The Game Awards crowned the game of the year last night amid huge controversies

Last night was the Game Awards, a gala that aspires to be the Oscars of video games. And among all the announcements made, of which we have highlighted the most important of the night, they also gave out a few awards. Giving them different weight and importance, it still isn’t the Oscars, but it has become the big gala of video games. And it is also an awards show where it is easy to attend to discover what is being cooked up in the industry at all levels. Before diving into the big winners and losers of each category, it is important […]

Last night was the Game Awards, a gala that aims to be the Oscars of video games. Among all the announcements made, of which we have highlighted the most important of the night, several awards were also given. Giving them different weight and importance, it still isn’t the Oscars, but it has become the major gala of video games. And it is also an awards ceremony where it is easy to attend to discover what is being cooked in the industry at all levels.

Before diving into the big winners and losers of each category, it’s important to provide a brief summary. Knowing how many nominations each of the involved parties had is essential.

The big favorite of the night was Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. With 13 nominations, the French game had a hard time not leaving as the big winner of the gala, especially when no one had received so many nominations in the history of the Games Awards. Following closely were Death Stranding 2: On The Beach and Ghost of Yotei, with 7 nominations, and Hades II and Hollow Knight: Silksong, with 6 respectively. Among the surprises were Split Fiction, which only had 4 nominations, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and Silent Hill f, which only managed 3.

How did it turn out for everyone? With few surprises, to be honest. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was the biggest winner with 9 statuettes out of the 13 that could be won, leaving no room for anyone else. In that sense, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach and Ghost of Yotei are the big losers of the night, as they went home empty-handed despite all their nominations. A big disappointment for Sony.

Creators, players, and online

Among the most unique categories are those of esports and creators. Here, Counter-Strike 2 stood out particularly. Winning both the award for best esports and having a Counter-Strike 2 team, Team Vitality, win the award for best esports team, Valve has been the big winner in this category. Although there were no surprises, Jung “Chovy” Ji-hoon took home the title of best esports athlete for League of Legends after an excellent Worlds.

For his part, MoistCr1TiKaL has won the award for best content creator of the year. With tough competition from Kai Cenat, it is quite likely that being a much more likable figure in public outside of the streaming fandom itself has had an impact.

Among the awards separated from the rest of the categories, Wuthering Waves won the Players’ Voices largely due to the rewards offered by Kuro Games for players to vote for their game. In the most anticipated game category, GTAVI won, much to absolutely no one’s surprise, and for best adaptation, the second season of The Last of Us took home the big prize. Similarly, Doom: The Dark Ages achieved its only award by winning innovation in accessibility for its numerous difficulty options.

A game that has eclipsed all others

Entering the major categories, it is evident that there is a clear winner above all others. That does not take away from the fact that there have been some quite interesting awards. Mario Kart World won best sports game, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles won best strategy game, and Donkey Kong Bananza won best family game.

In the field of action-focused games, Hades 2 won best action game and Hollow Knight: Silksong won best action-adventure game. The highly questionable Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves won best fighting game, not without controversy.

As no surprise to anyone, ARC Raiders won the award for best multiplayer game. And its main competitor, Battlefield 6, won best sound design, rightly taking the award from Expedition 33. In the impact games category, the interesting South of Midnight won, and No Man’s Sky won for best support. Additionally, The Midnight Walk won best VR game and Umamusume: Pretty Derby won best mobile game, resulting in a well-distributed set of secondary awards.

But at the end of the day, there was only one big winner. A game that took it all. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won the awards for best role-playing game, best indie game, best indie debut, best soundtrack and music, best art direction, best narrative, best direction, and game of the year. Accumulating all the technical awards, except one, and all the big awards, becoming the grand prize of the year according to the Game Awards. Even if there has been some controversy over whether it should be considered an indie game or not.

With this, the Game Awards concluded, much less distributed than usual, although with great announcements and a clear winner. Something that gives us a clear perspective on the situation of the mainstream video game industry.

