The hugely popular Game Awards event celebrates the achievements of developers in the past 12 months, but there are usually new game trailers and reveals sprinkled in for the thousands of fans that tune in from home, making it a must-watch event whether you care about the prizes or not.

2020's ceremony air's tonight - but what time will it be and how can you watch? We answer those questions, along with what to expect from the show this year, below.

When are the Game Awards 2020?

The Game Awards usually take place in December, and this year is no different: the show will be airing tonight on Thursday 10 December. It will kick off at 6:30pm ET, which is 11:30pm GMT. 

There will be the pre-show event, which will last around 30 minutes. The awards themselves will then get going, and the runtime in total is expected to be around three hours. If you're in the UK, you're in for a late night/early morning. The event will broadcast live from Los Angeles, London and Tokyo. 

At 6pm ET/3pm GMT, there will also be a panel discussion on the next generation of gaming with key figures from the industry:

How can I watch the Game Awards 2020?

The organisers promise that you'll be able to watch the Game Awards across more than 45 global video platforms, so it's a safe bet that those will include YouTube, Twitch and Facebook. We've embedded the YouTube stream for easy viewing below: 

Like last year it will be streamed in 4K UHD, but for 2020 they're going one step further, with the chance for viewers to "participate and virtually interact with the show across social media, through live in-game experiences, and via interactive extensions on leading streaming platforms."

YouTube will also feature audio description for partially-sighted viewers, making the awards much more assessible for audiences. 

Who will be presenting the awards? 

The list of presenters has been unveiled, and we have quite a star-studded line-up for this year including film stars, streamers, voice actors and even Muppets. Here's who you'll be seeing this evening:

  • Brie Larson
  • Gal Gadot
  • Keanu Reeves
  • Christopher Nolan
  • Tom Holland
  • Swedish Chef
  • Troy Baker
  • Stephen A. Smith
  • Reggie Fils-Aime
  • Sydnee Goodman
  • John David Washington
  • Nolan North
  • Josef Fares
  • JackSepticEye

There will also be a number of musical performances through the night from artists based around the world. 

The Game Awards Geoff Keighley

What trailers and announcements will be made?

If you're chomping at the bit for some games news, then your in luck. First of all, Bioware will be unveiling a first look at Dragon Age 4 on the night - as confirmed by Geoff Keighley on Twitter:

Season 3 of Fall Guys will also get a full reveal. We'll be seeing four new levels, and learning more about a character called 'Bert the Pegwin'.

According to Gamesbeat writer Jeff Grubb, Microsoft will also have some news to reveal at The Game Awards - though we have no idea what this will be. 

There will be a first a look at a new map in the widely popular indie game Among Us - a favourite title for Twitch streamers. 

According to Gfinity, Bandai Namco may also have an announcement on the way on the night, with the UK marketing director calling the date 'a big day' for the studio. 

We'll also see the world premiere the season 1 gameplay trailer of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

We of course expect a lot more to be unveiled on the night, and this writer is personally keeping her fingers crossed for some Breath of the Wild sequel news. We can only hope. 

Game Awards 2020 nominees

Nominations have now been revealed, and voting is now closed for the general public. Audience vote only counts for 10% of the overall score - the remaining 90% is decided by a voting jury.

Ghost of Tsushima has already been declared the winner of the 'Player's Voice' awards - entirely decided by the public. It narrowly pipped The Last of Us Part II to the post after a close race. 

Quite a few upcoming games have been delayed and have not made the cut this year. You can see the full list of award categories below:

Game of the Year

  • Doom Eternal 
  • Final Fantasy VII Remake
  • Ghost of Tsushima
  • Hades 
  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons 
  • The Last of Us Part II 

Best Game Direction

  • Final Fantasy VII Remake
  • Ghosts of Tsushima
  • Hades
  • Half-Life Alyx
  • The Last of Us Part II

Best Narrative

  • 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
  • Final Fantasy VII Remake
  • Ghosts of Tsushima
  • Hades
  • The Last of Us Part II

Best Art Direction

  • Final Fantasy VII Remake
  • Ghosts of Tsushima
  • Hades
  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps
  • The Last of Us Part II

Best Score/Music

  • Doom Eternal
  • Final Fantasy VII Remake
  • Hades
  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps
  • The Last of Us Part II

Best Audio Design

  • Doom Eternal
  • Half-Life: Alyx
  • Ghosts of Tsushima
  • Resident Evil 3
  • The Last of Us Part II

