One of the game industry’s biggest events is almost here as The Game Awards will stream live on Dec. 8, 2022. Hosted by Geoff Keighley the event recognizes the talented artists who work on our favorite video games, dishing out awards in over 20 different categories. Of course, the awards are not the only reason why watching The Game Awards is extremely exciting. Keighley also takes the opportunity to gather announcements from different publishers, some of which can be more exciting than the awards themselves.
With that being said, and keeping upcoming game release dates in mind, let’s take a look at ten announcements that might be gracing The Game Awards 2022.
Crash Bandicoot – Wumpa League
Let’s begin with an announcement that has been rumored, teased, and all but confirmed by Activision itself, we think that Crash Bandicoot might be making an appearance at The Game Awards. It has been silent on the Crash front for a while since 2020’s Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. The Crash Bandicoot Twitter account recently shared their take on Spotify Wrapped, which featured 62,023 minutes playing Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. If this is not a reference to when the next Crash Bandicoot game will be released, it seems odd, as it seems to be pointing to June 6, 2023.
The game they could be announcing is the heavily rumored Wumpa League. Just a quick internet search will provide you with the rumors and leaks regarding the game, which seems to be a multiplayer title. You can watch this video by Liam Robertson to learn a little more about it but be warned, the video does contain some leaked material. The Crash Bandicoot announcement could always be regarding another game, but a Wumpa League trailer seems quite likely.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
We will most likely be getting another trailer and a release date announcement for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor at The Game Awards. It was recently rumored that the game would have a presence at The Game Awards, where it would be announced that the game has a March 2023 release date. The first trailer for the upcoming Star Wars title was released earlier this year when it was announced that it had a 2023 release date. So, at The Game Awards, we could see a story trailer giving us more information about the plot of the game, as well as a firm release date and if we are lucky some pre-order information.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Other than when it was announced, we have not heard anything about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. The game was announced during a PlayStation showcase back in 2021. The trailer, which you can see above, contained a voiceover that seems to belong to Kraven the Hunter, along with an appearance by Venom at the end. It seems like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will feature both Peter Parker and Miles Morales as playable characters as well. At the end of this trailer, a release date of 2023 was shown.
Since we have not heard anything about the game in over a year, it would be great if we received some more details about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, especially as we are going into 2023. There is always the possibility that the game could be delayed, but it would be great if we got an update at The Game Awards nonetheless.
Starfield
Bethesda has not been too quiet regarding Starfield, showing off gameplay for their upcoming space role-playing game earlier in the year. But, they also delayed the game into 2023 as well, not giving audiences a firm release date. The Game Awards gives them the perfect opportunity to announce a release date for Starfield alongside a story trailer. The game was originally planned to release in Nov. 2022, so it is possible that the game did not slip too far, resulting in an early 2023 release date.
BioShock
There might be two announcements regarding the BioShock franchise at The Game Awards. It was recently announced that Netflix would be adapting the game into a movie, helmed by Francis Lawrence, the director of The Hunger Games sequels. We could get a casting announcement or a release date tease, but this seems rather unlikely.
What is more likely to be announced at The Game Awards is the upcoming entry in the BioShock series of video games. The last title in the franchise was BioShock Infinite, not counting the remastered versions of the trilogy, which was released in 2013. In 2019 it was announced that Cloud Chamber would be working on a new installment of the franchise which was in the early stages of development. Even if the game is not ready for a 2023 release, we could get a title, and maybe even a setting, in a trailer at The Game Awards.
Super Mario Odyssey 2
With the upcoming release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it is time for another Mario game, and what could be better than a sequel to Super Mario Odyssey? Super Mario Odyssey was released in 2017, and it was the last full Mario game not to be a remaster or remake. The next Mario game does not need to be Super Mario Odyssey 2, but after how well it was received, earning a score of 97 on Metacritic, it would be a real shame if we did not get a follow-up to that game.
Of course, we could always just get some Mario news in general. For example, we might get another update for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, although they just released a trailer so that does seem unlikely. We could also see the announcement of a Mario spinoff title, although we seem to have gotten many of those in the past few years already, so a mainline game announcement seems more likely.
The Last of Us Multiplayer
There is a chance we could see an announcement from Naughty Dog at The Game Awards. Of course, the project that Naughty Dog fans are most excited about is probably the HBO series adaptation of The Last of Us that will release in January. But, they do have at least one game (some say three) in development that we could receive a quick update on at The Game Awards, the multiplayer game set in the world of The Last of Us.
There are rumors that the game will be free to play, and if that is the case, a release coinciding with the HBO series would be a smart move for PlayStation. Anyone intrigued by the world of the show would then be able to play a free game, at the cost of a PlayStation console. Now, Neil Druckmann, the co-president of Naughty Dog, did say earlier this year that we would not hear anything regarding the multiplayer project until 2023, but it’s close enough, right? There’s always the chance that Naughty Dog could announce a project unrelated to The Last of Us, and they might have also changed their Twitter profile picture recently to tease it.
Kojima Productions game
Hideo Kojima has been known to tease and draw out his reveals, and he has been teasing his next project for a while now. He announced earlier this year that he was working with actresses Elle Fanning, and Shioli Kutsuna, but he has not yet announced the project that they will be working on. He even hinted at his next projects by sharing three logos on Twitter, seemingly gearing up for some kind of announcement at The Game Awards.
Of course, Kojima and the host of The Game Awards, Geoff Keighley, have a long friendship. Their last collaboration has been in Kojima’s podcast, Hideo Kojima presents Brain Structure as Keighley hosts his own segment. Kojima will usually bring some news to Keighley’s events, announcing the podcast during Gamescom’s Opening Night Live, earlier this year. Therefore, with this buildup and his recent tweet, it feels like we can definitely expect an announcement about what he is working on at The Game Awards.
Detective Pikachu
If there is one franchise on this list that has been anything but quiet, it is Pokémon. Just in 2022, Nintendo released Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokémon Scarlet, and Pokémon Violet. But there are a couple of Pokémon games that have been announced that have fallen by the wayside. One of these games is Detective Pikachu. Announced in the same year as the live-action film of the same name starring Justice Smith and Ryan Reynolds, the game was not referenced by Nintendo or The Pokémon Company after the announcement.
It is possible that the game was canceled if the film did not meet expectations, but hopefully, it is still being worked on. The Pokémon games released in 2022 were all mainline entries in the franchise, and it would be refreshing for a different title to be released in 2023. Therefore, we could see a trailer for Detective Pikachu (and hope for one) at The Game Awards.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
It would be great if DC were to have an announcement in The Game Awards, and what would be better than a concrete release date for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League? The game was originally announced alongside a release date for 2022 in 2020 and it has since been delayed into 2023. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will have you control the members of the Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark in their fight against Brainiac, who is controlling the Justice League.
If we do get an announcement, it would be expected that a firm release date would accompany another story trailer. If they do not announce anything about the game, DC could announce an update regarding their upcoming Wonder Woman game, or they could always announce something new. Fingers are crossed for another good Batman game, or should we dare to dream, a Superman game.
So those are our picks for ten major announcements we could see at The Game Awards this year. Make sure to tune in at 5 pm PT on Dec. 8, 2022, to see if your favorite game of the year picks up an award, and to see whether any of our predictions prove correct. Who knows, you might even be able to win a Steam Deck.