A huge year for video games is coming to a close, and the second annual production of Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards will air on December 3rd to cap things off. Last year the show emerged from the ashes of the Spike Video Game Awards and delivered the goods with a combination of jury and fan-voted categories, and entertainment that included new game trailers and a co-performance between Imagine Dragons and Koji Kondo.

This year we're expecting more of the same, with a few tweaks and hopeful improvements. Some categories were added and some were removed. The Game Awards of 2015 will feature nominees in 22 categories versus 21 from the 2014 show. The new categories include Best Art Direction and Best Multiplayer, which have replaced Best Remaster and Best Online Experience. Another new category in the fan-voted lineup is Best Fan Creation, a nice touch that will award a gamer (or in the case of Twitch Dark Souls, a community of gamers) for creating their own content.

The nominees for the coveted Game of the Year award are Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, Super Mario Maker, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the last of which was the most-nominated game with seven nominations. Below are all the nominees:

Game of the Year

Developer of the Year

Best Independent Game

Best Mobile/Handheld Game

Best Narrative

Best Art Direction

Best Score/Soundtrack

Best Performance

Games for Change

Best Shooter

Best Action/Adventure Game

Best Role-Playing Game

Best Fighting Game

Best Family Game

Best Sports/Racing Game

Best Multiplayer

Most Anticipated Game

eSports Player of the Year

eSports Team of the Year

eSports Game of the Year

Best Fan Creation

The list of nominees for Game of the Year reveals a continued bias toward immersive, blockbuster-sized single-player experiences (with the exception of Super Mario Maker). The show seems content to show its appreciation for games whose impact comes mostly through multiplayer experiences through the Best Multiplayer and Best Shooter categories (which have almost identical lists of nominees), and for smaller story-based games like Her Story and Life is Strange through the Best Narrative category. The eSports categories (Best eSports game, best eSports Team, best eSports Player, and Trending Gamer) will still be decided by fan vote, which is a great way to show appreciation for the growing world of eSports and involve fans in the award show at the same time.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Best Video Games 2015
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt leads the 2015 nominations

Despite the flaws we've seen in game awards shows over the years, The Game Awards distinguishes itself by making an effort to celebrate the whole spectrum of video games. While the Academy Awards show focuses on a narrow scope of movies - grouping dramas, comedies, and thrillers into the same genre, and grouping all movies made outside of Hollywood into one category for Foreign Films - The Game Awards attempts to show appreciation for the different types. Huge RPGs, small RPGs, indie platformers, online shooters, racing games and eSports all receive recognition. More than anything else, The Game Awards are perhaps an indication of just how rich the field of gaming is right now.

That said, from the nominations we think The Witcher is in a good position to clean house - it's got a 2003 Return of the King vibe all over it. There is a small chance that Bloodborne or Super Mario Maker will sneak in the dark horse win, though.

The Game Awards will air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on December 3, 2015 9pm ET/ 6pm PT and will be available via Twitch, YouTube, Steam, Xbox Live, and PSN.

Source: The Game Awards