The end of the year is always a time to reflect, and the gaming industry is no different.
The 10th annual Game Awards take place in Los Angeles on Thursday, 7 December, celebrating the best interactive entertainment released in 2023.
Sky News looks at the battles in seven of the hottest categories, and the rest are in full underneath.
Game of the year Alan Wake 2 Baldur’s Gate 3 Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Resident Evil 4 Super Mario Bros Wonder
It’s a smorgasbord of blockbuster sequels battling it out for best game, and we think it’s between Alan Wake 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3.
Both were long in the making and took advantage of their lengthy development to upend fans’ expectations and achieve some of the highest review scores of the year.
The former is a love letter to Stephen King, Twin Peaks, and The Twilight Zone, delivering plot twists and jump scares aplenty while boasting some of 2023’s most creatively meta moments; and its fantasy rival has wowed with the seemingly endless permutations players can experience in a story driven by the choices they make.
Best narrative Alan Wake 2 Baldur’s Gate 3 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Final Fantasy XVI Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Given their storytelling prowess is a key factor in how well they’ve been received, Alan Wake 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3 appear destined to slug it out for the narrative prize.
Advertisement
In both cases, it’s not just about how compelling the stories are, but how they’re delivered in ways that only this medium can. For example, Alan Wake’s Helsinki-based studio Remedy combines the game’s striking visuals with live action sequences, consistently challenging your perception of what’s really happening.
With Baldur’s Gate, from Belgian developer Larian, the sheer scope of its Dungeons & Dragons-style quest is astonishing – and the agency it gives means you’ll likely never meet anyone who had exactly the same experience.
Best art direction Alan Wake 2 Hi-Fi Rush Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Lies Of P Super Mario Bros Wonder
Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom will likely run Alan Wake and Baldur’s Gate closest for best game, and Nintendo has a fine chance of winning best art direction given how much visual splendour their teams are still squeezing out of the ageing Switch console.
Like its predecessor Breath Of The Wild, which won game of the year in 2017, this is a beautiful game punching well above its weight on the graphics front.
The dream-like scenery is wonderfully rendered, resembling a watercolour painting, and the scale of the world – now explorable from the sky – makes it all the more impressive.
Best audio design Alan Wake 2 Dead Space Hi-Fi Rush Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Resident Evil 4
Few genres thrive on good audio design as much as horror, and Alan Wake 2, Dead Space, and Resident Evil 4 deliver equally spine-chilling experiences that are best enjoyed in the dark with a good pair of headphones.
Any would be a worthy winner, though I’ll offer my best wishes to Dead Space given it’s terrified me like no other game this year. From your lonely footsteps and creaking doorways on the abandoned starship where it’s set, to the horrific blood-curling screams of the enemy monsters, it’s a frightening feast for the ears.
Best score and music Alan Wake 2, composer Petri Alanko Baldur’s Gate 3, composer Borislav Slavov Final Fantasy XVI, composer Masayoshi Soken Hi-Fi Rush, audio director Shuichi Kobori Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom, Nintendo Sound Team
In a competitive and varied field, surprise hit Hi-Fi Rush stands out for not just having great music, but making the soundtrack fundamental to the gameplay experience.
Starring as a rock star turned action hero, each level tasks you with fighting enemies to the backdrop of both unique tracks and hits from bands like Nine Inch Nails and The Prodigy. Attacks sync up with the music in super satisfying fashion and better timing leads to higher scores, making for a uniquely addictive combat experience.
Best performance Ben Starr, Final Fantasy XVI Cameron Monaghan, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Idris Elba, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Melanie Liburd, Alan Wake 2 Neil Newbon, Baldur’s Gate 3 Yuri Lowenthal, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
But veteran video game actor Yuri Lowenthal (Marvel’s Spider-Man 2) deserves major kudos for bringing his own wonderful spin to one of pop culture’s most iconic characters, with the sequel to one of 2018’s best games injecting the story with a darker tone that demanded a more versatile and nuanced performance.
