The Game Awards 2024 big announcements: 'Elden Ring,' 'Witcher,' and more

The 2024 Game Awards took place in Los Angeles' Peacock Theater on Thursday night, with developers travelling from across the globe to celebrate this year in video games.

Now in its 10th year, The Game Awards have become known for new game announcements and previews as much as they are for celebrity appearances, weird marketing stunts, and forcing timid game developers to awkwardly deliver speeches in front of thousands of people. 

Here are all the biggest announcements from The Game Awards 2024.

The Witcher IV announced, almost a decade after last game

The 2024 Game Awards started out strong with the announcement of The Witcher IV from CD Projeckt Red. The fourth game in the Witcher series, The Witcher IV will break from its predecessors by following former supporting character Ciri rather than previous protagonist Geralt — and it looks as though she's shaping up to be just as formidable a monster slayer as he is.

The Witcher IV will be a single-player open-world roleplaying game though, with CD Project Red stating that it "marks the beginning of a new saga with Ciri as a protagonist." This project is the studio's first new game since 2020's Cyberpunk 2077, and the first new title in the Witcher series since The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in 2015. 

Elden Ring co-op spin-off Elden Ring: Nightreign unveiled

Considering how popular FromSoftware's Elden Ring was in 2022, it's unsurprising that we're getting more games in the same universe. What is surprising is that Elden Ring: Nightreign will be a three-person co-op action survival game, and is a spin-off rather than a sequel. Fortunately it will also support singleplayer, so you won't always need to wait for your friends to play.

Elden Ring: Nightreign will have players work together to survive the "everchanging" land of Limveld and level up one of eight characters, each of whom have their own special abilities. Survive for three days, and you'll have to face the dangerous Nightlords.

Though the game will have many of the same weapons and enemies found in Elden Ring, the world will be different in every playthrough. New key locations, enemies, and weapons will appear or shift around in each new game, FromSoftware stating that players will have to overcome "the map itself."

Elden Ring: Nightreign is currently planned for release on PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC in 2025.

Untitled game from Shadow of the Colossus developer teased

We don't even know the title of this game, but its pedigree already makes it one that many people will want to keep an eye on. The Game Awards offered a brief glimpse at a new game from genDESIGN and its founder Fumito Ueda, the creator behind notable titles such as Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian.

Borderlands 4 offers official first look

Borderlands 4 was previously announced with a teaser trailer in August, but now we have our official first look at 2K Games' next entry in the popular franchise. 

The new first-person loot shooter will pick up after the events of Borderlands 3, when — spoiler alert — Siren Lilith averted a disastrous collision by teleporting Pandora's moon Elpis to an unknown location. It turns out that said location was the atmosphere above Kairos, which did not do great things for the protective barrier surrounding the planet.

Borderlands 4 positions players as a Vault Hunter searching for treasure, wealth, and glory after crash landing on Kairos several years later. It may not all be hedonistic self-interest though. Players will contend with The Timekeeper, Kairos' ruthless dictator and leader of an army of synthetic soldiers known as The Order. Also opposing him are the Rippers led by their formidable Queen Callis, making the situation on Kairos volatile to say the least.

The game will support solo players as well as co-op games, with two-player local split screen or up to four players online. Borderlands 4 is scheduled to arrive on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in 2025.

New Virtua Fighter game from Yakuza's studio in development

Virtua Fighter is a hugely influential fighting game series. Considered the first ever 3D fighting game, the game has informed and inspired numerous others since its first title was released in 1993. Even so, there hasn't been a new Virtua Fighter game since Virtua Fighter 5 in 2007. This is about to change.

SEGA announced a new Virtua Fighter game during Thursday's Game Awards, this time led by Like a Dragon/Yakuza developer Ryu Ga Gotoku. In a subsequent livestream, SEGA President and COO Shuji Utsumi revealed that the original Virtua Fighter team has also returned to work on the game for the first time since 2006.

"For a number of years now, we have been working on this project together with the Virtua Fighter developers as a united team," said Ryu Ga Gotoku director Masayoshi Yokoyama (translated from Japanese to English). "[It will] incorporate the game technologies that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has built and refined over the years, as well as Virtua Fighter's signature full-contact action systems."

The Last of Us developers reveal retro sci-fi game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet

The Game Awards traditionally end with "just one more thing," a big, exciting reveal to close out the night. This year that reveal was a brand new game in a brand new IP from The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog, offering a cool '80s retro sci-fi aesthetic.

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet follows bounty hunter Jordan A. Mun (Tati Gabrielle), who pursues her latest target to the mysterious planet of Sempiria. Nobody has left Sempiria's orbit in over 600 years, with all communication from it having gone dark. Now Jordan must keep her wits about her and fight hard if she wants to be the first person in six centuries to escape.

The sci-fi adventure game will be scored by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who have previously provided the soundtracks for films such as The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl, and Challengers.

We don't know much else about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet yet. However, Naughty Dog Studio Head Neil Druckmann states that it "lives up to the Naughty Dog tradition of creating an emotional, character-driven epic journey," and that it will be "the deepest gameplay in Naughty Dog’s history."

Astro Bot won Game of the Year 2024

For many gamers, The Game Awards' main appeal is its slew of new game reveals. Even so, the event is technically an awards ceremony, with one game ultimately taking home the title of Game of the Year.

The 2024 Game Awards' Game of the Year went to platformer Astro Bot, developed by Team Asobi. Though Astro Bot and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth led the nominations with seven each, the former took home the most trophies after winning Best Game Direction, Best Action/Adventure Game, and Best Family Game as well.