Game Awards 2015 Winners and Announcements: Psychonauts 2, Rock Band VR, Telltale Batman, New Shaq-Fu, and More!

By Mark Rollins
Palmer Luckey
Palmer Luckey at the Game Awards with Rock Band VR. Forbes/Game Awards

Yesterday's Game Awards 2015 were watched online all over the world by many, and the show was used to make a lot of announcements such as Psychonauts 2, Rock Band VR, Telltale's Dark Knight Batman game, and even a new Shaq-Fu game.  In addition to the announcements, there were also many award winners, and we have the full list here. 

For those that are interested in who won the awards, there is a complete list of winners available to view on Gamespot.  It might be a surprise that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt beat Fallout 4 as Game of the Year, and developer CD Projekt Red also took home an award. 

According to Ars Technica, one of the biggest announcements was when Double Fine founder Tim Schafer took the stage to announce a crowdfunding campaign for Psychonauts 2.  The original game was a platformer that underperformed in sales, but was a critical success.  Schafer is asking for about 3.3 million in funds for support. 

As was reported before, Oculus Rift teased some big announcement at the Game Awards, and it was not the release date and price for their VR headset.  Instead, there was an announcement of Rock Band VR, which will have players standing next to a virtual band while playing their guitars in virtual space.  I have to admit that out of all the games that could be played in VR, Rock Band seems an unlikely choice as many are expecting the tech to be used for RPG enhanced experiences. 

The Verge also reported that there will be a new Batman game, and this one will be from Telltale games.  For those that aren't familiar with Telltale, their games are very narrative focused, and they often do more story-related ideas that are tied with popular licensed properties, such as The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones.  This one will focus on The Dark Knight, and Telltales says that "This iteration of Batman will give fans a first-hand opportunity to dive deeper into the complex life and mind of Bruce Wayne, the duality of his own identity, and the struggle of responsibility in saving a city overcome with corruption and villainy."

Also on display at the Game Awards was Far Cry Primal, which is planned to launch in February, and there was a new trailer.  The game is an open world, first-person game into a world of monsters and weapons, and there was a new feature: animal taming. 

Another game that was announced during the commercial breaks was Tron: Run/r.  This is an Early Access game on Steam from Disney Interactive, focusing on the franchise started in the eighties. 

Shaquille O'Neal, a special celebrity guest, took the stage and announced a world-premiere trailer to Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn, which looked like a 90's arcade brawler. 

Also announced was Shadow Complex: Remastered toward the end of the Awards, and it was announced that PC gamers could claim a free copy of the updated 2009 game.