Following last year’s all-digital event, The Game Awards returned to its normal in-person operations in 2021, bringing with it the promise of an exciting bevy of reveals and honors for the biggest and brightest of the industry. The year-closing show saw quite an even spread of contenders, with the likes of time-bending shooter Deathloop, survival horror entry Resident Evil Village, and 2D action-platformer Metroid Dread nabbing several nominations. However, it was Hazelight’s co-op adventure It Takes Two who ultimately took the top prize of Game of the Year.

The moment you’ve all been waiting for, Game of The Year! A massive congratulations to It Takes Two @hazelightgames + @ea + ​​@josef_fares for your big win! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/3o2kGm8qHm

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

Highlights for the other categories include Deathloop’s wins for Best Direction and Art Direction, and Best Narrative going to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Resident Evil took home a Best VR trophy for RE4 VR and Maggie Robertson walked away with Best Performance for her portrayal of the internet’s favorite towering vampire, Lady Dimitrescu. In addition, Returnal rocked the Action department, Metroid Dread dominated Best Action / Adventure, and Halo Infinite notably took home the Player’s Voice category after only a day of being released.

Rounding out the other categories, Life is Strange: True Colors rightfully took home the Games for Impact trophy, Genshin Impact came ahead as Best Mobile Game, and Forza Horizon 5 won in three respects: Best Sports / Racing, Innovation in Accessibility, and Audio Design. Taking a break from being outrageously popular, Final Fantasy XIV Online conjured up wins for Best Ongoing title and best Community Support while Kena: Bridge of Spirits came away as the Best Indie of 2021. Amazingly, Elden Ring was also named “Most Anticipated” for the second year in a row.

Check out the full list of winners from The Game Awards 2021 in the list below.

 

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Game of the Year

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• Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
• WINNER: It Takes Two (Hazelight / Electronic Arts)

The moment you’ve all been waiting for, Game of The Year! A massive congratulations to It Takes Two @hazelightgames + @ea + ​​@josef_fares for your big win! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/3o2kGm8qHm

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Metroid Dread (MercurySteam / Nintendo)
• Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions / Xbox Game Studios)
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Resident Evil Village (Capcom)

 

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Best Game Direction

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• WINNER: Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)

Another win for @deathloop, this time for Best Game Direction! Congratulations to the @Bethesda + @arkanestudios teams! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/MClLFJrlRM

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• It Takes Two (Hazelight / Electronic Arts)
• Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions / Xbox Game Studios)
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

 

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Best Narrative

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• Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
• It Takes Two (Hazelight / Electronic Arts)
• Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix)
• WINNER: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal / Square Enix)

Wow! @gotgthegame from @marvelgames + @EidosMontreal takes home the Best Narrative Award! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/lL3hmB39Gk

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions / Xbox Game Studios)

 

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Best Art Direction

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• The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur / Annapurna Interactive)
• WINNER: Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)

Congratulations to @Deathloop from @arkanestudios + @bethesdastudios for their Best Art Direction win tonight! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/tCMhp6TFnU

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
• Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions / Xbox Game Studios)
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

 

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Best Score and Music

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• The Artful Escape (Johnny Galvatron, Josh Abrahams, composers)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (Marcin Przybylowicz, Piotr T. Adamczyk, composers)
• Deathloop (Tom Salta, composer)
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Richard Jacques, composer)
• WINNER: NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… (Keiichi Okabe, composer)

Bravo Bravo! ? Big rounds of applause go out tonight to @Halo Infinite, @talesofseries from @bandainamcoUS, and composer Keiichi Okabe of @niergame for their fantastic wins! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/HhDls8hLm7

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

 

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Best Audio Design

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• Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
• WINNER: Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Studios / Xbox Game Studios)

Vroom Vroom! ? Congrats to @ForzaHorizon 5, from @weareplayground + @Xbox! Winner of Best Audio Design #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/lYTHfJJKcJ

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
• Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

 

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Best Performance

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• Erika Mori as Alex Chen (Life is Strange: True Colors)
• Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo (Far Cry 6)
• Jason Kelley as Colt Vahn (Deathloop)
• WINNER: Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil Village)

A round of applause for @maggiethebard as Lady Dimitresc who just won Best Performance for @RE_Games Village! ☣️ #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/pyJZwBT17y

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake (Deathloop)

 

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Player’s Voice

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• WINNER: Halo Infinite (343 Industries / Xbox Game Studios)

Congratulations to @Halo Infinite winner of the Players’ Voice Award, a 100% fan voted award at #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/KgQZpeouWm

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 9, 2021

• It Takes Two (Hazelight / Electronic Arts)
• Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios)
• Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam / Nintendo)
• Resident Evil Village (Capcom)

 

 