From Tom Holland to Shameik Moore, he’s got plenty of competition when it comes to Spider-Man actors – but he holds his own.
Here are the rest of the game nominations:
Best game direction Alan Wake 2 Baldur’s Gate 3 Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Super Mario Bros Wonder
Best adaptation Castlevania: Nocturne Gran Turismo The Last Of Us The Super Mario Bros Movie Twisted Metal
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul has defeated one of the greatest-ever fighters, former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson, who’s more than twice his age.
The bout was won on a unanimous points decision at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas – home of the Dallas Cowboys and the biggest NFL stadium in the US.
The fight was already controversial but then arguably failed to live up to the hype. Boos were heard from the crowd in the final two rounds, after a perceived lack of action.
Boxing careers compared
This was not Paul’s first professional fight. The 27-year-old American YouTube star made his debut in 2020 with his most high-profile clash against Tyson Fury’s brother Tommy Fury last year, which he lost by a split decision.
The so-called “Problem Child” has since defeated former UFC contender Nate Diaz, professional boxer Andre August, former Gold Gloves champion Ryan Bourland and most recently MMA fighter Mike Perry.
In contrast, “Iron Mike” Tyson, 58, was ranked among the best heavyweight boxers of all time.
More on Jake Paul
Related Topics:
During his career, he knocked out 44 opponents – retiring from professional boxing in 2005 after defeat against Kevin McBride.
He returned to the ring in 2020 for a bout against fellow boxing icon Roy Jones, which ended in an unofficial draw.
Advertisement
‘Someone’s getting put to sleep’
Earlier this week, Paul said he believed the bout would not go the distance. “No, someone’s getting put to sleep,” he said. “It’s going to be a war, and we’re both heavy hitters. It’s not going the full 16 minutes.”
Tyson was more reflective: “I’ve been through so many ups and downs since my last fight with Kevin McBride,” he said.
“I’ve been in rehab. I’ve been in prison, been locked up. Never in a million years did I believe I’d be doing this.”
Several states would not allow the bout to go ahead, and the Texas Athletic Commission only agreed to the fight if there were changes, due to Tyson’s age.
It limited the contest to eight rounds lasting a maximum of two minutes instead of three. Both boxers were also required to wear heavier gloves, designed to lessen the force of punches.
The fight was initially scheduled for 20 July, but was postponed when Tyson suffered an ulcer flareup.
Taylor defends title
Meanwhile, among the undercard fights, Irish boxer Katie Taylor successfully defended her super lightweight world title against Puerto Rico’s Amanda Serrano.
But it was tight. Taylor claimed the rematch 95-94 for all three judges in an epic battle.
The bout came two and a half years after the pair fought at Madison Square Garden, which Taylor won on a split decision.
Bout suffered from buffering
Earlier in the evening thousands of Netflix users in the US reported problems seeing the coverage, with some posting on social media about buffering.
At one point, more than 98,000 people had reported issues according to Downdetector, which tracks outages.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via theSky News App. You can also follow@SkyNews on X or subscribe to ourYouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
Boy George is contemplating his relationship with fame. Intoxicating, often inescapable, he says he has not always found his decades in the spotlight easy
There has been a cost, he says. Much has been well documented. But in recent years he has been able to enjoy it all much more.
And it’s not real. “Fame is a figment of other people’s imaginations. You’re only famous because other people believe you are.”
Most will knowBoy Georgethe avant garde musician, flamboyant frontman of Culture Club, one of the biggest music acts of the 1980s. Big hats, big songs, big personality. He has found new fans more recently through appearances on reality shows such as I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and as a judge on The Voice.
He is also an artist, and fame is the theme of his latest collection of portraits.
Vivid, bold, punk, they are exactly as you might expect. He has painted his hero David Bowie, fellow music icons Madonnaand Prince, as well as a self-portrait.
