2023 Game Awards
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The Game Awards 2023 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2023. It was the tenth show hosted by
Geoff Keighley Geoff Keighley ( ; born ) is a Canadian video game journalist and television presenter, best known for his role as the host of several video game industry conferences and presentations. He is the executive producer and host of the Game Awards s ...
, creator and producer of
the Game Awards The Game Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring achievements in the video game industry. Established in 2014, the shows are produced and hosted by game journalist Geoff Keighley. After working on its predecessor, the Spike Video Game Awar ...
, held with a live audience at the
Peacock Theater The Peacock Theater, formerly Nokia Theatre and Microsoft Theater, is a music and theater venue at L.A. Live in the Downtown Los Angeles, downtown core of Los Angeles, California, United States. The theater auditorium seats 7,100 and holds one ...
in Los Angeles, California, on December 7, 2023. The preshow ceremony was hosted by Sydnee Goodman. The event was
live stream Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- live ...
ed across online platforms globally. It featured musical performances from Loren Allred,
Heilung Heilung is a European experimental folk music band. Formed in 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark, the group is made up of members from Denmark, Norway, and Germany. Their music is based on texts and runic inscriptions from Germanic peoples of the Iron A ...
, and Old Gods of Asgard, and presentations from celebrity guests, including
Timothée Chalamet Timothée Hal Chalamet ( ; born December 27, 1995) is an American and French actor. List of awards and nominations received by Timothée Chalamet, His accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to ...
,
Christopher Judge Christopher Judge is an American actor. He is best known for playing Teal'c in the Canadian- American military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1'' (1997-2007). He is also the second actor to portray Kratos in the ''God of War'' ...
, and
Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first su ...
. '' Baldur's Gate 3'' led the show with nine nominations and six wins, including
Game of the Year Game of the Year (GotY) is an award given to a video game by various award events and media publications that they feel represented the pinnacle of gaming that year. Events and ceremonies British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA Games Awards) ...
and Best Performance for
Neil Newbon Neil Christie Newbon (born 14 August 1977) is an English actor known for voicing Elijah Kamski and Gavin Reed in '' Detroit: Become Human'', Nicholai Ginovaef and Karl Heisenberg in '' Resident Evil 3'' (2020) and ''Resident Evil Village'' respe ...
. Several new games were announced during the show, including ''
Marvel's Blade ''Marvel's Blade'' is an upcoming action-adventure game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Based on the Marvel Comics character Blade, it will feature an original narrative that draws from the character's comic book m ...
'', '' Lost Records: Bloom & Rage'', and '' Visions of Mana''. The show was viewed by over 118 million streams, the most in its history to date, with more than 17,000 co-streams from content creators. Journalists criticized the show for prioritizing announcements and celebrities over awards, and its lack of acknowledgement of industry layoffs and the ongoing Gaza humanitarian crisis.