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Games for Impact

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• Before Your Eyes (GoodbyeWorld Games / Skybound Games)
• Boyfriend Dungeon (Kitfox Games)
• Chicory (Greg Lobanow, Alexis dean-Jones, Lena Raine, Madeline Berger, A Shell in the Pit/Finji)
• WINNER: Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine Games / Sqiare Enix)

The first award of the night goes to @LifeIsStrange from @DeckNineGames + @SquareEnix! Congratulations on your Games for Impact win! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/f7m21p8vg7

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• No Longer Home (Humble Grove, Hana Lee, Cel Davison, Adrienne Lombardo, Eli Rainsberry/Fellow Traveler)

 

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Best Ongoing

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• Apex Legends (Respawn / Electronic Arts)
• Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward / Raven Software / Activision)
• WINNER: Final Fantasy XIV Online (Square Enix)

.@ff_xiv_en from @SquareEnix wins Best Ongoing Game, congratulations! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/3e2ZP8ioV7

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• Genshin Impact (miHoYo)

 

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Best Indie

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• 12 Minutes (Luis Antonio / Annapurna Interactive)
• Death’s Door (Acid Nerve / Devolver Digital)
• WINNER: Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)

Kena: Bridge of Spirits from @emberlab wins Best Independent Game! Congratulations! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/jD5KCNWQax

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital)
• Loop Hero (Four Quarters / Devolver Digital)

 

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Best Mobile Game

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• Fantasian (Mistwalker)
• WINNER: Genshin Impact (miHoYo)

? Congratulations to @genshinimpact for winning Best Mobile Game presented by @verizon ? #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/78UnyjB8Jj

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• League of Legends: Wild Rift (Riot Games)
• MARVEL Future Revolution (Netmarble)
• Pokemon Unite (TiMi Studios / The Pokemon Company)

 

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Best Community Support

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• Apex Legends (Respawn / Electronic Arts)
• Destiny 2 (Bungie)
• WINNER: Final Fantasy XIV Online (Square Enix)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

 

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Innovation in Accessibility

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• Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft)
• WINNER: Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios)

With their second game award of the night, the award for Innovation in Accessibility presented by @chevrolet goes to @forzahorizon 5! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/Q1VilFIGGx

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal / Square Enix)
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Creative Bytes Studios/Falling Squirrel)

 

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Best Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality

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• Hitman III (IO Interactive)
• I Expect You To Die 2 (Schell Games)
• Lone Echo II (Ready at Dawn / Oculus Studios)
• WINNER: Resident Evil 4 VR (Armature Studio / Capcom/ Oculus Studios)

Congratulations to @leagueoflegends, It Takes Two from @hazelightgames, #GuiltyGearStrive by @arcsystemworksu, @ageofempires IV from @relicgames, Resident Evil 4 VR from @oculusgaming, and @eldenring from @fromsoftware_pr on their wins! #TheGameAwards! pic.twitter.com/JTtpH1PIzQ

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Sniper Elite VR (Coatsink / Just Add Water / Rebellion Developments)

 

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Best Action Game

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• Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock / WB Games)
• Chivalry II (Torn Banner Studios / Tripwire Interactive)
• Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
• Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft)
• WINNER: Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Returnal from @housemarque wins Best Action Game!! ? #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/B6gwYWiYTY

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

 

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Best Action / Adventure

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• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal / Square Enix)
• WINNER: Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam / Nintendo)

Metroid Dread from @NintendoAmerica + @MercurySteam wins Best Action/Adventure Game! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/yoHQENnCx0

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions / Xbox Game Studios)
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Resident Evil Village (Capcom)

 

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Best Role-Playing

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• Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt RED)
• Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
• Scarlet Nexus (Bandai Namco)
• Shin Megami Tensei V (Atlus / Sega)
• WINNER: Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Bravo Bravo! ? Big rounds of applause go out tonight to @Halo Infinite, @talesofseries from @bandainamcoUS, and composer Keiichi Okabe of @niergame for their fantastic wins! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/HhDls8hLm7

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

 

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Best Fighting

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• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles (CyberConnect2 / Sega)
• WINNER: Guilty Gear: Strive (Arc System Works)

Congratulations to @leagueoflegends, It Takes Two from @hazelightgames, #GuiltyGearStrive by @arcsystemworksu, @ageofempires IV from @relicgames, Resident Evil 4 VR from @oculusgaming, and @eldenring from @fromsoftware_pr on their wins! #TheGameAwards! pic.twitter.com/JTtpH1PIzQ

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Melty Blood: Type Lumina (French-Bread / DELiGHTWORKS)
• Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (Ludosity / Fair Play Labs / GameMill)
• Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown (Sega)

 

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Best Family

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• WINNER: It Takes Two (Hazelight / Electronic Arts)

Congratulations to @leagueoflegends, It Takes Two from @hazelightgames, #GuiltyGearStrive by @arcsystemworksu, @ageofempires IV from @relicgames, Resident Evil 4 VR from @oculusgaming, and @eldenring from @fromsoftware_pr on their wins! #TheGameAwards! pic.twitter.com/JTtpH1PIzQ

