With previous iterations of the Game Awards, the show was hosted by the Canadian games journalist Geoff Keighley; the pre show was hosted by Sydnee Goodman. Following the success of the Game Awards 2020 which was broadcast virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Keighley received a lot of feedback to continue it like last year. Overall he decided to have the show in person because he missed the energy when people come and get their awards. 

The Show was aired on Dec. 9 2021,and it was also live streamed across more than 40 online platforms. Players could interact with the red carpet before the event and a virtual party after it. It also featured musical performances from Imagine Dragons, JID, Darren Korb, and Sting.

Deathloop led the show with nine nominations; it won Best Game Direction and Best Art Direction. Forza Horizon 5 and It Takes Two tied for the most wins with three awards. The winners and nominees were chosen by 103 media outlets globally. Winners were determined between the jury (90 percent) and public voting (10 percent). The  voting process was held via the official website and on social media platforms like Facebook ,Twitter, and Bilibili. 

More than 23.2 million votes were submitted on the official website; it’s currently way higher than it was from last year’s Game Awards.

There were a lot of brand new game announcements during the show. Over 16 brand new games were shown and the crowd was excited for them, especially Sonic Frontiers, Elden Ring and Star Wars Eclipse.