“I think of Boy George from the ’80s as a sort of cartoon character,” he says. “Because on the one hand, there was this public persona, which was one thing, and it was very recognisable. And then there was me behind it… I used to have a real problem with [fame] and I feel now I’m like, it’s just a job.”
The portrait of his younger self is a reminder of how his relationship with fame has changed.
“I never really took it that seriously,” he says. “There were moments when I lost my mind – we all know what they were. But I always kind of knew who I was.”
Advertisement
‘I was really lucky to have my family’
The star, whose real name is George O’Dowd, has spoken and written about his struggles with addiction in the past. In 2009, he was jailed for four months for false imprisonment.
In his last autobiography, he described it as a “stupid, aggressive and regrettable” incident that was over in “less than 30 seconds”. He disputes some of the details that came out in court, but called himself an “idiot who did too many drugs and made a massive mistake”.
George says his family helped him through the dark times. Despite there being more conversation than ever around mental health and the pressures on young stars today, he is not convinced the support is any better.
“I think in my case, I was really lucky to have my family… particularly my late mother. Whatever was going on, she was always there to kind of try and harness me into reality. And sometimes it took a bit of pulling and shoving, but I feel like my family have been so important to me in terms of, you know, keeping me sane. But it hasn’t always been an easy thing.”
Now in his 60s, as well as Boy George, he is plain old “George from Eltham”, southeast London; although plain is not really an adjective you would ascribe to him.
“As I’ve got older, I’ve kind of accepted I created this Boy George person, and I can either have as much fun with it as I can, or I can make it full of anxiety,” he says.
For his Fame collection, he chose Bowie because the artist “shaped my whole career, my whole childhood”. His relationship with Madonna, whom he has captured in her Madame X era from 2019 rather than one of her more famous earlier incarnations, “because artists continue to evolve”, is more complex.
They first met after he saw her in concert in New York, with fellow ’80s star Marilyn and two friends. They went backstage and he asked for a picture.
‘There’s never been warmth… on either side’
“She grabbed the boys and just sat them on her lap, which is kind of major,” he says. “She took control immediately. And I’ve got this great picture of Madonna and this guy that I kind of lost contact with.”
But he and the Queen of Pop never became friends. “Over the years we sort of met each other, but there’s never been any kind of warmth necessarily on either side,” he says. “But I am a fan… with me, if I like the music, I don’t necessarily have to be best friends with the person… I can like things without being petty.”
It was perhaps part and parcel of fame in the 1980s, he says.
“When you’re young, everything’s a competition. As you get older, you get a bit more confident about who you are and more secure and therefore you’re able to enjoy things without feeling threatened. So I think in the ’80s, all of us were in competition with each other… nowadays I’m kind of able to enjoy a lot of bands that I hissed at in the past, you know.”
Earlier this year, George made his Broadway debut, performing in Moulin Rouge. Now, he is getting ready for gigs with Culture Club again, alongside Tony Hadley and Heaven 17.
They will play their first two albums, Kissing To Be Clever and Colour By Numbers, in full. “[It’s] one of the reasons I agreed to this tour,” he says. “I knew we wouldn’t argue about what we were playing.”
There is also a biopic in the works. George has long said he would like Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner to play him and the campaign continues, he says. “In this day and age, why can’t have a woman playing a man? Why not break the rules? It’s kind of what I was doing 30, 40 years ago.”
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
And he is still releasing solo music. His latest track, Let The Flowers Grow, is a collaboration with Bauhaus’ Peter Murphy.
“A lot of stuff I release, no one really hears of it unless they’re like a mad hardcore fan,” he says. “I’ve released 54 tracks in the last year, probably more than any other artist. And I will continue to keep putting stuff out and being creative because it feels like breathing, you know, it feels really enjoyable and I feel lucky that I get to do the thing I love.”
He takes a beat. “I mean that. I really enjoy it now in a way that I just didn’t know how to 10 years ago, 20 years ago, because I was so busy worrying about what other people thought about this, that and the other.
