Elden Ring, the epic dark fantasy title created by Hidetaka Miyazaki in collaboration with George RR Martin, has won the prestigious game of the year prize at the Game Awards.

The title beat off stiff competition from God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West and Stray to win the event's biggest prize.

The ceremony has become one of the most influential nights in gaming, as it blends award-giving with new announcements and first-look trailers, and this year was no different.

The team responsible for Elden Ring had their victory speeches overshadowed somewhat by a stage crasher who stood casually among developers by the ceremony lectern. He also briefly took to the microphone. Host and organiser Geoff Keighley said the man was later arrested.

Elden Ring, made by the developers of successful role-playing series Dark Souls, dominated social media conversation within the gaming world when it was released earlier this year.

The moment you’ve all been waiting for, Game of The Year! A massive congratulations to @ELDENRING for their big win! @fromsoftware_pr #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/3042IRMEcm

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 9, 2022

From Software's role-playing game amazed players with its scope, visuals and satisfying gameplay. It is not for everyone, as it has a steep learning curve and rewards players for investing time to understand the game's detailed mechanics. Critics, though, loved it - scoring 96 on review aggregator site Metacritic.

It won four Game Awards in total, also picking up best game direction, best art direction and best action/adventure game.

Actor Al Pacino was at the ceremony to hand the award for best performer to Christopher Judge for his performance as Greek god Kratos in God of War: Ragnarok.

It's the second time Judge has played the character, and he has been praised for being able to add layers of complexity to the role. His ability to make a seemingly indestructible god seem vulnerable and uncertain, as he deals with the challenges of parenthood, has pleased critics.

Also nominated were Judge's in-game son Sunny Suljic, as well as Ashly Burch for her role in Horizon Forbidden West, Charlotte McBurney for her role in A Plague Tale: Requiem, and Manon Gage, who performed in Immortality.

Overall, God of War: Ragnarok took home five awards - more than any other game.

It also picked up prizes in the best narrative, best score, best audio design, and innovation in accessibility categories.

There were also multiple awards for cat puzzler Stray - winning best independent game and best debut independent game - while Final Fantasy 14 picked up best ongoing game and best community support.

The Game Awards ceremony has become an appointment-to-view occasion for gamers because it also teases new releases and titles. It is reported that there were 85 million views of last year's ceremony.

You’ve never seen the Mushroom Kingdom quite like this! Join Toad & Mario for an exclusive look at the big city! #SuperMarioMovie pic.twitter.com/1SLw5PkenM

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 9, 2022

Alongside a sneak peak at the Mushroom Kingdom in the forthcoming Super Mario Brothers movie, it was also announced that legendary game creator Hideo Kojima is working on a sequel to his adventure title Death Stranding, starring Norman Reedus and Lea Seydoux.

For the first time, it was confirmed that Bafta-winning game Hades is getting a sequel, and there was a reveal for a new Crash Bandicoot experience called Crash Team Rumble.

Idris Elba was revealed as a performer in Cyberpunk 2077's latest expansion.

There were announcements giving release dates for titles like Diablo 4 and Baldur's Gate, and lots of trailers showing off what gamers can expect from new titles like Street Fighter 6, Star Wars: Jedi Survivor and Final Fantasy 16.

There was also a moment for many gamers to savour when Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker, the original performers of Joel and Elle from The Last of Us games, were joined on stage by Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal. They will be looking after the characters in the HBO television adaptation coming in January.

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