The Game Awards will return on December 8 with a live show broadcast from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The show will introduce at least one new element this year — a Best Adaptation category for this year’s awards ceremony.
Hosted by Geoff Keighley, The Game Awards is essentially the video game industry’s version of the Oscars. It awards games and creators in a variety of categories, but is also a marketing opportunity for companies to show of world premiere trailers. This year’s show will be co-hosted by Kimmie Kim and feature musical performances, including from the Game Awards Orchestra conducted by Lorne Balfe. The Game Awards is also partnering with IMAX to broadcast the ceremony in select theaters.
In terms of the awards themselves this year, the newly announced Best Adaptation category will honor media based on video games. It’s not just video game films that will be nominated for this award; books, streaming shows, podcasts, and comic books adapted from gaming IPs will be taken into consideration as well.
“The Best Adaptation Award is a way for the gaming industry and its fans to tip its hat to creative work that authentically adapts and often adds lore and context to our favorite gaming franchises,” Keighley, creator and executive producer of The Game Awards, said in a press release. “With so many game-inspired projects across entertainment, the time is right to honor excellence in adapting video game worlds to other mediums.”
The Game Awards already have a history of celebrating game adaptations. Last year, Jim Carrey and Ben Schwartz appeared during the show to premiere a trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2, giving us the first look at the Blue Blur’s new adventure featuring Tails (voiced by Sonic vet Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba). The show also featured a look at the Halo series, which premiered on Paramount+ in March. Both projects should be eligible for the new award judging by the description of the category.
The Game Awards 2022 will air on Twitch, YouTube, and select IMAX theaters on December 8.
