Geoff Keighley has announced every nominee for The Game Awards 2022, with God of War: Ragnarok and Elden Ring leading the way with ten and seven nominations respectively.

God of War: Ragnarok's nominations include Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Audio Design, two in Best Performance, Best Action/Adventure, and Innovation In Accessibility.

Elden Ring saw a number of similar nominations, including Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Audio Design and Best RPG.

The full list of categories and nominations for The Game Awards 2022 are as follows:

Game of the Year

Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.

• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Stray
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Game Direction

Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.

• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Immortality
• Stray

Best Narrative

For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.

• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Immortality

Best Art Direction

For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.

• Elden Ring
• God of War: Ragnarok
• Horizon: Forbidden West
• Scorn
• Stray

Best Score/Music

For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.

• Olivier Deriviere - A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Tsukasa Saitoh - Elden Ring
• Bear McCreary - God of War: Ragnarok
• Two Feathers - Metal Hellsinger
• Yasunori Mitsuda

Best Audio Design

Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Gran Turismo 7
• Horizon Forbidden West

Best Performance

Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture.

• Ashly Birch - Horizon: Forbidden West
• Charlotte McBurney - A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Christopher Judge - God of War: Ragnarok
• Manon Gage - Immortality
• Sunny Suljic - God of War: Ragnarok

Games for Impact

For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message.

• A Memoir Blue
• As Dusk Falls
• Citizen Sleeper
• Endling - Extinction is Forever
• Hindsight
• I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

Best Ongoing Game

Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.

• Apex Legends
• Destiny 2
• Final Fantasy 14 Online
• Fortnite
• Genshin Impact

Best Indie Game

For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.

• Cult of the Lamb
• Neon White
• Sifu
• Stray
• TUNIC

Best Debut Indie Game

For the best debut game created by a new independent studio.

• Neon White
• NORCO
• Stray
• TUNIC
• Vampire Survivors

Best Mobile Game

For the best game playable on a mobile device.

• Apex Legends Mobile
• Diablo Immortal
• Genshin Impact
• Marvel Snap
• Tower of Fantasy

Best Community Support

Recognizing a game for outstanding community support, transparency and responsiveness, inclusive of social media activity and game updates/patches.

• Apex Legends
• Destiny 2
• Final Fantasy 14 Online
• Fortnite
• No Man’s Sky

Best VR/AR Game

For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.

• After the Fall
• Among Us VR
• BONELAB
• Moss: Book II
• Red Matter 2

Innovation in Accessibility

Recognizing software and/or hardware that is pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience.

• As Dusk Falls
• God of War: Ragnarok
• Returnal
• Return to Monkey Island
• The Last of Us Part 1
• The Quarry

Best Action Game

For the best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat.

• Bayonetta 3
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
• Neon White
• Sifu
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Best Action/Adventure Game

For the best action/adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.

• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Stray
• TUNIC

Best RPG

For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.

• Elden Ring
• Live a Live
• Pokémon Legends: Arceus
• Triangle Strategy
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Fighting Game

For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.

• DNF Duel
• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R
• The King of Fighters 15
• MultiVersus
• Sifu

Best Family Game

For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.

• Kirby and the Forgotten Land
• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
• Nintendo Switch Sports
• Splatoon 3

Best Sports/Racing Game

For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.

• F1 22
• FIFA 23
• NBA 2K23
• Gran Turismo 7
• OlliOlli World

Best SIM/Strategy Game

Best game focused on real time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.

• Dune: Spice Wars
• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
• Total War: WARHAMMER 3
• Two Point Campus
• Victoria 3

Best Multiplayer Game

For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre or platform.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Multiversus
• Overwatch 2
• Splatoon 3
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

Content Creator of the Year

For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2021.

• Karl Jacobs
• Ludwig
• Nibellion
• Nobru
• QTCinderella

Best Esports Athlete

The esports athlete judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021, irrespective of game.

• Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon (Gen.G, LOL)
• Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok (T1, LOL)
• Finn "karrigan" Andersen ( (FaZe Clan - CS:GO)
• Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
• Jacob “Yay” Whiteaker (Cloud9, Valorant)

Best Esports Coach

The Esports coach judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.

• Andrii "B1ad3" Horodenskyi (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
• Matheus “bzkA” Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT)
• Erik “d00mbr0s” Sandgren (FPX, VALORANT)
• Robert "RobbaN" Dahlström (FaZe Clan, CS:GO)
• Go "Score" Dong-bin (Gen.G, LOL)

Best Esports Event

Recognizing an event (across single or multiple days) that delivered a best-of-class experience for participants and the broadcast audience.

• EVO 2022
• 2022 League of Legends World Championship
• PGL Major Antwerp 2022
• The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational
• VALORANT Champions 2022

Best Esports Game

For the game that has delivered the best overall esports experience to players (inclusive of tournaments, community support and content updates), irrespective of genre or platform.

