The Game Awards has received some heavy criticism after it swiftly rushed the winning developers off stage during the show. While the show has received plenty of flak in the past, it seems gamers and developers alike are especially unhappy about certain aspects of this year’s Game Awards.
One of the most memorable moments from The Game Awards 2022 was God of War actor Christopher Judge’s eight-minute acceptance speech after winning Best Performance. This year, Judge returned to present the same award while mocking Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s short campaign, and was jokingly played off early.
Why Spider-Man 2 Didn't Win Any Awards at The Game Awards 2023
Though Spider-Man 2 proved to be another success for Insomniac, it was outshined at The Game Awards 2023, not earning a single award.
However, The Game Awards proceeded to actually play off the award winners shortly after they took the stage to accept their trophies. Audience members later shared footage of a large prompt counting down from 30 seconds that began as soon as they reached the microphone. Naughty Dog CEO Neil Druckmann’s first words on the mic when accepting the Best Adaptation award for HBO’s The Last of Us were “Clock’s ticking,” proving the pressure they were put under. Even Larian Studios was quickly shooed off stage after Baldur’s Gate 3 won Game of the Year, rushing a dedication to a late colleague.
The Game Awards Gave Winners 30 Seconds On Stage
This was even more egregious with foreign developers. Alan Wake 2 creative director Sam Lake, a Finnish developer who speaks English as a second language, had more time on stage during one of the musical performances than during his two acceptance speeches combined. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom director Eiji Aonuma, who does not speak English and required a translator, barely had time to speak on stage at all.
Host Geoff Keighley recently put out a statement saying he agreed The Game Awards winners were played off too fast this year. He claimed he told the team to slow down, and that no developer was actually cut off, but many viewers disagreed. Stephen Totilo was in the audience behind the person controlling the countdown clock, and shared images of the manual interface, further angering the audience with the fact it was all done deliberately.
The favoritism shown during The Game Awards only served to upset the audience more. In contrast to the winners, Hideo Kojima and Jordan Peele were given almost 10 minutes to talk about OD–a new game with little to actually reveal. Celebrities like Simu Liu and Anthony Mackie were likewise given plenty of time to crack jokes before giving out awards.