It’s that time of year again, folks. No, not Christmas, though for many it may well be just as exciting. It’s time for The Game Awards 2023!
We’re expecting a genuinely thrilling event in December following what may well have been one of the strongest years in gaming ever, with the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and Sea of Stars on Switch all demonstrating just how good we’ve got it at the moment.
There will, of course, also be game reveals and “WORLD PREMIERES”, so we’ll most certainly be watching as and when it happens to see what – if anything – gets announced for the Nintendo Switch.
For now, let’s take a look at everything we know about this year’s event so far…
When is The Game Awards 2023?
The Game Awards will take place on Thursday, December 7th (the 8th for anyone east of the Americas), live from the Peacock Theater in LA, at 5pm Pacific. There will be a 30-minute pre-show which kicks off at 4:30pm PST, during which we expect a handful of “smaller” awards to be handed out, the same as previous years.
Here are the local times in several time zones. Remember, if you want to check out the pre-show, this starts 30 minutes before the main event:
North America (Thursday, December 7th)
The Game Awards can be watched at the following times in North America:
- 5 pm PST
- 6 pm MST
- 7 pm CST
- 8 pm EST
- 9 pm AST
Europe (Friday, December 8th)
The Game Awards can be watched at the following times in Europe:
- 1 am GMT
- 2 am CET
- 3 am EET
Asia & Oceania (Friday, December 8th)
The Game Awards can be watched at the following times in Asia and Oceania:
- 6:30 am IST
- 9 am CST
- 9 am AWST
- 10 am JST
- 12pm AEDT
- 2 pm NZDT
Where can I watch The Game Awards 2023?
The Game Awards 2023 will be streamed on YouTube and Twitch, both of which can be used natively on the Switch, if you like (though this will be the last year you can do that with Twitch on Switch). You can also watch direct feeds of the streams on the following sites:
Last year, The Game Awards opened applications for people to co-stream the event on their Twitch channels, and it’s doing exactly the same this year.
How long will The Game Awards 2023 be?
We’re not sure how long The Game Awards 2023 will last at the moment.
Last year, we knew beforehand that the show would last for roughly two and a half hours thanks to the Steam Deck giveaway organised by Valve. It’s reasonable to assume that the runtime will be similar this year, but it’s difficult to say with absolute certainty.
Which games have been nominated for The Game Awards 2023?
You can check out every category and their nominees on the Game Awards 2023 official website.
It’s also been announced that Nintendo is the most-nominated publisher this year, bagging a grand total of 15 nominations.
Specifically for the Switch and Nintendo, the following games are nominated at The Game Awards 2023:
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Action/Adventure Game)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Family Game, Best Multiplayer Game)
- Mortal Kombat 1 (Innovation in Accessibility, Best Fighting Game)
- A Space for the Unbound (Games for Impact)
- Chants of Sennaar (Games for Impact)
- Venba (Games for Impact, Best Debut Indie Game)
- Fortnite (Best Ongoing Game)
- Apex Legends (Best Ongoing Game)
- No Man’s Sky (Best Community Support)
- COCOON (Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game)
- Dave The Diver (Best Independent Game)
- Dredge (Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game)
- Sea of Stars (Best Independent Game, Best RPG)
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 (Best Fighting Game)
- God of Rock (Best Fighting Game)
- Pocket Bravery (Best Fighting Game)
- Disney Illusion Island (Best Family Game)
- Pikmin 4 (Best Family, Best Sim/Strategy Game)
- Sonic Superstars (Best Family Game)
- Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (Best Sim/Strategy Game)
- Fire Emblem Engage (Best Sim/Strategy Game)
- EA Sports FC 24 (Best Sports/Racing Game)
- Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged (Best Sports/Racing Game)
Don’t forget, Nintendo also made it into the Best Adaptations category with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which it co-produced with American animation studio Illumination.
Which games will be shown or announced at The Game Awards 2023?
We really don’t know at the moment what will be announced at The Game Awards 2023.
We do know that Larian Studios will announce a release date for Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox, but that doesn’t really help Switch owners… Xbox is also teasing some unmissable news at the ceremony, which could be the same thing, but who knows?
How does voting work for The Game Awards?
You can vote for your favourites in each category over on The Game Awards 2023 website The final winners will be decided by a “blended vote”: 90% determined by the voting jury, and 10% determined by public fan voting.
The Player’s Voice category is returning, too. You can vote for your favourite game over on the Player’s Voice page.
Oddly enough, you can also play Fortnite and submit your vote for “The Best Creator Made Fortnite Island of the Year”. Geoff Keighley himself is even in it, how about that?
Will you be watching The Game Awards? What games would you like to win? Is it at a ridiculous time where you are? Let us know in the comments!
