Was The Game Awards 2024 A Let-Down Or Did We Expect From It Too Much?

In a sea of video game events and ceremonies, there is one that effortlessly sticks out, and me and you both know which one’s that. The Game Awards has always been a monumental event in gaming history — tracing its origins back to December 2014 — so it’s natural to expect big things from it. Heck, last year was fantastic as well.

SEGA showed off an array of classic titles coming back to life, including Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi, along with Santa Monica Studio revealing free DLC for God of War Ragnarok. This time around, and I’ll be completely unbiased here, the reveals and announcements weren’t half bad—they just weren’t as good as what people anticipated in relation to the build-up prior to the event. 

Are we wrong to have grand expectations from what is considered the biggest video game ceremony or is the mind too brainwashed that anything remotely under Bloodborne 2 doesn’t seem exciting anymore? 

You tell me.  

Expectations Almost Always Lead To Disappointment

Kratos wasn’t messing around when he told his son in 2018, “Keep your expectations low boy, and you’ll never be disappointed.” With Astro Bot taking home the big win and Chinese players taking it out on Swen Vincke — Larian Studios boss — the Game Awards ran for a good 3 hours but failed to include announcements that nearly all of us were thirsting for. 

This, of course, includes a mention, even a slight one will do, of Hollow Knight: Silksong, Titanfall 3, and even a new Dino Crisis, though I do admit I might be reaching there with that last one. There’s the Knights of the Old Republic remake as well that we’re all counting on, but The Game Awards didn’t live up to any of these expectations.

The Build-Up Prior To The Event

Fairly speaking, if it wasn’t for some of our known insiders generating immense hype for The Game Awards 2024, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion now, but, oh well. Here we are. 

Jason Schrier, noteworthy Bloomberg reporter, claimed that The Game Awards 2024 would feature at least two announcements that are going to blow your socks off. The immediate thought that came to mind was GTA 6, anything related to Bloodborne (heck, even Bloodborne Kart will work at this point), and, of course, Half-Life 3. None of these prospects came to fruition, leaving us fans in a corner, all curled up. 

Let The Good Times Roll

For what it’s worth, The Game Awards did give rise to pretty thrilling projects, including Naughty Dog’s new sci-fi IP that it’s been working on since ages, DLC for Final Fantasy 16, and Split Fiction—a new upcoming game from the makers of It Takes Two. 

Here are some announcements that I thought took the cake. 

Elden Ring: Nightreign

The next chapter in Elden Ring is a cooperative multiplayer spin-off title called Elden Ring: Nightreign, and oh boy, doesn’t it get me excited every time I replay its reveal trailer? I’ve done that 54 times by now, I think. 

FromSoftware wants Nightreign to be the complete package, and even though it seems like there’s a lot of live service business going on in there, it’s not. This change in formula should be welcomed with open arms, because this is FromSoftware we’re talking about—the legendary Japanese industry dev whose done nothing but deliver in all its 38 years of game development. 

The Witcher 4

Arguably the biggest reveal of the event, CD Projekt Red has come in hard with the first official look at The Witcher 4. The next iteration in the long-running RPG series is finally opening up more, and now, we finally know who’s going to be the protagonist.

Related Content to Check Out: 

• CD Projekt Says The Witcher 4 Has Now Entered Full-Scale Production
• Here’s Everything I Expect From The Witcher 4’s Combat
• CD Projekt Red Doesn’t See A Place For Microtransactions In Single-Player Games

Coming up as the central focus of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Ciri now returns to the big screen in a thorough badass fashion, teasing us as we await this next big hit in the RPG space.

Okami Sequel

Last but not least, look what the cat dragged in at TGA this year. The long-hyped return of the Okami series is nigh, easily becoming one of the main highlights of The Game Awards. The devs have let out a slight tease of Okami sequel up until now, indicating and confirming that a new game in the franchise is on the way, and rightfully so. 

Clover Studio’s closure hurt like crazy back when Capcom decided to dissolve it in 2007. The famed creator of the Viewtiful Joe, God Hand, and Okami IPs was put to rest, and along with it, all these hit franchises that had no future. I’m glad Okami got out of that abyss though, considering the potential on display here.