Geoff Keighley sets date for the 10th annual Game Awards
Geoff Keighley has announced when the tenth annual The Game Awards will take place in 2023.
Resident Evil 4 VR Wins Best VR/AR At The Game Awards 2021
Resident Evil 4 VR took home the award for Best VR/AR at The Game Awards tonight.
The Quest 2 exclusive title took up the top (and only) VR/AR category at this year’s ceremony, beating out Hitman 3, I Expect You To Die 2, Lone Echo 2 and Sniper Elite VR.
The Best VR Game of the Year from @thegameawards is drumroll please
Resident Evil 4. A huge congrats to them & all the nominees. We hope you're all showered with unlimited confetti & high-fives tonight. #TheGameAwards @ArmatureStudio @CapcomUSA_ @RE_Games
— Oculus (@oculus) December 10, 2021
As we said when the nominations were announced, it’s not exactly a true VR/AR category, given all the nominations were VR titles and there were no AR titles at all. Nonetheless, it was good to see Resident Evil 4 VR take home the win, as voted by fans and a jury, and to finally have a year without Beat Saber sneaking into the nominations.
That being said, Meta and Beat Games did make a surprise Beat Saber announcement during the ceremony — the next DLC pack is the Lady Gaga Music Pack, featuring 10 songs from Gaga’s catalog, available now.
In terms of other VR/AR content at the awards this year, it was pretty slim — Jim Carrey made a joke about meeting everyone in the metaverse in a recorded video segment, alongside a few other VR mentions by hosts or guest speakers, but that was about it.
The only other big VR announcement was that Among US is coming to VR for Quest, PC VR and PSVR. It was accompanied by a very short teaser, which you can watch here, showing that it’s a full 3D conversion of the popular flatscreen game. It’s being developed by Shell Games, the studio behind I Expect You To Die and Until You Fall. You can read more here.
What did you think of the Game Awards this year and who did you vote for in the Best VR/AR category? Let us know in the comments below.
Multiplayer Betrayal Awaits as Among Us VR Announced
Yesterday (or this morning depending on where you are in the world) The Game Awards held its annual event celebrating the videogame industry, and as part of the showcase a very exciting virtual reality (VR) announcement popped up. Innersloth, the creators of hugely popular multiplayer Among Us revealed that a VR version is in the works and that it’s being developed by I Expect You to Die 2 developer Schell Games.
If by some chance you’ve managed to miss all the hype around Among Us, the frantic party title originally appeared in 2018 for mobile devices followed by PC and then Nintendo Switch. Viewed top-down, 4-15 players have to work together to ensure all systems are working in the spaceship they’re on. The twist is that one or more of the crew are imposters and their sole goal is to kill everyone on board. The rest of the crew have to work out who the imposters are and throw them out of the airlock.
Among Us VR will maintain the same hectic gameplay the original is known for but this time it’ll be entirely in first-person. The VR version will support between 4-10 players and feature all the emergency meetings, crewmate tasks and ability to sabotage. It’s important to note that due to the first-person viewpoint, Among Us VR is a standalone experience and won’t support the original videogame.
âWe are grateful to the community who continues to share our game with friends and family and support us,â said Victoria Tran, Community Director at Innersloth in a statement. âSchell Games has a legacy of creating award-winning virtual reality titles, and we couldnât be more excited to create a brand new Among Us experience for our existing fans and new players. We canât wait for players to become Crewmates in a first-person environment.â
âWeâre excited to take all the features players worldwide have enjoyed from Among Us and tailor them to a fully immersive experience in virtual reality,â Jesse Schell adds. âThereâs a lot to love about Among Us and this partnership presents a perfect pairing of the runaway success of the original game and the upward trajectory of the virtual reality ecosystem.â
Schell Games has confirmed that Among Us VR will be coming to Meta Quest 2, PlayStation VR and SteamVR headsets although no timeframe has been revealed just yet. Additionally, Innersloth will finally bring the party title to Xbox and PlayStation on 14th December 2021. For further updates on Among Us VR keep reading VRFocus.
