Usually the Game Informer covers for games at the VGAs don't start until after the show airs, and this would be out before hand, but it is possible that it is a game at the show if you're thinking "Super Sony Bros."
The magazine is usually out on the first or second Thursday of the month. The January issue will be released in December.
As for the "most surprising cover of the year bar", these are their reveals so far this year:
January: Tomb Raider 9
February: Elder Scrolls 5
March: Battlefield 3
April: Saints Row 3
May: Mass Effect 3
June: Assassin's Creed II-3
July: Darksiders 2
August: Dishonored
September: Borderlands 2
October: Zelda 9
November: Transformers 2
December: Rainbow Six 6
The magazine is usually out on the first or second Thursday of the month. The January issue will be released in December.


As for the "most surprising cover of the year bar", these are their reveals so far this year:
January: Tomb Raider 9
February: Elder Scrolls 5
March: Battlefield 3
April: Saints Row 3
May: Mass Effect 3
June: Assassin's Creed II-3
July: Darksiders 2
August: Dishonored
September: Borderlands 2
October: Zelda 9
November: Transformers 2
December: Rainbow Six 6