Background

As with previous iterations of
the Game Awards The Game Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring achievements in the video game industry. Established in 2014, the shows are produced and hosted by game journalist Geoff Keighley. After working on its predecessor, the Spike Video Game Awar ...
, the 2023 show was hosted and produced by Canadian games journalist
Geoff Keighley Geoff Keighley ( ; born ) is a Canadian video game journalist and television presenter, best known for his role as the host of several video game industry conferences and presentations. He is the executive producer and host of the Game Awards s ...
. He returned as an executive producer alongside Kimmie Kim, and Richard Preuss and LeRoy Bennett returned as director and creative director, respectively. Sydnee Goodman returned as host of the 30-minute preshow, titled Opening Act. The presentation took place at the
Peacock Theater The Peacock Theater, formerly Nokia Theatre and Microsoft Theater, is a music and theater venue at L.A. Live in the Downtown Los Angeles, downtown core of Los Angeles, California, United States. The theater auditorium seats 7,100 and holds one ...
in Los Angeles, California, on December 7, 2023, and was
live stream Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- live ...
ed across more than 30 online platforms globally, including
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,
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,
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,
Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...
, X, and
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. Public tickets became available for purchase on November 6, and sold out within a week, quicker than any previous year. The show increased security following stage interruptions at the previous ceremony in December 2022 and
Gamescom Gamescom (stylized as ''gamescom'') is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Gamescom is the world's largest gaming event, with 370,000 visitors and 1,037 exhibitors from 56 ...
's ''Opening Night Live'' in August 2023. Keighley said the show and preshow aimed for a collective three-hour runtime, like its predecessor. The Game Awards 2023 was the fourth show to feature Future Class, a list of 50 individuals from across the video game industry who best represent its future, organized by Keighley and Emily Bouchac. The list was announced on December 5, featuring individuals like ''
Marvel's Midnight Suns ''Marvel's Midnight Suns'' is a 2022 tactical role-playing game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K. The game features comic book characters from multiple Marvel Comics properties, such as Midnight Sons, Avengers, X-Men, and Runaway ...
'' writer Emma Kidwell, ''
The Sims 4 ''The Sims 4'' is a social simulation game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released on September 2, 2014 for Windows, and is the fourth main installment in ''The Sims'' series, following ''The Sims 3'' (2009 ...
'' experience design lead Alister Lee, and accessibility consultant
Ross Minor Ross Andrew Minor (born May 29, 1998) is a blind American accessibility content creator and former para swimmer. He is the second son of Mark and Grace Minor with an older brother, Ryan. On June 14, 2006, his father went into his room while ...
.