Beat Saber Announces Lady Gaga Music Pack, Launching Tonight
Beat Saber announced its next music pack tonight at the 2021 Game Awards — the Lady Gaga Music Pack features 10 tracks and will be available tonight at 8pm PT.
In a similar fashion to the surprise Green Day music pack announce and release at the 2019 Game Awards, Meta and Beat Games dropped a surprise Lady Gaga Music Pack announcement during tonight’s broadcast of the awards show.
Live from @thegameawards: The @LadyGaga Music Pack is dropping on Beat Saber tonight at 8pm PT!
Get readyyyy!!! pic.twitter.com/kmnOVzaxBG
— Beat Saber (@BeatSaber) December 10, 2021
The music pack will release tonight and features 10 tracks primarily from Gaga’s 2008 debut The Fame (and its 2009 reissue The Fame Monster), with a smattering of tracks from both her 2009 sophomore album Born This Way and 2020 sixth solo album Chromatica.
Here is the full tracklist:
– Alejandro
– Bad Romance
– Born This Way
– Just Dance (feat. Colby O’Donis)
– Paparazzi
– Poker Face
– Rain on Me (with Ariana Grande)
– Stupid Love
– Telephone (feat. BeyoncĂ©)
– The Edge of Glory
As is usually the case with new Beat Saber releases, the Lady Gaga Music Pack comes with a new environment, inspired by the aesthetic of her 2020 album Chromatica, pictured below.
The Lady Gaga pack follows on from the Billie Eilish pack, which released in September — we thought it was a solid lineup of tracks and a great addition to the Beat Saber catalog. We haven’t had enough time to weigh in on Gaga’s tracks just yet, but keep your eyes peeled.
There should be even more content on the horizon for Beat Saber players too — at Connect 2021, Beat Games teased new cosmetic sabers and some form of progression system coming soon.
The Lady Gaga music pack will be available for Beat Saber tonight at 8pm PT on all platforms.
The Game Awards 2021: Hereâs the complete list of winners
Who won Game of the Year at The Game Awards? We've got it here along with a complete list of winners.
The Game Awards 2021: How to watch and what to expect
The Game Awards 2021 are right around the corner and said to be chock-full of new announcements. Here's how to watch and what to expect.
Hitman 3, Resident Evil 4 And More Make The Game Awards VR Nominations
It’s nearly time for Keighley – The Game Awards returns on December 9 and nominations have just been revealed, including for Best VR/AR titles.
Well, it’s not really the best AR titles because there aren’t any listed, but you get the point. There are five nominees this year, including the PSVR-exclusive support for Hitman 3, Oculus Rift exclusive swansong Lone Echo 2, the recent port of Resident Evil 4 VR and then Schell Games’ excellent I Expect You To Die 2 alongside the equally-enjoyable Sniper Elite VR.
You can vote for your favorite game right here.
The Game Awards 2021 VR Nominations Revealed
It’s not a bad list of titles and we’re definitely relieved not to see Beat Saber somehow sneaking its way into the nominations for another year. We gave each of these titles UploadVR’s coveted ‘Great’ label save for Lone Echo 2, which we enjoyed but ultimately thought was too slow-paced and gave a ‘Good’.
As with any awards show, there are some omissions we can’t help but bring up. Demeo is the only new VR game to earn an ‘Essential’ label from us in 2021 so it’s a shame not to see it listed here, and the recent launch of 17-Bit’s Song In The Smoke feels like it deserves a mention, too. But these things are subjective and, even though we’re right, we’ll allow others to speak their opinions.
Still, this isn’t the only show to recognize VR achievements coming up soon. AIXR’s own VR Awards returns on November 18, too. Expect to see more VR awards prop up as we move into the new year, too.
VR Nominees at The Game Awards Include Lone Echo II, Sniper Elite VR & Hitman 3
The biggest event in the videogame calendar, The Game Awards, has announced all of its nominees across 30 categories. Of course, the Best VR/AR category returns with entrants from across the year and multiple platforms, the one omission being no augmented reality (AR) content has made the cut.