Best Performance

  • Ashley Johnson - Ellie, The Last of Us Part II
  • Laura Bailey - Abby, The Last of Us Part II
  • Daisuke Tsuji - Jin, Ghost of Tsushima
  • Logan Cunningham - Hades, Hades
  • Nadji Jeterm - Miles Morales, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Games for Impact

  • If Found...
  • Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
  • Spiritfarer
  • Tell Me Why
  • Through Darkest of Times

Best Ongoing Game

  • Apex Legends
  • Destiny 2
  • Call of Duty: Warzone
  • Fortnite
  • No Man's Sky

Best Indie Game

  • Carrion
  • Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
  • Hades
  • Spelunky 2
  • Spiritfarer

Best Debut Game

  • Carrion
  • Mortal Shell
  • Raji: An Acient Epic
  • Roki
  • Phasmophobia

Best Mobile Game

  • Among Us
  • Call of Duty Mobile
  • Genshin Impact
  • Legends of Runeterra
  • Pokémon Café Mix

Best Community Support

  • Apex Legends
  • Destiny 2
  • Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
  • Fortnite
  • No Man's Sky
  • Valorant

Best VR/AR Game

  • Dreams
  • Half-Life: Alyx
  • Marvel's Iron Man VR
  • Star Wars: Squadrons
  • The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners

Innovation in Accessibility

  • Assassin's Creed Valhalla
  • Grounded
  • Hyperdot
  • The Last of Us Part II
  • Watch Dogs Legion

Best Action Game

  • Doom Eternal
  • Hades
  • Half-Life: Alyx
  • Nioh 2
  • Streets of Rage 4

Best Action/Adventure Game

  • Assassin's Creed Valhalla
  • Ghosts of Tsushima
  • Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps
  • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
  • The Last of Us Part II

Best RPG

  • Final Fantasy VII Remake
  • Genshin Impact
  • Persona 5 Royal
  • Wasteland 3
  • Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Best Fighting Game

  • Granblue Fantasy: Versus
  • Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
  • Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
  • One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows
  • Under Night In-Birth EXE: Late[CL-R]

Best Family Game

  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons
  • Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
  • Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
  • Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
  • Minecraft Dungeons
  • Paper Mario: The Origami King

Best Sim/Strategy Game

  • Crusader Kings 3
  • Desperados 3
  • Gears Tactics
  • Microsoft Flight Simulator
  • XCOM: Chimera Squad

Best Sports/Racing Game

  • Dirt 5
  • F1 2020
  • FIFA 21
  • NBA 2K21
  • Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2

Best Multiplayer Game

  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons
  • Among Us
  • Call of Duty: Warzone
  • Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
  • Valorant

Content Creator of the Year

  • Alanah Pearce
  • Jay Ann Lopez
  • Nickmercs
  • Timthetatman
  • Valkyrae

Best Esports Athlete

  • Ian "Crimsix" Porter
  • Heo "Showmaker" Su
  • Kim "Canyon" Geon-Bu
  • Anthony "Shotzzy" Cuevas-Castro
  • Matthieu "Zywoo" Herbaut

Best Esports Coach

  • Danny "Zonic" Sorensen
  • Dae-Hee "Crusty" Park
  • Fabian "Grabbz" Lohmann
  • Lee "Zefa" Jae-Min
  • Raymond "Rambo" Lussier

Best Esports Event

  • Blast Premier: Spring 2020 European Finals
  • Call of Duty League Championship 2020
  • IEM Katowice 2020
  • League of Legends World Championship 2020
  • Overwatch League Grand Finals 2020

Best Esports Game

  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
  • Fortnite
  • League of Legends
  • Valorant

Best Esports Host

  • Alex "Goldenboy" Mendez
  • Alex "Machine" Richardson
  • Eefje "Sjokz" Depoortere
  • James "Dash" Patterson
  • Jorien "Sheever" Van der Heijden

Best Esports Team

  • Damwon Gaming
  • Dallas Empire
  • G2 Esports
  • San Francisco Shock
  • Team Secret

The Game Awards statuette

You'll notice that in that line-up there's a new award for 2020: Innovation in Accessibility. According to the organisers, it "recognizes software and/or hardware developers that are pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience."

Besides those getting awards, we'll also see a whole bunch of exciting news for 2021 and beyond, including trailers and new game reveals, special in-game events, and even playable demos dropping during the show. There'll also be a Game Awards Sale that runs across multiple PC and console store fronts.