Announcements

According to Keighley, the show avoided the term "world premiere" for new announcements, instead treating all content equally. Announcements on both released and upcoming games were made for: * ''
Apex Legends ''Apex Legends'' is a 2019 Battle royale game, battle royale-hero shooter video game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, set in the same science fiction universe as Respawn's ''Titanfall'' series. It is offered ...
'' * '' Arknights: Endfield'' * '' As Dusk Falls'' * '' Asgard's Wrath 2'' * ''
Baldur's Gate 3 ''Baldur's Gate 3'' is a 2023 role-playing video game developed and published by Larian Studios. It is the third main installment of the ''Baldur's Gate'' series, based on the tabletop fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons''. A partial ...
'' * '' Black Myth: Wukong'' * '' Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons'' * ''
Dave the Diver ''Dave the Diver'' is a 2023 video game developed and published by Nexon, Mintrocket. The game combines both Action-adventure game, action-adventure and Management game, management gameplay styles as players explore deep sea environments to gath ...
'' * '' Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero'' * ''
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a 2024 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. The game is a sequel to ''Final Fantasy VII Remake'' (2020) and the second in a planned trilogy of games remaking the 1997 PlayStation game ''Final Fantasy VII''. Like ...
'' * ''
Final Fantasy XVI is a 2023 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. The sixteenth main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it was first released for the PlayStation 5, with a Windows version released in September 2024, and an ...
'' * ''
The Finals ''The Finals'' is a free-to-play first-person shooter, developed and published by Embark Studios. The game focuses on team-based matches on maps with a destructible environment, where players (who are divided into a number of distinct classes) ...
'' * '' The First Descendant'' * '' Fortnite Rocket Racing'' * ''
God of War Ragnarök ''God of War Ragnarök'' is a 2022 action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released worldwide on November 9, 2022, for both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, marking the ...
'' * '' GTFO'' * ''
Guilty Gear Strive (stylized as GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-) is a 2021 fighting game developed and published by Arc System Works. It is the seventh mainline installment in the ''Guilty Gear'' series, and the 25th overall. The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlaySta ...
'' * '' Honkai: Star Rail'' * ''
Lego Fortnite ''Lego Fortnite'' is a collection of Lego-based game experiences within the ''Fortnite'' platform. It includes the open world survival video game, ''Lego Fortnite Odyssey'', and the action adventure social game, ''Brick Life''. The platform is ...
'' * '' Metaphor: ReFantazio'' * ''
No Man's Sky ''No Man's Sky'' is an Action-adventure game, action-adventure survival game developed and published by Hello Games. It was released worldwide for the PlayStation 4 and Windows in August 2016, for Xbox One in July 2018, for the PlayStation 5 an ...
'' * ''
The Outlast Trials ''The Outlast Trials'' is a 2024 first-person psychological survival horror video game developed and published by Red Barrels. It serves as a prequel to both '' Outlast'' (2013) and '' Outlast 2'' (2017) and revolves around test-subjects who ar ...
'' * '' Palia'' * ''
Persona 3 Reload is a 2024 role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus. ''Reload'' is a Video game remake, remake of ''Persona 3'' (2006), the fourth main installment of the ''Persona (series), Persona'' series, itself a part of the larger ''Megam ...
'' * '' Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown'' * '' Ready or Not'' * '' Rise of the Rōnin'' * '' Senua's Saga: Hellblade II'' * ''
Skull and Bones Skull and Bones (also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death) is an undergraduate senior Secret society#Colleges and universities, secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class ...
'' * '' Stormgate'' * '' Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League'' * '' Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader'' * '' Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2'' * ''
Zenless Zone Zero ''Zenless Zone Zero'' is a free-to-play action role-playing game developed and published by miHoYo (with publishing outside mainland China under HoYoverse, Cognosphere, d/b/a ''HoYoverse''). The game was released on Windows, iOS, Android (oper ...
'' New games announced included: * '' Big Walk'' * Untitled ''
Crazy Taxi ''Crazy Taxi'' is a series of racing games developed by SEGA Hitmaker, Hitmaker and published by Sega. It was first available as an arcade video game in 1999, then released for the Dreamcast console in 2000. It is the third best-selling Dreamc ...
'' game * ''Den of Wolves'' * '' Exoborne'' * ''
Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...
'' * Untitled ''
Golden Axe is a series of side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade video games developed by Sega. The series takes place in a medieval fantasy world where several heroes have the task of recovering the legendary Golden Axe, the mainstay element of the series. M ...
'' game * '' Harmonium: The Musical'' * Untitled ''
Jet Set Radio (originally released in North America as ''Jet Grind Radio'') is a 2000 action game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. The player controls a member of a youth gang, the GG's, as they use inline skates to traverse ...
'' game * '' Jurassic Park: Survival'' * ''Kemuri'' * ''Last Sentinel'' * ''
Light No Fire Hello Games Ltd is a British video game company based in Guildford, Surrey. The company was founded by Sean Murray, Grant Duncan, Ryan Doyle and David Ream in February 2008 (incorporated on 4 August 2008) and has developed the ''Joe Danger'' se ...
'' * '' Lost Records: Bloom & Rage'' * ''
Marvel's Blade ''Marvel's Blade'' is an upcoming action-adventure game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Based on the Marvel Comics character Blade, it will feature an original narrative that draws from the character's comic book m ...
'' * '' Mecha Break'' * ''
Monster Hunter Wilds ''Monster Hunter Wilds'' is a 2025 action role-playing game developed and published by Capcom. A successor to '' Monster Hunter: World'' (2018), the game was released worldwide for Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S, with suppor ...
'' * '' No Rest for the Wicked'' * '' OD'' * '' Pony Island 2: Panda Circus'' * Untitled '' Shinobi'' game * '' Streets of Rage: Revolution'' * '' Tales of Kenzera: Zau'' * '' The Casting of Frank Stone'' * ''The First Berserker: Khazan'' * '' The Rise of the Golden Idol'' * ''Thrasher'' * '' Usual June'' * '' Visions of Mana'' * ''
Windblown ''Windblown'' is an upcoming action roguelike video game developed by Motion Twin, and co-published by Motion Twin and Kepler Ghost. It launched in early access for Windows on October 24, 2024, with a full release anticipated for 2026. Gameplay ...
'' * ''
World of Goo 2 ''World of Goo 2'' is a 2024 physics-based puzzle video game developed by independent game developers 2D Boy and Tomorrow Corporation. It is a sequel to ''World of Goo'' (2008). It was released on August 2, 2024, after being delayed from its pre ...
''


