The Game Awards is largely the final, massive event in the gaming industry left that has not disappeared, either altogether or just fading away in popularity. The biggest announcements from the entire industry tend to appear here and I had some thoughts of what I believe we’ll see.
Now, this will not be fever dream level predictions, I’m going to keep everything as grounded as possible.
The Last of Us: Factions.
Naughty Dog’s first multiplayer focused title, The Last of Us: Factions, has had a very troubled development. After starting to form in 2020, the Santa Monica based team part of PlayStation Studios has yet to give us a proper update for years. All we ever get is essentially “it’s coming”. Bungie, acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2022, is not just the developer of Destiny and Marathon, they oversee the multiplayer ambitions at Sony now.
This lead to a tumultuous relationship between Naughty Dog and Bungie, as many changes had to be made as reported by several industry elites. To further hurt Faction’s future, the team behind the game has been cut a few times, dropping the available staff on by a fair amount.
So, why do I believe it’ll show up? Like I prefaced this, I mentioned that I am keeping expectations in check and making it as realistic as possible. Part of me feels Factions will show up only for the fact Sony will likely want it to seem like this game is still alive until they can make it done right to avoid cancellation rumors.
Perfect Dark.
Perfect Dark, the reboot of the classic Rare franchise, was announced at The Game Awards in 2020. It’s been a few years since, meaning an update will eventually have to come and now seems like the perfect time. The game is developed by The Initiative, Xbox Game Studios’ “AAAA” studio alongside the Tomb Raider reboot developer Crystal Dynamics.
The Design Director, Drew Murray, left The Initiative in February 2021 for the PlayStation Studios team known as Insomniac Games. Now that is nothing to be necessarily concerned about, until what followed after. Reports came out left and right of people leaving The Initiative in droves leaving the team a shell of what once was. This brings me to why I believe it’ll show up, the same for what I said before about Naughty Dog — they want the appearance that the game will not be canceled.
A return to this IP was rejoiced by the entire gaming community, it would be ashamed to see it go. Let’s hope it shows up!
Grand Theft Auto VI.
Grand Theft Auto V is the second most sold video game of all time at 190 million units behind just Minecraft at 300 million. That number is astronomical, 190 million copies of a singular game. That’s more than what the best selling console of all time, the PlayStation 2 had sold. So, how does Rockstar, a developer hailed alongside Naughty Dog and Nintendo as the best developers of all time, make a new entry in the series better than the last?
Personally, I believe that’s why it has been an entire decade since the last new title — they didn’t know how. Flash forward to the modern days, 10 years since Grand Theft Auto V, we seen alpha gameplay of the next entry and it is absolutely amazing. Hope things work out here.
Fromsoftware’s next SoulsBorne title.
While Elden Ring’s Shadow of Erdtree DLC is not released yet and a release date is still up in the air, I have a feeling we will see a the next SoulsBorne title alongside a trailer for the Elden Ring DLC.
Why do I say this? Well, I have a hunch that Sony will be allowing FromSoftware the ability to finally bring Bloodborne to PS5 and PC, this could lead to the announcement of a sequel (this is probably the most outlandish prediction, but with the cards aligned, it’s a possibility). Fans have outcried for years about a remaster and a sequel and with Sony reportedly doing a movie for the IP, it seems more and more likely they’ll have a tie-in like how Twisted Metal is getting a game for the show and The Last of Us Part I got made for HBO’s The Last of Us. The ducks are in a row perfectly.
thatgamecompany is poised for a return.
The Journey and Sky developer is due for an announcement of a new title. Sky: Children of the Light dropped in 2019 and while the developer had been releasing ports throughout the years for Android, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and PC, a proper, full game is likely around the corner. The team had nearly doubled since Journey, with it increasing in size greatly for Sky’s development. This is the perfect time to show what they’ve been cooking.
Thank you for checking out this article about what I believe will be shown at The Game Awards 2023. If you have any thoughts about what’s going to be announced, please leave a comment or share your thoughts with me on X / Twitter, @LumberjackRy. You can also subscribe to my Medium page to receive emails when I post.
Check out my other work here!
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