“Now I’m like, I want to tell people how I feel more. I mean, I’ve always done that, but I feel like, when you start to understand yourself more and realise what makes you actually happy, then you are able to express yourself in a better way.”
Davina McCall’s partner has said she is out of surgery after undergoing an operation to remove a brain tumour.
The 57-year-old television presenter had revealed in a video posted on Instagram earlier today she had a benign brain tumour, a colloid cyst, which she described as “very rare”.
She said the chances of having it were “three in a million,” and she had discovered it a few months ago, after a company offered her a health scan in return for giving a menopause talk.
She also announced she would be having the surgery this evening.
Now her partner – hairdresser Michael Douglas – has posted on social media to say the operation went well.
He said: “Hey all. Davina is out of surgery and according to the surgeon it was textbook! She’s currently recovering in ICU as a precaution, as you can imagine she’s utterly exhausted.
“Thanks so much for all the love from everyone on here… it’s powerful stuff, we are super grateful.”
McCall earlier said the tumour’s discovery came as a shock.
She said: “I slightly put my head in the sand for a while, and then I saw quite a few neurosurgeons, I got lots of opinions. I realised that I have to get it taken out.”
Advertisement
McCall described it as “big”, 14mm wide, adding: “It needs to come out, because if it grows it would be bad.”
She explained that she would have it removed via a craniotomy, describing the procedure: “They go through the top of my head here and through the two halves of my brain to the middle.
“They get the cyst, take it out, empty it, and Bob’s your uncle.”
She added before the surgery: “Say a prayer for me, I am in good spirits.”
She said she would be in hospital “for around nine days”, but during her recovery, she would be “off my phone for a while”.
Joking and smiling, she urged fans “not to worry about me”, admitting, “I’m doing that enough!”
She went on to counter that, explaining: “I’m not worrying too much, and I am in a good space, and I have all the faith in the world in my surgeon and his team, and I’m handing the reins over to him. He knows what he’s doing, and I’m going to do the getting better bit after.”
She signed off saying, “see you on the other side”.
What is a benign brain tumour?
According to the NHS website, a benign (non-cancerous) brain tumour is a mass of cells that grows relatively slowly in the brain.
They are unlikely to spread, but are still serious and can be life-threatening.
When successfully removed, a tumour will not usually return at all, but if it cannot be completely removed it may grow back, and so will be monitored using scans or treated with radiotherapy.
Many people return to normal activities following successful surgery, but some are left with persistent problems, such as seizures and difficulties with speech and walking.
Non-cancerous brain tumours are more common in people over the age of 50, and symptoms include headaches, blackouts, behavioural changes and loss of consciousness.
Davina McCall says her tumour is a colloid cyst – which is made up of a gelatinous material. Symptoms can include headache, vertigo, memory deficits, diplopia, behavioural disturbances, and in extreme cases, sudden death.
Celebrity friends were quick to send their support, with stars including Rylan, Alan Carr and Holly Willoughby sending love.
According to the NHS, non-cancerous brain tumours are slow-growing and unlikely to spread, but are still serious and can be life-threatening.
McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.
She’s gone on to present programmes across the networks, and currently presents ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad.
Last year, McCall was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.
In recent years, McCall has spoken regularly on women’s health and the effects of menopause in a bid to break taboos around the subject. Her 2022 book, Menopausing, won book of the year at the British Book Awards.
The same year, McCall fronted the Channel 4 documentary Davina McCall: Sex, Mind And The Menopause, and told the BBC that the perimenopausal symptoms caused her difficulties multi-tasking and she considered that she had a brain tumour or Alzheimer’s disease at the time.
The presenter has previously raised money for Cancer Research UK by running for Race For Life in honour of her late sister, Caroline Baday, who died from lung cancer in 2012 at the age of 50.
Married twice, McCall has three children, two daughters and a son, with her second husband, presenter Matthew Robertson.
She has lived with Douglas since 2022, and they present a weekly lifestyle podcast together, Making The Cut.