The fourth annual Game Awards wrapped with Buy Now taking home game of the year honors. For the roughly three hours leading up to the grand finale, though, The Game Awards felt more like a winter E3 keynote. From new game reveals, to fresh trailers for highly anticipated titles, The Game Awards showed off a lot of things to get excited about. Here are all of the biggest gaming stories announced during the proceedings.
Owlchemy labs teased ‘Vacation Simulator’
During the preshow, Owlchemy Labs revealed its follow-up to its 2016 VR hit, Job Simulator. Vacation Simulator features the same visual style, comedic narration, and level of interactivity as its predecessor. The game will send you to a beach resort, but it’s unclear how much you will be able to unwind after performing all of those everyday tasks since the computers still nag you.
CEO of Owlchemy Labs Alex Schwartz aptly described the reasoning behind the sequel. “After you job, then you vacation. It just makes sense,” he said.
No launch date was provided, but Vacation Simulator will be available for PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift.
From Software’s next game is … ‘Shadows Die Twice’?
From Software‘s next game was only very briefly teased, but left a gory impression. A bloody rope coils around what appears to be a bone. The words “Shadows Die Twice” appear on a black screen. It’s unclear if that’s actually the name of the game, or if its, say, the often-speculated-on Bloodborne 2 that fans have been clamoring for? It’s too early to know for sure, but rest assured, From Software has another dark, gritty game in the works.
Campo Santo’s next game is ‘In the Valley of Gods’
Campo Santo, the indie studio behind Firewatch, announced its next game In the Valley of Gods. Expected to launch in 2019 for PC, the first person adventure takes players to Egypt in the 1920s. You play as an explorer and filmmaker seeking out an incredibly rare film.
You have an AI-controlled partner tagging along with you, and together, you’ll cross a remote desert towards an ancient ruin to make your unprecedented discovery. Both the gameplay and visual style look similar to Firewatch.
Next expansion for ‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ is out now
Nintendo revealed the second expansion for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. “The Champions Ballad,” the much-anticipated story expansion, turns back the clock 100 years to chronicle the events leading up to Link’s lengthy slumber. Although the focus of the story falls on the four Champions and Princess Zelda, you still play as Link. Nintendo has added extra incentive to complete all of the challenges in the new DLC by giving players a motorcycle for Link to ride. Yes, that’s right, Link can ride a fancy motorcycle called the Master Cycle Zero across Hyrule.
“The Champions Ballad” is scheduled to launch December 7 (after The Game Awards). So if you’re reading this in the morning, it should be available. The story expansion can only be played by purchasing the .
Bandai Namco announces ‘Soul Calibur VI’
Bandai Namco revealed Soul Calibur VI, the first mainline entry in the 3D fighting series since 2012. The weapons-centric fighting game will use Unreal Engine 4 and Tekken 7 producer Motohiro Okubo will serve in the same role. Soul Calibur VI launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in 2018.
‘Bayonetta 3’ is coming to Switch
The highly stylized action series from PlatinumGames is back with Bayonetta 3 for Nintendo Switch. The teaser trailer didn’t reveal much at all, other than that the fast and fluid action heroine will return for a third adventure. If that wasn’t enough, the Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 will land on Switch as a bundle February 16. No word yet on when to expect Bayonetta 3.
‘Death Stranding’ somehow got weirder
Hideo Kojima debuted the lengthiest trailer yet for his upcoming PS4 game Death Stranding. The trailer featured car wrecks, vine monsters, mind control, and Norman Reedus, of course. Despite the trailer’s length, it’s still anyone’s guess what Death Stranding is about. Although the newest trailer further confirmed that Kojima’s current project is deliriously bizarre. At one point the camera pans down Reedus’ throat and you see a live baby poke its head up. Really, watch it. It’s weird.
Sony reintroduced us to ‘Dreams’
Remember Dreams, the user generated sandbox from the makers of LittleBigPlanet? Originally announced in 2013, Dreams has virtually vanished from the public eye in recent years. Media Molecule debuted a new trailer for the ambitious game in which users collaborate to make living worlds. We also learned that Dreams launches sometime in 2018 for PlayStation 4.
‘PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds’ 1.0 gets a release date
After whirlwind success throughout its early access period, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds will officially launch version 1.0 (retail) December 20. Bluehole Studio also revealed the game’s second map, Miramar. The desert map, which is smaller than the game’s first map Erandel, contains large swaths of dusty rural land, but also has urban areas with towering buildings. If you want to check out Miramar, the map launched on test servers after The Game Awards concluded. The Xbox One version of PUBG launches December 12.
‘Metro Exodus’ gets a release window
4A Games brought a brand new look at Metro Exodus, the third entry in the apocalyptic FPS revealed earlier this year at E3. The trailer demonstrates the isolation of the frigid, desolate lands of Moscow. Only a few humans remain, with the overwhelming majority of living things are now horrifying monsters.
The stunning trailer shows off the frozen tundra of an open world. Although the emphasis in the latest trailer was on Moscow, we know that you will travel outside of the snow covered city to different areas with less daunting climates. Metro Exodus is expected to give players more freedom to explore, a detail backed up by the expansiveness of the new trailer.
Metro Exodus launches Fall 2018 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