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
• DOTA 2
• League of Legends
• Rocket League
• VALORANT

Best Esports Team

Recognizing a specific esports team (not the full organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.

• DarkZero Esports (Apex Legends)
• FaZe Clan (CS:GO)
• Gen.G (League of Legends)
• LA Thieves (Call of Duty)
• LOUD (Valorant)

Most Anticipated Game

Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward.

• Final Fantasy 16
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Resident Evil 4
• Starfield
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Best Adaptation

Celebrating game-inspired projects across entertainment including TV, movies, comics, and more.

• Arcane: League of Legends
• Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
• The Cuphead Show!
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Uncharted

The public can now vote for the nominees they think are most deserving of each individual award on The Game Awards website, with the awards ceremony taking place on December 8.

Last year's awards saw It Takes Two take Game of the Year, while Deathloop won Best Game Direction, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy won Best Narrative, and Final Fantasy 14 Online won Best Ongoing Game.

The Game Awards is also a big source of video game announcements, new trailers, and so on, with 2021's ceremony hosting the reveal of Star Wars: Eclipse, Alan Wake 2, Wonder Women, and more.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Winnie-the Pooh: Blood and Honey became a viral sensation due to it turning Pooh and Piglet into sadistic killing machines. Now IGN can reveal four exclusive new images from the upcoming horror film that can provide some more insight into how the two childhood icons got to this point.

The four images can be viewed in the slideshow below, revealing a young Christopher Robin as well as several shots of Pooh, including one of him against a fiery backdrop clutching a knife. The images come from Blood and Honey's latest shoots, which director Rhys Frake-Waterfield feels included some of the movie's best footage to date.

The stills reveal that while Pooh is now a bloodthirsty killer, the silly old bear still remembers his days with Christopher Robin. The story is a sort of twisted version of Toy Story 3, with Pooh and Piglet going feral in the Hundred Acre Wood after Christopher Robin goes to college. The image in the slideshow above shows that Pooh still flashes back to his days with his old friend.

First revealed back in May, Winnie the Pooh: Bloody and Honey grabbed attention for being a horrific adaptation of the classic children's book, which had rececently entered the public domain. Frake-Waterfield has since said that he is already planning a sequel to Blood and Honey, as well as a horror version of Peter Pan titled Neverland Nightmare.

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey is currently slated to release to theaters in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Mexico courtesy of Fathom Events. It'll be out February 15.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Winnie-the Pooh: Blood and Honey became a viral sensation due to it turning Pooh and Piglet into sadistic killing machines. Now IGN can reveal four exclusive new images from the upcoming horror film that can provide some more insight into how the two childhood icons got to this point.

The four images can be viewed in the slideshow below, revealing a young Christopher Robin as well as several shots of Pooh, including one of him against a fiery backdrop clutching a knife. The images come from Blood and Honey's latest shoots, which director Rhys Frake-Waterfield feels included some of the movie's best footage to date.

The stills reveal that while Pooh is now a bloodthirsty killer, the silly old bear still remembers his days with Christopher Robin. The story is a sort of twisted version of Toy Story 3, with Pooh and Piglet going feral in the Hundred Acre Wood after Christopher Robin goes to college. The image in the slideshow above shows that Pooh still flashes back to his days with his old friend.

First revealed back in May, Winnie the Pooh: Bloody and Honey grabbed attention for being a horrific adaptation of the classic children's book, which had rececently entered the public domain. Frake-Waterfield has since said that he is already planning a sequel to Blood and Honey, as well as a horror version of Peter Pan titled Neverland Nightmare.

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey is currently slated to release to theaters in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Mexico courtesy of Fathom Events. It'll be out February 15.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Improbable has announced that it's shutting down its free-to-play multiplayer game Scavengers on December 16, simply because not enough people are playing the game.

"The last few months have seen a decline in the player base, and whilst we explored many options to reinvigorate server population while the game is in Early Access, it became clear that it was unsustainable to continue development and live service," Improbable said in a statement on its website.

"We’re all proud of what we accomplished, and are grateful to every player who took the time to play, even if it was just for a short while."

Scavengers was developed by Midwinter Entertainment and the game launched into Early Access on Steam back in May 2021. It's had a fairly turbulent development cycle as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were canceled earlier this year, due to Improbable selling Midwinter Entertainment to Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive as it focused instead on metaverse development.

The PC version was promised to remain unaffected at the time, but Scavenger's numbers were already struggling, only having a few hundred players since November last year according to Steam DB.

Scavengers was first announced in 2018 from former Halo developers from 343 Industries and released several demos and tests for the game before finally launching in Early Access, though a full version of the game will seemingly never be released.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He's been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.

