It was a very successful night for Nintendo at this year’s edition of The Game Awards, during which they claimed awards in four different categories.
As all Legend of Zelda fans expected, the hotly anticipated Tears of the Kingdom took home the award for Most Anticipated Game. Although we weren’t so lucky as to see a new trailer for Link’s and Zelda’s next great adventure, Nintendo reiterated that the May 12th, 2023 release date is still in place, and that we can look forward to learning more details about Tears of the Kingdom in the near future.
But it wasn’t just The Legend of Zelda that nabbed Nintendo multiple trophies. In fact, it was four different games across four different franchises took home top prizes at the show. After receiving widespread critical acclaim earlier this year, Kirby and the Forgotten Land was named the Best Family Game, marking the third time in four years that Nintendo came away on top in that category.
Splatoon 3 earned a huge honor by winning the Best Multiplayer award, taking down industry juggernauts like Overwatch II and the latest Call of Duty entry. This was only the second time that Nintendo has won in the category. Fittingly, the last time they did so was with the original Splatoon all the way back in 2015.
Bayonetta 3 took home the honor for Best Action Game, and we have to imagine that won’t be the last award that the Umbra Witch’s latest title will win as awards season proceeds throughout the video game industry. The win brought things full circle for Bayonetta 3, which made its world premier five years ago at the 2017 edition of The Game Awards.
Nintendo’s four awards were the most that they’ve claimed at a Game Awards event since 2019, where they also earned four top honors. Although not published by Nintendo, another Switch hit that won an award last night was Ubisoft’s Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, which took the prize for Best Sim/Strategy Game.
In addition to winning plenty of hardware, Nintendo also brought a few new trailers to The Game Awards. We got another look at The Super Mario Bros. Movie, while new content was revealed for the upcoming Fire Emblem: Engage, and for the Bayonetta series.
Fire Emblem: Engage was announced to have an expansion pass containing four waves of content. Much like Fire Emblem: Three Houses did with its DLC, the first wave for Engage will be available the day the game releases on January 20th, 2023. Engage’s expansion pass will initially include new outfits, items, and more classic Fire Emblem heroes to bring along in battle; later waves of the DLC will feature new maps, class types, and an original story. The expansion pass is already available for preorder and runs $30.
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is a brand new tale from the Umbra Witch’s youth with a vibrant storybook aesthetic, spinning off from the secret chapter that could be unlocked in Bayonetta 3. It will release on March 17th, 2023.