Winners and nominees

Nominees were announced on November 13, 2023. Any game released for public consumption on or before November 17 was eligible for consideration. The nominees were compiled by a jury panel composed of members from over 100 media outlets globally. Specialized juries decided the nominees for categories such as accessibility, adaptation, and
esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...
. Winners were determined between the jury (90 percent) and public voting (10 percent); the latter was held via the official website and
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server until December 6. The exception is the Players' Voice award, fully nominated and voted-on by the public, for which voting opened on November 27. According to Keighley, first-day website voting saw a 73% increase over the previous year. The Game Awards partnered with Nighttimes and Studio 568 to create an in-game hub world in ''
Fortnite ''Fortnite'' is an online video game and game platform developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in seven distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: '' Fortnite Battle Roy ...
'', available from November 14, allowing players to vote for their favorite user-created islands among ten nominees; the winner was announced during the ceremony. Keighley had been seeking to create more in-game events since hosting a live show in ''Fortnite'' in 2019, and sought to allow in-game live viewership of the show in the future. He felt it was a more effective advertising technique for the show than traditional marketing like
billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
s. According to Keighley, the hub world surpassed one million plays within three days, with more than 875,000 unique players.


Awards

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger ().


Media


Esports and creators

Rémy "XTQZZZ" Quoniam of Team Vitality requested the removal of his Best Esports Coach nomination as he had not coached any professional games in 2023.


Multiple nominations and awards


Multiple nominations

''
Baldur's Gate 3 ''Baldur's Gate 3'' is a 2023 role-playing video game developed and published by Larian Studios. It is the third main installment of the ''Baldur's Gate'' series, based on the tabletop fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons''. A partial ...
'' led the show with nine nominations, followed by '' Alan Wake 2'' and ''
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 ''Marvel's Spider-Man 2'' is a 2023 action-adventure game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, and features a narrative inspired by its long-running ...
'' with eight each.
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
led the publishers with 15 nominations, followed by
Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...
with 10. In addition to video game publishers,
PlayStation Productions PlayStation Productions, LLC is an American production company owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE). The company adapts SIE's video game franchises into films and television shows with the distribution mainly being handled by Sony's film ...
received three nominations for its film and television products in Best Adaptation, and
Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...
received two.


Multiple awards

''Baldur's Gate 3'' (Larian Studios) led the show with six wins, followed by ''Alan Wake 2'' (
Epic Games Epic Games, Inc. is an American Video game developer, video game and software development, software developer and video game publisher, publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney (game developer), Tim Sween ...
) with three, and ''
Forza Motorsport ''Forza'' ( , ; Italian for "force" and "strength") is a racing video game series for Xbox consoles and Microsoft Windows published by Xbox Game Studios. The franchise has sold 16 million copies as of December 2016 and has garnered critical ac ...
'' (
Xbox Game Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, fo ...
) with two. Nintendo also won three awards, while
Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...
and
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...
won two.


Presenters and performers


Presenters

The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or introduced trailers. All other awards were presented by Keighley or Goodman.


Performers

The following individuals or groups performed musical numbers.
Pedro Eustache Pedro Eustache (born August 18, 1959) is a Venezuelan flutist, reed player, woodwind player, composer, instrument maker, and collector. Education Eustache studied first in Venezuela under Michel Eustache (his brother), Ernesto Santini, Antonio ...
, who became known as "Flute Guy" during the 2022 ceremony, returned to perform as part of the Game Awards Orchestra.


