The Game Awards is next Thursday, just a week away, and we already discussed some notable nominees.

So what about announcement predictions?

The announcements are the main reason I tune in to the Game Awards each year, and in the past ahead of this or other game events, I’ve tried to predict what games might be shown.

But with my backlog overwhelming me and many of my “pipe dream” announcements already coming true, making reasonable predictions of games with a good chance of being shown just doesn’t seem as much fun this year.

Instead, here are my ridiculous predictions of games that definitely won’t be announced at the Game Awards (but wouldn’t it be awesome if they were?) this year.

Ace Attorney 7

You knew Ace Attorney had to be on the list, right? While I don’t actually think the series is big enough for a Game Awards announcement, it would be an incredible moment. Just picture it: Geoff is talking about this game or that when suddenly–“OBJECTION!” The iconic shout would cut him off as the world premiere of Ace Attorney 7 begins to play.

With the Apollo Justice Trilogy and the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection being released in the same year, it feels to me like they wanted them out to make way for a new announcement. It didn’t happen at TGS, so why not at the Game Awards?

The Great Ace Attorney Investigations

But why have one Ace Attorney announcement when you could have two? I haven’t forgotten the mysterious Van Zieks captions we still have no explanation for. Maybe they were misplaced captions meant for a Game Awards announcement video all along! Yes, after the long-awaited announcement of Ace Attorney 7, they’ll keep the Ace Attorney train going with the announcement of The Great Ace Attorney Investigations!

(It’s one of my most-wanted games, so I’ll probably start putting it on pipe dream lists from now on. You know, unless it’s announced at the Game Awards.)

Judgment 3

While we’re at it, how about a new Judgment game? Infinite Wealth being nominated at the Game Awards surely means RGG Studio’s games are big enough to get an announcement there, right? We’ve already got the pirate game coming out in February, but that’s practically here already!

So let’s return to the Judgment spin-off series with a third game instead. It would pair nicely with the Ace Attorney news to really appeal to the mystery game crowd this year.

Xenoblade Chronicles X2

Let’s move on from mysteries… and into space! Not content with just announcing Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition last month, Nintendo could turn this into a Bayonetta 3 situation where they follow up the remaster news with an announcement of a sequel. Now, Xenoblade Chronicles X2 probably won’t be for the Switch, but nothing says they can’t tease a game for the Switch’s successor before it’s even been shown.

Announcing a remaster and sequel at the same time is actually a legitimate hope I had for the Switch 2’s launch, until the remaster was announced on its own. It could still happen. Maybe.

Kingdom Hearts Missing Link (as an offline game)

Now I’m legitimately hoping for a Kingdom Hearts IV trailer, but this isn’t the post for those sorts of predictions. Instead, what about the upcoming mobile game Kingdom Hearts Missing Link? It’s been delayed and delayed… so what if that’s because they decided to abandon the GPS gacha game concept and rework it into an offline single-player game? I’m intrigued by Missing Link’s story, but I’d be much happier if it was a smaller scale regular game instead of a gacha game.

For bonus points, they could troll everyone by showing off the Bloodborne-esque environments first before revealing it to be Kingdom Hearts.

Rhythm Thief Remaster

And finally, we’ll head back to Sega for the return of that long-neglected gem, Rhythm Thief. Sure, I want a sequel more than a remaster, but like Xenoblade Chronicles X, its best chance of getting a sequel is if more people can play the original game. With the Nintendo eShop closed, Rhythm Thief is not easy to come by. A modern remaster will give it a new chance to shine and pave the way for that sequel.

It deserves it.

Conclusion

Absolutely none of these games are going to be announced at the Game Awards, but if they are, you’ll probably hear me screaming all the way from wherever you are (followed by a series of half-hysterical tweets and posts). What are your most outlandish Game Awards announcement predictions?