertainment, for instance, has confirmed it will show off a new trailer for Exodus during The Game Awards. It’s also fairly likely that some of 2026’s biggest games will show off new details, including nailing down release dates. I’m betting we’ll see something new from Fable and Marvel’s Wolverine, and probably GTA 6 as well.

Award Categories at The Game Awards in 2025

Many of the award categories remain the same year to year, and this year’s list of nominees is already confirmed. This year had a ton of great games, so some of these categories will definitely have a close race. The awards that will be presented at The Game Awards in 2025 include:

• Game of the Year
• Best Independent Game
• Best Mobile Game
• Best Narrative
• Best Score and Music
• Best Performance
• Games for Impact
• Best Action/Adventure Game
• Best Role-Playing Game
• Best Fighting Game
• Best Family Game
• Best Sports/Racing Game
• Best Multiplayer Game
• Most Anticipated Game
• Best Art Direction
• Best Game Direction
• Best VR/AR Game
• Best Action Game
• Best Sim/Strategy Game
• Best Audio Design
• Best Ongoing Game
• Best Debut Indie Game
• Best Community Support
• Innovation in Accessibility
• Best Adaptation
• Best Esports Athlete
• Best Esports Team
• Best Esports Game
• Content Creator of the Year

The winners are selected by a mix of votes from a selected panel of game media outlets and fans.

How To Vote for The Game Awards & When Voting Closes

If you are invested in seeing your favorite game take home the prize, you can cast a vote for the fan portion of The Game Awards. Voting opens each year when the nominees are announced, so 2025 voting is already underway. This year’s voting period will run through December 10th at 9 PM EST.

To vote in The Game Awards, just head to the official website and click “Vote Now.” You can then view all nominees or just click right through to begin voting. You will need to make a free account to cast your votes, which you can do by linking a social media account like X, Facebook, Twitch, or Google.

How to Watch The Game Awards

The 2025 Game Awards will take place on Thursday, December 11th at 7:30 PM ET. When it comes to tuning in, you’ve got quite a few options. The Game Awards is streamed live for free across a variety of its official social media channels.

You can typically tune in via YouTube, Twitch, Steam, X, Facebook Live, TikTok Live, and more. This year, there’s also an option to watch via Amazon Prime Video. Links to each of these official platforms are available via The Game Awards website.

Will you be watching The Game Awards with us this year? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

The Game Awards 2025 Full Nominees Revealed