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Mario Party Superstars (NDcube / Nintendo)
• New Pokemon Snap (Bandai Namco Studios / The Pokémon Company/Nintendo)
• Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Nintendo)
• WarioWare: Get It Together! (Intelligent Systems / Nintendo)

 

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Best Simulation / Strategy

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• WINNER: Age of Empires IV (Relic Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios)

Congratulations to @leagueoflegends, It Takes Two from @hazelightgames, #GuiltyGearStrive by @arcsystemworksu, @ageofempires IV from @relicgames, Resident Evil 4 VR from @oculusgaming, and @eldenring from @fromsoftware_pr on their wins! #TheGameAwards! pic.twitter.com/JTtpH1PIzQ

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Evil Genius 2: World Domination (Rebellion Developments)
• Humankind (Amplitude Studios / Sega)
• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital)
• Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios)

 

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Best Sports / Racing

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• F1 2021 (Codemasters / EA Sports)
• FIFA 22 (EA Vancouver / EA Sports)
• WINNER: Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios)
• Hot Wheels Unleashed (Milestone)
• Riders Republic (Ubisoft Annecy / Ubisoft)

 

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Best Multiplayer

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• Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock / WB Games)
• WINNER: It Takes Two (Hazelight / Electronic Arts)

Congratulations to @dream and It Takes Two for their wins tonight #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/KyGfg2DebM

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Knockout City (Velan Studios / Electronic Arts)
• Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
• New World (Amazon Games)
• Valheim (Iron Gate Studio / Coffee Stain Publishing)

 

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Content Creator of the Year

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• WINNER: Dream

Congratulations to @dream and It Takes Two for their wins tonight #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/KyGfg2DebM

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Fuslie
• Gaules
• Ibai
• TheGrefg

 

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Best Debut Indie

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• WINNER: Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
• Sable (Shedworks / Raw Fury)
• The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur / Annapurna Interactive)
• The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller / Dear Villagers)
• Valheim (Iron Gate / Coffee Stain Publishing)

 

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Most Anticipated

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• WINNER: Elden Ring (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco)

Congratulations to @leagueoflegends, It Takes Two from @hazelightgames, #GuiltyGearStrive by @arcsystemworksu, @ageofempires IV from @relicgames, Resident Evil 4 VR from @oculusgaming, and @eldenring from @fromsoftware_pr on their wins! #TheGameAwards! pic.twitter.com/JTtpH1PIzQ

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• God of War Ragnarok (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
• Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)

 

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Best eSports Game

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• Call of Duty (Activision)
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
• Dota 2 (Valve)
• WINNER: League of Legends (Riot Games)

Congratulations to @leagueoflegends, It Takes Two from @hazelightgames, #GuiltyGearStrive by @arcsystemworksu, @ageofempires IV from @relicgames, Resident Evil 4 VR from @oculusgaming, and @eldenring from @fromsoftware_pr on their wins! #TheGameAwards! pic.twitter.com/JTtpH1PIzQ

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Valorant (Riot Games)

 

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Best eSports Athlete

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• Chris “Simp” Lehr
• Heo “ShowMaker” Su
• Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
• WINNER: Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev

We’ve got a whole lotta Esports wins here! Congratulations to @s1mpleO, @CSGO, kk0ma of @DWGKIA, and @lolesports ? #TheGameAwards! pic.twitter.com/23RJGjRrML

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Tyson “TenZ” Ngo

 

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Best eSports Team

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• Atlanta FaZe (Call of Duty)
• DWG KIA (League of Legends)
• WINNER: Natus Vincere (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)

We’ve got a whole lotta Esports wins here! Congratulations to @s1mpleO, @CSGO, kk0ma of @DWGKIA, and @lolesports ? #TheGameAwards! pic.twitter.com/23RJGjRrML

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• Sentinels (Valorant)
• Team Spirit (Dota 2)

 

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Best eSports Coach

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• Airat “Silent” Gaziev
• Andrey “ENGH” Sholokhov
• Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi
• James “Crowder” Crowder
• WINNER: Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun

We’ve got a whole lotta Esports wins here! Congratulations to @s1mpleO, @CSGO, kk0ma of @DWGKIA, and @lolesports ? #TheGameAwards! pic.twitter.com/23RJGjRrML

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

 

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Best eSports Event

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• WINNER: 2021 League of Legends World Championship

We’ve got a whole lotta Esports wins here! Congratulations to @s1mpleO, @CSGO, kk0ma of @DWGKIA, and @lolesports ? #TheGameAwards! pic.twitter.com/23RJGjRrML

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021

• PGL Major Stockholm 2021
• PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
• The International 2021
• Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters

 

​What do you think? Are you happy with this year’s winners, or do you feel another game should have won the top prize? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day!​

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