Talking Point: What Was the Best Game Announcement at The Game Awards 2024?

Image: Push Square

Well, another year, another healthy dose of The Game Awards over and done with. Geoff Keighley went big with his tenth anniversary show, packing a shocking number of surprise announcements into a lengthy live event.

But what was the pick of the bunch? What was the best game announcement at The Game Awards 2024? That's what we're here to find out.

We'll start with the opinions of our editorial staff, and then ask you to choose a game from our poll. We'll be putting together a top ten community-voted list next week based on these polls results, so choose wisely!

Aaron Bayne, Video Producer

There were some absolute corkers at Geoff’s show last night, but atop the pile for me is Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Despite being one of those guys that could play Uncharted and The Last of Us games forevermore, I’m giddy at the prospect of ND trying its hand at something completely new. It’s got an immaculate sci-fi 80s aesthetic with real-world brands, gorgeous in-game cinematics, and even an original score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (are you kidding me?!?!).

I’m dying to know more about its bounty hunter narrative, and I’m very curious to see how ND tackles what is seemingly going to be a melee-based gameplay experience. But after crafting up some of the best stories to bless games and genuinely one of the best-feeling third-person shooters ever made in The Last of Us Part 2, I am so ready for whatever the team is cooking up here.

Liam Croft, Assistant Editor

Despite how incredible and exciting so many of the announcements at The Game Awards last night were, I feel like I could close my eyes and pretty accurately imagine how every one of them plays. That is except for Project Robot, from ICO and Shadow of the Colossus developer genDESIGN.

This is one of the most celebrated teams in the industry finally returning after such a long absence, and it's shot to the top of my most anticipated list. The team's first venture into the sci-fi realm greatly excites me, and the major unknown that is its gameplay loop means the experience could go in so many different directions.

It's been a long time coming, but I'm confident the wait will be worth it: we don't know what Project Robot is, and that's the most exciting thing possible.

Robert Ramsey, Assistant Editor

In an utterly shocking twist, The Witcher 4 isn't my pick for game of the show. I think this is because we already knew it was coming — not the trailer (which is superb, by the way), but the project itself.

So with that in mind, I think Project Century is the announcement that resonated with me the most. I've been a massive Like a Dragon / Yakuza fan since the PS3 days, and while I'll never grow truly tired of that franchise, I've wanted RGG Studio to try its hand at something new for a long time.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Project Century will have a lot in common with the team's previous escapades, but the setting, the tone of the trailer, the level of violence... I can't wait to see more of this one. And to top things off, it looks like a next-gen RGG title. Let them cook!

Sammy Barker, Editor

I think Mafia has been a consistently underrated franchise ever since it debuted in 2002. That original game – ported to the PS2 in 2004 – was unfairly compared to GTA at the time, even though it was much more cinematic and methodical by design. The same was true of sequel Mafia 2, and while I found Mafia 3 somewhat repetitive, I think a lot of its brilliant ideas generally got drowned out.

Now we’ve got Mafia: The Old Country, a title taking us to Sicily in the 1900s. I think in a year where GTA 6 is expected to rule the open world roost, this is going to deliver something genuinely different, with its historical backdrop and strong focus on storytelling. I still need to see more gameplay to be 100% confident, but the vibes of The Game Awards trailer were immaculate.

Stephen Tailby, Assistant Editor

Josef Fares is a somewhat contentious figure in the industry thanks to his exuberant, at times cocky personality, but the truth is his games are that good that he can get away with it. Hazelight Studios' A Way Out and It Takes Two are both unique, varied, and fun co-op adventures, and Split Fiction looks like it could be the team's best effort yet.

The wacky premise allows for a clash of different styles, promising a vast amount of variety in aesthetics and gameplay. The trailer shows off glimpses of numerous levels, each with unique ideas. Judging by the studio's previous games, I expect the level of polish on all its disparate parts will be high, too. It remains to be seen if the storytelling can match all that imaginative design, but I'm extremely excited by what I've seen so far — and only a few months to go.

They're our picks, but what are yours? Vote in our poll, and then explain yourself in the comments section below.