Each category is made up of five nominees with Sniper Elite VR, Resident Evil 4, Lone Echo II, Hitman 3 and I Expect You to Die 2 all making the cut. It’s great to see I Expect You to Die 2 getting a nomination as it’s the most niche of the lot, a comedic escape room title rather than big AAA adventures like the rest.
The rest aren’t too surprising as they do offer up some of the best VR gaming around. Oculus owners may also notice that the platform dominates with two exclusives, Resident Evil 4 and Lone Echo II. Only Hitman 3 doesn’t support an Oculus headset as its PlayStation VR exclusive.
Resident Evil 4 (Armature Studio/Capcom/Oculus Studios) arrived only a month ago for Oculus Quest 2, while Lone Echo II (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studios) also dropped in October for Oculus Rift after several delays. Sniper Elite VR (Coatsink/Just Add Water/Rebellion Developments) and I Expect You To Die 2 (Schell Games) were both well-received summer releases, whilst Hitman 3 (IO Interactive) dropped in January.
As for the other categories, no other dedicated VR title has appeared elsewhere, unfortunately. Only Microsoft Flight Simulator with its optional VR support appears in the Best Sim/Strategy segment.
The Game Awards 2021 will be taking place on 9th December 2021 with a live stream usually filled with big announcements of what’s to come in the following year. Free public voting is now open. For continued updates, keep reading VRFocus.
Half-Life: Alyx Wins Best VR/AR At The Game Awards
Half-Life: Alyx has won Best VR/AR Game at The Game Awards, beating out Star Wars: Squadrons, Iron Man VR and more.
While there are VR games games spread out into other categories, there’s only one specific VR/AR category and Alyx was up against some tough competition.
The full nominees for Best VR/AR Game were Star Wars: Squadrons, Iron Man VR, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, Dreams and, the winner, Half-Life: Alyx.
Half-Life: Alyx was also nominated for Best Audio Design, Best Game Direction and Best Action Game. It lost all three â Best Audio Design and Best Game Direction went to Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II and Best Action Game to Supergiant’s Hades.
In other categories, Phasmophobia managed to take home the award for Best Debut Game. While Phasmophobia’s VR support is optional, it was the only game in the category with any form of VR support. It managed to beat out Carrion, Mortal Shell, Raji: An Ancient Epic and Roki.
No Man’s Sky, which offers VR support on many platforms, managed to take home Best Ongoing Game over Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, Destiny 2 and Apex Legends. It was also nominated for Best Community Support, but lost to Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout.
Microsoft Flight Simulator also won in the Best Simulation/Strategy Game category. The game doesn’t have VR support yet, but will later this month.
No VR games were nominated for the overall Game of the Year award, which went to The Last of Us: Part II.
You can see a full list of all of the Game Awards’ categories, nominees and winners here.
Watch The Game Awards Tomorrow, Instagram AR Filters Available Now
It’s that time of year — awards season is upon us. For the gaming world, it all kicks off with The Game Awards, which goes live at 3:30pm PST tomorrow.
The Game Awards are one of the bigger annual awards ceremonies in the video games sphere. Not only are loads of awards handed out over several categories, but the ceremony is often littered with big game announcements as well. Itâs a bit like the Oscars mixed with an E3 presentation.
In terms of VR and AR nominees, there’s a VR game nominated in 8 of the 29 categories, as well as a whole ‘Best VR/AR of the Year’ award. You can read our full breakdown of VR nominees across other categories, but here’s the shortlist for the Best of VR/AR category specifically:
– Dreams (Media Molecule/SIE)
– Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
– MARVELâs Iron Man VR (Camoflaj/SIE)
– STAR WARS: Squadrons (Motive Studios/EA)
– The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (Skydance Interactive)
What would be your choice to take home the award?
The Game Awards also announced that six exclusive AR Instagram filters are available now on the ceremony’s Instagram page, @thegameawards. Five of the filters overlay an AR design of a character from a nominated game onto your face — the Hades filter, for example, gives you black Zagreus-like hair, changes the color of your pupils and places you inside a Greek-theme photo frame. Sadly the filters focus on nominees from the general Game of the Year category, and none feature VR games.
The Game Awards will be streaming tomorrow on Twitch, YouTube and many other platforms from 3:30pm PST.