UPDATE: Elden Ring won Most Anticipated Game at The Game Awards 2021!
The Game Award for Most Anticipated Game is always one of the most exciting categories because it showcases all the great things players have to look forward to in the coming years. It's a bit funny to see games win awards when they haven't even come out yet, but it's a wonderful way to celebrate the future of gaming at the end of each year.
Due to a variety of reasons, many of them involving the Covid-19 pandemic, 2021 hasn't been the most outstanding year in video game history. That's okay, though, because 2022 is packed with amazing games to look forward to. The launch into next-gen has been a little rocky, but developers are working hard to make 2022 a generation-defining year.
The 2021 Game Awards' nominees for Most Anticipated Game are Elden Ring, God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, and Starfield. Any one of these titles could easily win Most Anticipated Game, which goes to show how insane 2022 is going to be for gamers. Each trailer has millions of views on YouTube and each appeals to a unique audience, so it's really anyone's game. However, as always, there can only be one winner.
Elden Ring
FromSoftware's Elden Ring won the Most Anticipated Game award last year, so it could definitely be a contender for this year, but a lot has changed since then. Before the summer of 2021, nothing had been shown about Elden Ring apart from the initial announcement trailer. FromSoftware's extended silence on the game led to some gamers thinking it might have been canceled or somehow stuck in development hell. All of that waiting paid off during the 2021 Summer Game Fest when the first full trailer was finally shown, but when the Most Anticipated Game award was given in 2020, Elden Ring was still very much a mystery.
Now, the game is still highly anticipated, but there's a whole lot less mystery. There was no news about Elden Ring for a long time, but now there's a ton. Much of the lore has been revealed, the gameplay trailer gave a great glimpse of what to expect, and some players even had the chance to take part in the limited network test and experience part of the game themselves. While it's more in line with FromSoftware's usual offerings, Elden Ring looks amazing. Elden Ring is highly anticipated, no doubt about it, but because the air of mystery is gone it might not be the winner this year.
God of War: Ragnarok
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Fans have been speculating about God of War: Ragnarok ever since the 2018 installment was released. Ragnarok, the Norse apocalypse, was heavily teased in God of War, and the full spectacle will come to fruition in the upcoming game. There is a ton of hype surrounding this game, fueled by the many questions fans have and the circulating fan theories. Atreus' secret identity as Loki has to be contended with, as well as the strange foreshadowing of Kratos' death.
There are also some specific characters fans are excited to encounter, the big headliners being Thor and Odin. Both are finally going to appear in Ragnarok, and it's been confirmed that God of War's Norse chapter will not be a trilogy as many fans thought. Ragnarok will be the finale of the Norse saga, which instantly changes expectations.
That means everything prophesied in Ragnarok, such as the World Serpent's battle with Thor, and Loki leading an army of Frost Giants against Asgard, need to be crammed into this one game. 2022 is going to be a crazy year for gaming so God of War: Ragnarok doesn't have a guaranteed win, but it's one of the strongest contenders for Most Anticipated Game.
Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West was nominated for Most Anticipated Game last year and lost to Elden Ring, so it seems unlikely that it'll take home the award this year. That isn't a dig at the level of anticipation for Horizon Forbidden West, though; PlayStation's momentum and holiday season definitely took a hit when both Forbidden West and God of War: Ragnarok were delayed until next year, but the next chapter of Aloy's journey will undoubtedly be one of the biggest games in the first quarter of 2021.
Since last year's nomination, Guerrilla Games has been consistently teasing players with more details about Horizon Forbidden West. Glimpses of new machines, tribes, and tools like the Shieldwing and Pullcaster are especially exciting, and prove that Guerrilla listened to fan feedback from the first game. Forbidden West is doubling down on combat and traversal elements, and while precious little has been revealed about the story, that's probably very intentional given how reliant Horizon Zero Dawn was on the element of mystery. Horizon Forbidden West probably isn't the most anticipated game on this list, but it's definitely one that gamers are looking forward to.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
A sequel to Nintendo's smash hit, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was announced in 2019, but fans didn't get much information until this past summer during E3 2021. The trailer more than lived up to expectations, showing players what they could expect while leaving most everything shrouded in mystery, including the official title. For now, it's being referred to as Breath of the Wild 2, and hardly anyone will argue that at the very least, it's the most anticipated Nintendo game of 2022.
The trailer left fans with a lot to theorize about, and as everyone knows, fan theories fuel hype and anticipation. Many Zelda fans think that Breath of the Wild 2 could incorporate some kind of time travel, which is hinted at by some of Link's clothes. Others think that Zelda will play a bigger role, possibly even as a playable character, and there's something is going on with Link's strange green arm. Fans are expecting Breath of the Wild's sequel to be even better than the original, which is quite a tall order. No one can contest that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 deserves to be nominated for Most Anticipated Game, even if it doesn't end up winning.
Starfield
Bethesda's upcoming open-world RPG, Starfield, definitely deserves its spot amongst the other Most Anticipated Game nominees. Starfield is Bethesda's first new IP in 25 years, and has been described in such lofty terms as "Skyrim in space" and "Han Solo simulator." Fans have huge expectations for Starfield, and the hype only grows with every new detail. The gameplay hasn't been shown yet, but Bethesda has released a lot of concept art and short videos teasing fans about what's to come. Everything revealed so far looks stunning.
Not only is Starfield Bethesda's first new IP in 25 years, but it's also the first Bethesda title to be launched as an Xbox console exclusive following Microsoft's ZeniMax acquisition. Admittedly, that may have dampened a little bit of the excitement because a lot of PlayStation fans were looking forward to Starfield before its exclusivity was confirmed. That said, every title nominated for Most Anticipated Game is a console exclusive save for Elden Ring, and even without the PlayStation community, there is a lot of excitement surrounding Starfield. No one would be surprised if it won the award.
Prediction for Most Anticipated Game: God of War: Ragnarok
Every game nominated for 2021's Most Anticipated Game award could easily win, so it's difficult to deduce which game will beat out the others. Starfield and Breath of the Wild 2 could easily top God of War: Ragnarok and Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West shouldn't be disqualified, but Kratos and Atreus' grand finale is probably the most hyped.
God of War was one of the games that defined the PlayStation 4 generation with breathtaking visuals, outstanding gameplay, and an emotional story that completely reimagined the franchise. God of War took some huge risks by moving to the Norse pantheon with Kratos as a father, but it worked remarkably well. Norse mythology has also become incredibly popular in pop culture thanks to the MCU and games like Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, and Valheim, to name a few.
God of War: Ragnarok has the best chance of winning the Most Anticipated Game award because it already has a huge following as an established IP, and there are some very specific things players are excited to see and do. The other nominees are a little more ambiguous, but God of War clearly foreshadowed events in Ragnarok. Players can't wait to encounter more Norse gods, battle Odin and Thor, learn Atreus' role as Loki, and see Asgard. Sometimes having more details about a game reduces the anticipation, which happened with Elden Ring, but with Ragnarok, every new insight increases fans' excitement.
The 2021 Game Awards stream December 9 at 5 pm PST / 8 pm EST on all major digital, social, and gaming platforms.