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Bandai Namco acknowledges that they are having trouble making remasters of Tales of: they don't know where the source code is

The remastering of the classic games in the Tales saga by Bandai Namco faces a significant challenge due to the lack of source code and master data from the original titles. This inconvenience is not exclusive to the Tales series; in fact, Square Enix experienced a similar problem when reconstructing Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles. The project director, Kazutoyo Maehiro, confirmed that the absence of such data complicated the remastering. The situation is similar for Bandai Namco, which now has to investigate the location of the source code and who manages it, according to the producer of the […]

The remastering of the classic games in the Tales saga by Bandai Namco faces a significant challenge due to the lack of source code and master data from the original titles. This inconvenience is not exclusive to the Tales series; in fact, Square Enix experienced a similar problem when reconstructing Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles. The project director, Kazutoyo Maehiro, confirmed that the absence of such data complicated the remastering. The situation is similar for Bandai Namco, which now has to investigate the location of the source code and who manages it, according to the series producer, Yusuke Tomizawa, at the Tokyo Game Show.

Playing by eye is quite complicated

The lack of detailed documentation and the work of multiple studies in the development of the series have made the search and analysis of the original data a prolonged process. Tomizawa admitted that finding the relevant information can take months and, once found, often presents gaps that must be filled before being able to proceed with the remastering.

Despite these challenges, Bandai Namco announced the Tales Remaster Project as part of the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the series, starting with the release of Tales of Graces f Remastered in January. The next title on the list is Tales of Xillia Remastered, scheduled for October 31. Bandai’s strategy does not follow a strict chronological order, but rather focuses on efficiency, opting to remaster first those titles that are easier to adapt.

Tomizawa also said: “I know some fans might be thinking ‘What is the release order?’; however, this non-linear production responds to the speed and quantity of releases.” Meanwhile, JRPG fans eagerly await the arrival of these remastered versions, which celebrate one of the most beloved franchises in the genre.

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The director of the Final Fantasy Tactics remaster confesses why it took them so long to do it: they had lost everything

The remastering of one of the most beloved titles in the Final Fantasy saga, titled Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, will be released on September 30 for PC and consoles, offering a new opportunity for fans and new players to enjoy this classic. However, the development process has been a true challenge, as there were no original data or source code for the game, which forced the developers to rebuild it from scratch. It is difficult to remake a game when you have to do it from scratch Kazutoyo Maehiro, the project director, explained in a recent interview […]

The remastering of one of the most beloved titles in the Final Fantasy saga, titled Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, will be released on September 30 for PC and consoles, offering a new opportunity for fans and new players to enjoy this classic. However, the development process has been a true challenge, as there were no original data or source code of the game, which forced the developers to rebuild it from scratch.

It’s hard to remake a game when you have to do it from scratch

Kazutoyo Maehiro, project director, explained in a recent interview that, due to common practices at the time, the data of the original game was overwritten every time it was localized for a new language. This fact meant that the team had to analyze different existing versions of the title and, at times, play the original game to intuitively capture its essence. Maehiro emphasized that “each challenge stemmed from this lack of master data, which contrasts with current standards of video game preservation.”

The remastered version will include a modern user interface, full voice acting, dialogues added by the original writer and director Yasumi Matsuno, autosaves, and adjustable battle speed. For those who prefer the classic aesthetic, there will be a mode that maintains the original graphics but revokes several of the new features implemented.

The balance between attracting new players and satisfying fans of the original game has been a priority. Maehiro commented that, while some believe that remasters should not go overboard, the team considers it essential to offer both an accessible enhanced version and an option that resembles more closely the game that millions of fans adored at its original launch.

With its expected arrival in September, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles promises to be a renewed experience that pays homage to its legacy.

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PlayStation demonstrates in its State of Play that Japan remains a superpower in video games

Last night one of the most anticipated events of the Summer Game Fest took place. We all expected to see what Sony would offer in its State of Play. Although they have some interesting games on the horizon, 2025 has not been a good year for the Japanese company. And it doesn’t seem like it will be great in the future. At least from what we could see last Wednesday, June 4, around 11 PM. It must be admitted that, although there was something for everyone’s taste, it was a very Japanese State of Play. Very focused on third parties and […]

Last night, one of the most anticipated events of the Summer Game Fest took place. We all expected to see what Sony would offer in its State of Play. Although they have some interesting games on the horizon, 2025 has not been a good year for the Japanese company. And it doesn’t seem like it will be great in the future. At least from what we could see last Wednesday, June 4, around 11 PM.

It must be admitted that, although there was something for everyone, it was a very Japanese State of Play. Very focused on third parties and for those whose tastes are more based on arcade-style games, or with a more video game approach, and less on narrative or cinematic video games. This may disappoint some people who expect a different approach from Sony after God of War, Uncharted, and The Last of Us, but the truth is that it was an exceptional State of Play in terms of pace and content. And for that reason, we have selected the best announcements so you don’t miss anything.