When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey

Improbable has announced that it's shutting down its free-to-play multiplayer game Scavengers on December 16, simply because not enough people are playing the game.

"The last few months have seen a decline in the player base, and whilst we explored many options to reinvigorate server population while the game is in Early Access, it became clear that it was unsustainable to continue development and live service," Improbable said in a statement on its website.

"We’re all proud of what we accomplished, and are grateful to every player who took the time to play, even if it was just for a short while."

Scavengers was developed by Midwinter Entertainment and the game launched into Early Access on Steam back in May 2021. It's had a fairly turbulent development cycle as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were canceled earlier this year, due to Improbable selling Midwinter Entertainment to Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive as it focused instead on metaverse development.

The PC version was promised to remain unaffected at the time, but Scavenger's numbers were already struggling, only having a few hundred players since November last year according to Steam DB.

Scavengers was first announced in 2018 from former Halo developers from 343 Industries and released several demos and tests for the game before finally launching in Early Access, though a full version of the game will seemingly never be released.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He's been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.

When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey

CD Projekt Red has announced that the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be released on December 14.

Announced in a post on The Witcher's official Twitter account (below), CD Projekt Red has stuck to its promise of a fourth quarter release by confirming the December date. This only applies to the digital version of the game though, with CD Projekt Red saying that a physical release date will be announced later.

The upgrade, which is free to anyone who's bought the game previously, includes "dozens of visual, performance, and technical enhancements over the original," CD Projekt Red said in a press release. "These include ray tracing support, faster loading times on consoles, as well as a variety of mods integrated into the experience, among many others."

The next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is coming on December 14th, free for everyone who already owns the game.

For more details and gameplay reveal, tune in to REDstreams next week on https://t.co/IpFERTohi9. pic.twitter.com/fg3yfGeNih

— The Witcher (@witchergame) November 14, 2022

More details on these integrated mods and other features will be shared during a Twitch livestream sometime next week, but CD Projekt Red has otherwise confirmed the next-gen version to include all previously released DLC alongside new content based on The Witcher Netflix series.

The game was originally expected to be released last year before being delayed twice, with third party studio Saber Interactive originally developing the new version. CD Projekt Red took over itself in April 2022, though persisted that the game was "not in development hell".

The Q4 date was set back in May but many were still worried given the two previous delays, not to mention the impending end of the year, but CD Projekt Red will seemingly meet its target.

In our 9/10 review of the original release, IGN said: "Massive in size, and meticulously detailed, The Witcher 3 ends Geralt's story on a high note," and it also won our Game of the Year.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

CD Projekt Red has announced that the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be released on December 14.

Announced in a post on The Witcher's official Twitter account (below), CD Projekt Red has stuck to its promise of a fourth quarter release by confirming the December date. This only applies to the digital version of the game though, with CD Projekt Red saying that a physical release date will be announced later.

The upgrade, which is free to anyone who's bought the game previously, includes "dozens of visual, performance, and technical enhancements over the original," CD Projekt Red said in a press release. "These include ray tracing support, faster loading times on consoles, as well as a variety of mods integrated into the experience, among many others."

The next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is coming on December 14th, free for everyone who already owns the game.

For more details and gameplay reveal, tune in to REDstreams next week on https://t.co/IpFERTohi9. pic.twitter.com/fg3yfGeNih

— The Witcher (@witchergame) November 14, 2022

More details on these integrated mods and other features will be shared during a Twitch livestream sometime next week, but CD Projekt Red has otherwise confirmed the next-gen version to include all previously released DLC alongside new content based on The Witcher Netflix series.

The game was originally expected to be released last year before being delayed twice, with third party studio Saber Interactive originally developing the new version. CD Projekt Red took over itself in April 2022, though persisted that the game was "not in development hell".

The Q4 date was set back in May but many were still worried given the two previous delays, not to mention the impending end of the year, but CD Projekt Red will seemingly meet its target.

In our 9/10 review of the original release, IGN said: "Massive in size, and meticulously detailed, The Witcher 3 ends Geralt's story on a high note," and it also won our Game of the Year.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Sony is leading the gaming hardware race into the holiday period as the PlayStation 5 was October 2022's best selling console in the U.S.

According to the NPD Group's latest figures, the PS5 topped the hardware charts both in terms of units sold and dollar sales, with the Xbox Series X and S coming in second place. Hardware dollar sales fell by 10% overall compared to last year, however, with year-to-date spending for all video game products falling by 7%.

On the software front, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 became the best selling game in October, marking 15 straight years that Call of Duty has claimed the top spot in its release month. Gotham Knights was the second best selling game despite a rough start.

Sports titans FIFA 23 and Madden NFL 23 took third and fourth, putting the other newly released games of NHL 23 in fifth and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope in sixth. Bayonetta 3 placed ninth, Star Ocean: The Divine Force placed 14th, Dragon Ball: The Breakers placed 16th, and PGA Tour 2K23 placed 17th despite all being October releases.

