The Game Awards 2022: Esports Breakdown

There are a few surprises amongst the Game of the Year Esports Breakdown. Let’s talk about why each title has been included.

For one, A Plague Tale: Requiem is up for the award, despite being a relatively niche game. It’s a dark and gritty tale that follows two siblings as they try to survive in a world overrun by deadly plague-bearing rats. It’s an excellent game, but it’s a surprise to see here as it’s not one that was on everyone’s radar.

Horizon: Forbidden West is also nominated, which is the long-awaited sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn. It’s been highly anticipated for years, and it was finally released this year to critical acclaim. It’s no surprise that it’s up for Game of the Year considering its huge audience from Horizon Zero Dawn.

Elden Ring is another Souls-like game made by FromSoftware. It’s an open-world action-RPG that has three different game modes: online multiplayer, co-operative multiplayer, and single-player. It’s no surprise this has been nominated as it has been long awaited by fans all over the world since its announcement in E3 2019.

God of War Ragnarök is the conclusion to one of the best PlayStation exclusives in recent memory, God of War. It’s an excellent game that wraps up the story of Kratos and Atreus in a satisfying way. And it’s no surprise that it’s up for Game of the Year with its incredible storyline and cut-scene graphics. 

Stray is a new IP from the developers of Ratchet & Clank. It’s a cute and charming game about a cat that gets lost in a city full of robots. It’s a great game, but it’s not one we expected to see nominated, keeping in mind all the popular titles that have been released this year.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a role-playing video game for the Nintendo Switch, developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a sequel to the 2010 Xenoblade Chronicles game for the Wii. The Xenoblade series is known for its expansive open worlds, compelling stories and characters, and deep combat systems. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 looks to continue this tradition, with an even bigger and more beautiful world to explore, and a new cast of characters to meet and bond with.

Games we expected to see nominated.

Most of the games on the list everyone expected to see, but there are some titles we expected that didn’t make the list. Games like Modern Warfare 2, which broke all call of duty release records by 100%, or Overwatch 2, which right now is one of the most played esports titles available. Which wasn’t nominated for Esports category. That could be due to no official events being hosted yet, but time will tell.