The Game Awards returns as in-person event in December

The Game Awards 2021, hailed as the "Oscars of Gaming," is all set to return as an in-person event on December 9 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

The night celebrating the best in video games will once again be hosted by video game journalist Geoff Keighley. The annual event will also be livestreamed for free over various platforms, including Twitch and YouTube. 

? SAVE THE DATE ?

⁰Thursday, December 9

THE GAME AWARDS⁰

Live In-Person from Microsoft Theater
Los Angeles
And Streaming Live Everywhere

A Global Celebration of Video Game Culture#TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/lsu51qAsdu

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) September 30, 2021

Keighley announced the event on Friday, Oct. 1 over social media, with the host confirming that the show would be back to its usual scale after doing things almost entirely remotely in 2020 due to COVID-19. 

This includes the return of The Game Awards Orchestra performing live during the event once again. Details on the guests, award categories, and more will be shared in the coming weeks.

10 weeks from tonight, December 9th, we will be live on stage for @thegameawards at Microsoft Theater in LA.

Excited to be back to our full-scale show -- that means The Game Awards Orchestra live on stage once again conducted by @Lornebalfe

Much more to share in weeks ahead! pic.twitter.com/VA64rIaNb4

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) September 30, 2021

“We are very excited to return to the Microsoft Theater for a special night to celebrate the past, present and future of video games,” Keighley told Deadline.

“Our goal is to bring the entire community together to celebrate the most powerful form of entertainment in the world, and recognize emerging voices that represent the future of the medium.

Last year's event faced serious challenges brought upon by the COVID-19 global pandemic, and was held completely online.

The event managed to bring in over 83 million views, peaking at 8.3 million concurrent viewers across all platforms and boasting an 83-percent growth from 2019.

The high viewership has been attributed largely in part to allowing co-streaming for creators on various livestreaming platforms, with more than 9,000 co-streams recorded just on Twitch, where the show peaked at 2.63 million viewers.