The full list of October 2022's best selling games can be seen below:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
2. Gotham Knights
3. FIFA 23
4. Madden NFL 23
5. NHL 23
6. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
7. Persona 5
8. NBA 2K23
9. Bayonetta 3
10. Elden Ring
11. Mario Kart 8
12. Splatoon 3
13. Minecraft
14. Star Ocean: The Divine Force
15. Grounded
16. Dragon Ball: The Breakers
17. PGA Tour 2K23
18. Nintendo Switch Sports
19. NieR: Automata
20. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

It's worth noting that neither Nintendo or Take-Two report digital sales, and these are therefore not factored into the performance indicated above.

IGN gave this month's top performer a 6/10 in our single player review and an 8/10 in our multiplayer one, saying in the latter: "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer moves the formula forward with bigger maps and more customization without sacrificing its bulletproof mechanics."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Sony is leading the gaming hardware race into the holiday period as the PlayStation 5 was October 2022's best selling console in the U.S.

According to the NPD Group's latest figures, the PS5 topped the hardware charts both in terms of units sold and dollar sales, with the Xbox Series X and S coming in second place. Hardware dollar sales fell by 10% overall compared to last year, however, with year-to-date spending for all video game products falling by 7%.

On the software front, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 became the best selling game in October, marking 15 straight years that Call of Duty has claimed the top spot in its release month. Gotham Knights was the second best selling game despite a rough start.

Sports titans FIFA 23 and Madden NFL 23 took third and fourth, putting the other newly released games of NHL 23 in fifth and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope in sixth. Bayonetta 3 placed ninth, Star Ocean: The Divine Force placed 14th, Dragon Ball: The Breakers placed 16th, and PGA Tour 2K23 placed 17th despite all being October releases.

The full list of October 2022's best selling games can be seen below:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
2. Gotham Knights
3. FIFA 23
4. Madden NFL 23
5. NHL 23
6. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
7. Persona 5
8. NBA 2K23
9. Bayonetta 3
10. Elden Ring
11. Mario Kart 8
12. Splatoon 3
13. Minecraft
14. Star Ocean: The Divine Force
15. Grounded
16. Dragon Ball: The Breakers
17. PGA Tour 2K23
18. Nintendo Switch Sports
19. NieR: Automata
20. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

It's worth noting that neither Nintendo or Take-Two report digital sales, and these are therefore not factored into the performance indicated above.

IGN gave this month's top performer a 6/10 in our single player review and an 8/10 in our multiplayer one, saying in the latter: "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer moves the formula forward with bigger maps and more customization without sacrificing its bulletproof mechanics."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer say they're aiming for the fifth and final season to have "a little bit of everything" as a thematic "culmination" of what's come before it.

As reported by Variety, the Duffer Brothers participated in an FYC panel discussion on Sunday night alongside director Shawn Levy and series stars Caleb McLaughlin, Priah Ferguson, Jamie Campbell Bower, Joseph Quinn, Eduardo Franco, and a virtual Millie Bobby Brown. At the event, the creative team behind the Netflix hit offered the first hints about what fans can expect from the show's highly anticipated fifth season.

When asked whether the final season will weave in any new horror legends or pop culture references, Ross said they're viewing Season 5 as "a culmination of all the seasons" with "a little bit of everything" from the past. He noted that Season 3 was the "big summer blockbuster season with big monsters" while Season 4 was the "psychological horror," but now they're trying to "go back to the beginning."

He acknowledged that the tone of Season 5 would likely end up being closer to that of the first season but "scale-wise," the last group of episodes will be "more aligned" with the fourth season. Season 4 allegedly had a per-episode cost of $30 million, making it one of the most expensive seasons in history — though it later became Netflix's first English-language series to pass 1 billion hours of watch time.

Matt and Ross previously hinted that the fifth season won't be as long as Season 4's 13-hour runtime, as there will be less to set up before the kids "get drawn into the supernatural mystery." However, the emotional stakes are not expected to be impacted by the potentially shorter season, as the team on the FYC panel revealed that some Netflix execs were in tears during the two-hour pitch for the final season.

"Just as important as the supernatural, we have so many characters now, most of whom are still living," Ross said at the event on Sunday night. "It's important to wrap up those arcs because a lot of these characters have been growing since Season 1. So, it's a balancing act between giving them time to complete their character arcs and also, tying up these loose ends and doing our final reveals."

Netflix recently revealed that the final season's first episode is titled "Chapter One: The Crawl." The premiere is expected to drop alongside all (or at least most) of the other episodes on the same day rather than switching to weekly releases, though it's worth noting that Stranger Things 4 was split into two sets of releases, so that could be an option again.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.