Lumines Arise

There are only three games that have been able to be as iconic and brilliant as Tetris in the world of puzzles: Puyo Puyo, Meteos, and Lumines. The latter will receive a new installment, as we have learned thanks to Sony, named Lumines Arise. Its premise is to be the same idea as always —grouping four or more symbols in a square or equivalent shape using pieces made up of combinations of one or two symbols— but now with more particles and even more spectacular graphics.

Clearly drinking from the tremendous success of Tetris Effect, it seems that the game is heavily inspired by Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s previous game. But let’s not kid ourselves either. Tetris Effect already drew a lot from Lumines. So we can expect to see what the result will be when it releases this upcoming autumn of 2025 for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation VR.

Pragmata

Initially announced at E3 2020 for 2022, Pragmata has had a tumultuous development. So much so that we haven’t heard anything about it for 2 years and many people suspected it had been canceled. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the game has shown signs of life. And it is spectacular.

Highlighting some absolutely stunning graphics, where the quality of the design of the main girl stands out especially, the game seems pure Capcom. Resident Evil, but with more action and in a science fiction setting. Something we really can’t say no to. But to play it, we will still have to wait. Because Pragmata will be released in 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Romeo is a Dead Man

Goichi Suda, better known as Suda51, is one of the great authors of video games. Punk, unrestrained, with no intention of pleasing anyone, he always does what he wants, how he wants, and he doesn’t care if you like what he does. That’s why, if you like it, you’ll love it. And that is the case with Romeo is a Dead Man, a madness about a man trapped between life and death due to a time paradox that shattered the space-time continuum and now he must jump between dimensions to hunt down dangerous fugitives.

It promises to be violent. It promises to be hilarious. And it promises to be vulgar. But it is also deep, human, and a game like no other you have ever played. Because that’s what Goichi Suda’s games are about. However, to play it, we will have to wait until 2026, when we can enjoy it on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Silent Hill f

If there is a horror game that is highly anticipated this year, it is Silent Hill f. Written by one of the most celebrated authors of Japanese horror, putting his own spin on one of the most beloved franchises in the industry, it is impossible for this to go wrong. Especially now that we have finally seen gameplay. And it did not disappoint.

Dark, violent, and very psychological, it seems we will have to go through real hardships to progress in the game. Exactly what we want in a Silent Hill. Additionally, we have been given something even more important. Its release date. The game will be released on September 25 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. And keep a close eye. Because if there is a game in this article that is a contender for game of the year, it is this one.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles

In Europe, we never got to play one of the most celebrated games from the US and Japan within the Final Fantasy franchise. Moreover, it is not a game from the main franchise. Because Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the brightest games that has come from Square Enix and, even today, it still has one of the most impressive stories and one of the most satisfying battles in Tactic RPG.

This remastered version also has two good things. It will include an improved version, with full voice acting and updated graphics, but also the original version for those who want to enjoy what was playable on PlayStation. This time, with the acclaimed translation that the PSP version had. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles will be released on September 30 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S.

Nioh 3

Team Ninja is in a very sweet spot, with many projects on the horizon. And now they have decided to add one that many fans were waiting for: a new installment of their most beloved franchise. Nioh 3 will take us to feudal Japan to face a tremendously challenging souls-like game where, as it seems in the trailer, we will have to choose between protagonists. One is a samurai, similar to the gameplay style of previous installments, and the other is a shinobi, with a style more akin to that of Tenchu.

With the demo now available, it is possible to try the game to see how well it works. And if it will live up to its previous games in the franchise. Even if we will still have to wait until 2026 to enjoy it, we will be able to play it on both PC and PlayStation 5.

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls

But the big announcement has come from Marvel. Although not only from Marvel. Arc System Works in collaboration with PlayStation Studios has announced Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls. This is a 4 vs 4 tag team fighting game, where we choose four characters and alternate between them to fight. Closely following the style of previous games from the company, such as Guilty Gears or Dragon Ball FighterZ, it has a spectacular graphic style and a frantic pace that promises to captivate fighting game fans.

We have seen some of the playable characters, such as Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Star-Lord, Ms. Marvel, Storm, and Dr. Doom. However, like most games, we will still have to wait. Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls will be released on PC and PlayStation 5 in 2026. But given the promising look of all these games, it seems that PlayStation has plans, and the wait is well worth it.

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