What to expect from The Game Awards and PlayStation Experience this weekend

The first weekend in December will be a busy one, in terms of game announcements and reveals, thanks to two big, complementary events: The Game Awards and PlayStation Experience.

The Game Awards supplants the annual Video Game Awards (and VGX) that Spike TV put on for the past decade, though Spike and Viacom are not involved in this year's award show. It will kick off the weekend with awards, world premieres and at least one musical performance from Imagine Dragons. Sony's inaugural PlayStation Experience runs Saturday, Dec. 6 and Sunday, Dec. 7, promising plenty for the PlayStation crowd. Both events have been heavily hyped by their organizers, who have let slip a handful of teases and hints of what's to come amid their confirmed plans.

Here's what we know, so far, will be at the two events.

The Game Awards

The Geoff Keighley-hosted and backed show will take place in Las Vegas on Friday evening at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The show, which is planned to run more than two hours, will be livestreamed on Twitch, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, YouTube and more.

Keighley promises somewhere between 12 and 18 world premieres, including our first look at Metal Gear Online, the multiplayer component of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. The Game Awards will also premiere the new King's Quest being developed by The Odd Gentlemen. Keighley said to expect "more than a dozen world premieres" at the show, with new looks at PlayStation 4 games Bloodborne, The Order: 1886 and No Man's Sky.

Electronic Arts will have a presence at the show. EA chief operating officer Peter Moore said on Twitter that the publisher will have "a special announcement" during The Game Awards. "Pretty sure no one will guess this one," Keighley later teased in a tweet to Moore.

Tetsuya Nomura, Final Fantasy designer and director of Kingdom Hearts 3, will be attending in some capacity. Nomura was in Los Angeles earlier this week, where he gave fans a new look at the next Kingdom Hearts, which we haven't seen much of since E3 2013.

Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann also teased something for The Game Awards, after seeing a sneak peek of something that has him "very excited."

Two companies who have already ruled out new game announcements at the show are Fallout and Doom publisher Bethesda Softworks and Microsoft. Bethesda's Pete Hines said the company is attending to support Wolfenstein: The New Order developer Machinegames, but not showing anything new. Xbox head of global product marketing Aaron Greenberg said the company is "not planning any new game announcements" at The Game Awards.

In between all those announcements and revelations, Keighley and company will also be handing out some awards. Check out the list of nominees for this year's Game Awards.

PlayStation Experience

Sony's PlayStation Experience, a two-day community event held at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, kicks off Saturday morning at 10 a.m. PT with a 90-minute keynote. Expect new game announcements, new trailers and probably a surprise or two for fans in attendance.

A handful of developers have teased game announcements for the show. The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency, David Jaffe's new studio, put out a PlayStation Experience teaser last month. And Sony San Diego is promising something unexpected that's not an MLB title. Killzone developer Guerrilla Games is listed as in attendance, despite not having an announced title or panel at the show.

The PlayStation Experience keynote will be livestreamed on Sony's Twitch channel, as will select panels, talks and gameplay demos. Sony has posted a full schedule of its panels and which ones plans to livestream at the PlayStation Blog.

At the show, Sony says attendees will be able to "experience" — both in hands-on and hands-off form — the following upcoming games: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, The Order: 1886, Bloodborne, Until Dawn, Mortal Kombat X, No Man's Sky, Batman: Arkham Knight, Tearaway Unfolded, The Witness, Amplitude and Battlefield Hardline.

Attendees will also be able to play Capcom's Resident Evil Revelations 2 and the new Resident Evil HD remaster and Bandai Namco's Dragon Ball Xenoverse and Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin.

Destiny's first expansion, The Dark Below, will also be playable, as will Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes.

More than 80 indie games for PlayStation 4 and Vita will also be on-hand, including — but certainly not limited to — Grim Fandango, N++, Salt and Sanctuary, Galak-Z, Fenix Rage, Skullgirls Encore and Gunsport.

PlayStation Experience will also be the first time many PlayStation fans will get their hands on Sony's virtual reality headset, Project Morpheus. The VR tech will make its public debut in the U.S. this weekend.

Polygon will be in attendance at both The Game Awards and PlayStation Experience to bring you the latest from each show.