How to watch The Game Awards live

Update: The Game Awards are over. You can watch on YouTube above.

The Game Awards went through a couple television iterations before settling into its latest routine: a December livestream hosted by producer Geoff Keighley, with awards (voted on by a mixture of public and press) handed out to developers in between trailer reveals. 

Some big games have been debuted on The Game Awards in the past, including No Man's Sky. The unsustainable buzz that game generated might not be considered a high point, but it certainly gave the show a reputation for interesting surprises. Last year we got a teaser for From Software's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice before the name had been announced, and this year we're told to expect over 10 new games to be shown. Right now, rumors suggest a new Alien game and Dragon Age 4. Here's how and when to watch the show, and what we think we'll see:

If you're one of the many people in the world who doesn't live on North America's Pacific coast, here's a breakdown of when that might be for you:

Thursday

Pacific: 5:30 pm | Mountain: 6:30 pm | Central: 7:30 pm | Eastern: 8:30 pm | Argentina: 10:30 pm | Brazil: 11:30 pm

Friday

London (GMT): 1:30 am | Paris (CET): 2:30 am | Moscow: 4:30 am | China: 9:30 am | Japan: 10:30 am | Brisbane (AEST): 11:30 am | Sydney (AEDT): 12:30 pm

Before public voting began, the nominees were selected by a 69-member jury of publications, of which PC Gamer is one. (If we had our way, all that Red Dead Redemption 2 and God of War nonsense would be stricken from the ballot, but we suppose that's why we're not the only outlet that gets to vote.) 

What Game Awards 2018 reveals are rumored?

One of the big rumors right now is that a new Alien game, probably titled Alien: Blackout, will be revealed at The Game Awards. A 20th Century Fox trademark suggests as much, and the marketing for the show is suspiciously Alien-like, specifically the 'Worlds Will Change' tagline. There are also these photos of Hideo Kojima to consider.

Speaking of Kojima, expect more on Death Stranding, too. Kojima is a member of the show's advisory board and friend of Keighley, and it's basically tradition now that he'll show up with new footage—though, sadly, it's looking doubtful right now that Death Stranding will see a PC release, at least initially.

So far, we know for sure that Epic is showing up to talk Fortnite and its new Steam competitor, and that we'll get something Far Cry and see Obsidian's new RPG. Rumor has it that Dragon Age 4 will be announced, too. 

Keighley specifically said that "more than 10 new games" (emphasis ours) will be revealed. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime is likely to make a cameo, though that's not of much concern to us. Other big publishers who might be spending some advertising money include EA, Activision, Tencent, Warner Bros, and Microsoft (aside from Obsidian). Valve pitches in on the advisory board, too, but doesn't typically go in for big marketing opportunities like this one, preferring to announce projects on its own or at lower-key events like GDC. Who knows, though: maybe we see one of those VR games it's working on?

As usual, we also expect a handful of games from medium and small developers. We have a little inside information on a couple of them, but are bound to secrecy until they debut at the show—if a trailer catches your eye, check back here, because we might have more info for you. 

Otherwise, we're as in the dark as anyone else on the surprises planned, so we'll be watching the show and covering all the trailers as they appear. On top of the reveals, we're hoping a winner will be as entertaining as Josef "fuck the Oscars" Fares was last year. See you on Twitch.