The most important ceremony of the mainstream videogame world is getting ready to award the best game of 2022. The ninth edition of The Game Awards announced the names of the games that will headline its categories.

Geoff Keighley, producer and host of the event, announced in a video each one of the three nominees that will compete for the prestigious award of the mainstream videogame industry.

Sony (NYSE:SONY)'s "God of War: Ragnarök" is leading most of the categories with ten nominations in total. In second place, along with "Horizon Forbidden West," is "Elden Ring," with seven nominations.

These titles are expected to be the stars of the gala, which will take place on December 8 at the Microsoft Theatre, Los Angeles, and will be streamed on different platforms such as YouTube and Twitch.

See also: Could This Be The Video Game Of The Year? 'God Of War' Breaks Sales Records, Becomes Biggest Launch In The UK

The jury in charge of choosing the winners is made up of more than one hundred influential media personalities from around the world. They will have to analyze and select their favorites in 31 categories with more than 50 video games.

After the nominees were announced, the first big controversy arose: the presence of "Stray" among the GOTY 2022 nominees.

Why the controversy?

The game developed by Blue Twelve Studio was one of the most resisted on social networks. In fact, many people commented on social media that, if the game wins the main award, they will end up losing faith in the criteria of the event.

Despite the criticism, developers and publisher Annapurna Interactive secured a total of six nominations in the upcoming The Game Awards.

The Countdown

The award for the best video game of the year could go to PlayStation, since "God of War: Ragnarök" has landed a very special place in The Game Awards' new edition. This release, which has been sweeping PS4 and PS5, is the main star of the sales rankings and has given Sony millions of dollars in revenues.

See also: How The Wold's Biggest Counter-Strike Tournament Broke All Audience Records, And Why The Whole Planet Loves This Game

On the other hand, "Elden Ring" took advantage of the television success of "Game of Thrones" and the FromSoftware antecedents. The fantasy game, which features a collaboration with George R. R. Martin himself, the author of "Game of Thrones," also has a good chance of winning the main award.

Sony received a total of 20 nominations for its work as a publishing company. Similarly, Annapurna Interactive and Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) feature 11 nominations each. Bandai Namco (OTC:NCBDY) holds the third place with 8 nominations. And finally, Tencent (OTC:TCEHY)'s Riot Games received 6 nominations.

Let’s not forget that in the last edition "It Takes Two" won the category of "Best Videogame of the Year." The work of Hazelight Studios together with Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) got the main award based on the votes of thousands of specialized journalists around the world

An Event Full Of Surprises

The news that was announced to the public is the addition of a new category in the field of "Best Adaptation," which features those movies and shows based on video games.

Among the most important names is "The Cuphead Show," whose ninth season has just been released on Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX). The other two names are the movie versions of "Sonic The Hedgehog" and "Uncharted."

See also: Could 'Call Of Duty' Be Removed From The Playstation Catalog? Recent News Put The Partnership Between Microsoft And Sony In Check

The most popular games of the moment are facing fierce competition, but there is also more and more excitement regarding the progress of future releases in the industry. Some of these clips are the official debut of the productions that will see the light in mid-2023.

The eighth edition of The Game Awards is expected to boost the status of the ceremony that was created in 2014, by Geoff Keighley himself, with the aim of offering a prestigious place to the most important games on the international scene.

The event is gaining momentum within the industry and many consider it an important space to gauge the market leaders of the last few years.