The Game Awards to debut in December as Keighley bows out of Spike VGX

Spike VGX host Geoff Keighley will head a new video game awards show next month, with the backing of Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony.

Simply titled The Game Awards, the event is to be held on December 5 at the Axis Theater in Las Vegas.

Variety reports the awards show will be streamed to "all gaming systems and devices", via console networks and Steam.

The show will celebrate the best games of the year as well as grant a first look at trailers and other game content, "along with musical performances, appearances by game developers, eSports players and online content creators".

Companies and individuals who have agreed to support the show include Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima, SCE America CEO Shawn Layden, EA COO Peter Moore, Xbox's Phil Spencer, Warner Bros. president Martin Tremblay, Valve and Rockstar.

Tickets to the show will go on sale via TicketMaster at noon PST on November 11, although early bird offers are available through Xbox and PlayStation.

Variety's report presents the show as "a direct challenge" to the VGX, and Keighley told Kotaku that the endeavour is an entirely new project, not a spin-off of Spike's award show.

"You'd have to ask Spike for comment on its plans with the VGA/VGX brands. Earlier this year I decided to pursue a new path and create a new awards show. Spike/Viacom has been very supportive of that choice," he said.

Keighley went on to comment on TV's potential for expanding the reach of games and gaming, but noted that it's not necessarily worth network TV's time to broadcast gaming-related material.

Spike is yet to make any comment or announcement as to whether we'll see a VGX show this year. Spike VGX, which used to be known as the Spike Video Game Awards or VGA, was a controversial but hugely important entry in the gaming event calendar. Many major IPs made their debut at the show, which was famous for its line up of new trailers and announcements, but the bombastic tone of the show and off-key humour was often criticised.

More information on The Game Awards can be found on its website.