On a recent episode ofKinda Funny Games Daily, Bloomberg reporter and games industry insider extraordinaire Jason Schreier said that tonight’sThe Game Awardslive stream would bring a couple jaw-dropping moments for game fans. “There are at least two things,” Schreier said, “that will make you guys reacting be like ‘holy s***, I can’t believe this thing is here!'”
As we look forward to the show, I thought it might be fun to make some wild guesses that will, in a matter of hours, be proven right or wrong. What could we see at The Game Awards that would make people go “holy s***”? But, first, a few things we absolutely won’t see.
What Won’t Be At The Game Awards
There are several developers it’s unlikely we’ll see anything new from. CD Projekt Redjust entered full-production on The Witcher 4and, while a CG trailer isn’t out of the realm of possibility, it seems unlikely the game is far enough along for anything “holy s***” worthy. The next games fromSucker PunchandKojima Productionshave already received buzzy trailers, so it’s unlikely to be anything from either dev.
And Schreier hasalready confirmed that a Bloodborne remaster won’t be part of the show. Replying to a redditor who commented, “I think it might really be Bloodborne this time…,” Schreier said, “It’s not.” So, what other, incredibly hyped games could actually appear at The Game Awards? Let’s get into it.
GTA 6 Trailer #2
We know that a new trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 is coming, we just don’t know when. It’s been over a year since Rockstar uploaded the first trailer to YouTube — where it’s racked up 225 million views — andfans are desperate for any news.Given that the game is due out sometime in late 2025, it seems like a second trailer should arrive soon. Before the end of the year? Fans certainly hope so.
There are problems with this theory. There’s no proof that a second trailer is coming soon (and Rockstar apparently isn’t announcing a datebecause it’s a good marketing tactic). Rockstar has never revealed a trailer at The Game Awards before. And, most importantly, the studio does things on its own timeline, as evidenced by the 12-year gap between GTA 5 and GTA 6. But if itwasthere, it would certainly qualify for a “holy s***!”
Half-Life 3
In 2019, when Valve wanted to show off the first Half-Life game in 12 years, it chose The Game Awards to do it. Sure, details leaked ahead of time andValve ended up announcing Half-Life: Alyx on social media before the show, but still it seems plausible that Valve could choose The Keighleys for its next big announcement.
And it seems like thereisa big announcement in the works. Valve has been leaking like a sieve in recent months, with a steady drip of new leaks painting a picture of a game that looks an awful lot like Half-Life 3. Is it too much to hope that Half-Life 3, after years of being nothing more than a rumor, is finally proven to be real and coming sometime in the next few years? Maybe. I think it’s gonna happen. It would certainly be a “holy s***” moment for all the players who have been waiting 20 years for a true sequel.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
To paraphrase the great Tobias Fünke, “I mean, these people somehow delude themselves into thinking Silksong might show up at the next big games showcase, but … But it might work for us.”
Naughty Dog’s Next Game
We don’t know much concrete aboutNaughty Dog’s next game. We know that the studio that brought us The Last of Usis not working on The Last of Us Part 3, but does plan to return to the series down the line. There have been rumors that the team is working on a fantasy or sci-fi game (which would be extremely cool) but there doesn’t seem to be much to that beyond speculation.
However ephemeral our knowledge of Naughty Dog’s next game may be, it is certainly past time for Sony’s flagship studio to showsomething. More than four years have passed since The Last of Us Part 2’s launch and, in that time, Naughty Dog has exclusively released remakes and remasters. It’s time for some news and it seems likely that The Game Awards could be the place for it.
Super Mario Odyssey 2
It has been seven years since the release ofSuper Mario Odysseyand Nintendo still hasn’t revealed anything about the next 3D Mario game. This is the longest drought ever between 3D Mario releases, beating the six-year gap between 64 and Sunshine, and it seems clear that Nintendo is saving the plumber’s next adventure for Switch 2.
Given that Nintendo is extremely unlikely to reveal its next-gen console anywhere besides its official channels — i.e. a dedicated Direct — a potential big launch game for that console is similarly unlikely to get a reveal before the console has been announced. But come on Nintendo, let me see him!
Bloodborne 2
Schreier said that Bloodborne wasn’t one of the “holy s***” announcements. But does that precludeBloodborne2? Probably. Despite that, I’m still holding out hope that a sequel to FromSoftware’s beloved action-RPG could show up on the mainstage.
We know that FromSoftware is not returning to theElden Ringanytime soon, but it has recently shown a willingness to revisit its older worlds withArmored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. With Sony working to buy FromSoft’s parent company, Kadokawa, could another FromSoft X PlayStation collab be on the way?
For the health of the games industry, this merger should not, under any circumstances, go through.