Reception


Nominees

Some journalists were surprised by ''
Cyberpunk 2077 ''Cyberpunk 2077'' is a 2020 action role-playing game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. Based on Mike Pondsmith's ''Cyberpunk (role-playing game), Cyberpunk'' tabletop game series, the plot is set in the fictional metrop ...
''s four nominations—twice as many as its original nominations in
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
—particularly due to the game's troubled launch. Many considered ''
Destiny 2 ''Destiny 2'' is a free-to-play online first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie. It was originally released as a pay-to-play game in 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. It became free-to-play, utilizing the games as a se ...
''s Best Community Support nomination poorly timed, coming weeks after layoffs at developer
Bungie Bungie, Inc. is an American video game company based in Bellevue, Washington, and a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company was established in May 1991 by Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones (programme ...
, including much of its community team. Journalists felt several performances were overlooked and suggested Best Performance be split to consider leading and supporting performances to widen its scope. ''TheGamer''s Stacey Henley found ''
Pizza Tower ''Pizza Tower'' is a 2023 platform game created by the indie developer Tour De Pizza. It follows the pizza chef Peppino Spaghetti, who must scale a tower to prevent the destruction of his pizzeria. Across 20 side-scrolling levels, the player i ...
''s nomination for Best Debut Indie Game but not Best Independent Game incongruous. The absence of nominations for '' Chained Echoes'' was highlighted as a flaw in the eligibility period for games released the preceding December; some writers opined the show had a
recency bias Recency bias is a cognitive bias that favors recent events over historic ones. A type of memory bias, recency bias gives "greater importance to the most recent event", such as the final lawyer's closing argument a jury hears before being dismiss ...
, with half the Game of the Year nominees released in October. Many reporters and players highlighted the sole nomination for '' Starfield'', a blockbuster game from a reputable developer, though some found it appropriate due to the game's lesser quality compared to its competition. The lack of nominations for ''
Hogwarts Legacy ''Hogwarts Legacy'' is a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros. Games under its Portkey Games label. It is part of the Wizarding World franchise, taking place a century prior to the ''Harry ...
'' was similarly highlighted, with some citing the game's divisiveness as a possible reason, though others felt it was due to its relative quality. Some lamented the omission of '' Octopath Traveler 2'', and others felt ''
Final Fantasy XVI is a 2023 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. The sixteenth main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it was first released for the PlayStation 5, with a Windows version released in September 2024, and an ...
'' was snubbed a
Game of the Year Game of the Year (GotY) is an award given to a video game by various award events and media publications that they feel represented the pinnacle of gaming that year. Events and ceremonies British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA Games Awards) ...
nomination. Several journalists and viewers expressed confusion at ''
Dave the Diver ''Dave the Diver'' is a 2023 video game developed and published by Nexon, Mintrocket. The game combines both Action-adventure game, action-adventure and Management game, management gameplay styles as players explore deep sea environments to gath ...
''s Best Independent Game nomination as its developer, Mintrocket, is a subsidiary of the larger company
Nexon Nexon Co., Ltd. (formerly ) is a South Korean video game developer and publisher. It develops and publishes titles including ''MapleStory'', ''Crazyracing Kartrider'', ''Sudden Attack'', ''Dungeon & Fighter'', ''The First Descendant'', and ''Bl ...
, which previously claimed the game was "not necessarily" an indie; ''TheGamer''s Henley wrote that ''Baldur's Gate 3'' was "technically an entirely independent game" but was likely not considered eligible due to developer Larian Studios's employee count and use of an existing intellectual property. In response, Keighley said "independent can mean different things to different people" and opted to allow the jury to decide the final selections. ''TheGamer''s Jade King called Games for Impact "a locker to stuff all the diverse games into", with four of its six nominees not receiving any other nominations, and felt it was typically limited to independent games despite others fitting the criteria.


Ceremony

Before the ceremony, more than 3,000 game industry members, including 79 previous Future Class recipients—more than half of the 150 members to date—signed an open letter calling for a statement to be read during the show addressing the ongoing Gaza humanitarian crisis, supporting the rights of
Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...
and calling for a
ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...
, and asking the industry to address the dehumanization of people from South West Asia and North Africa and their portrayal as villains or terrorists in games. The letter's author, 2021 Future Class recipient Younès Rabii, said it was motivated by Meg Jayanth's withdrawal as a presenter at the
Golden Joystick Awards The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be voted ...
in October after being barred from making a statement about Palestinians. ''
The Mary Sue Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host, and author. He is currently the host of '' On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz, and ''The Dan Abrams Show: Where Politics Meets The Law'' on SiriusXM's P.O.T.U.S. cha ...
''s Ana Valens bemoaned the show's lack of response and ''
Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...
''s Garrett Martin criticized it as "cowardly". ''
Rock Paper Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' is a British video game journalism website. It was launched in July 2007 to focus on PC game, PC games and was acquired by Gamer Network, a network of sites led by ''Eurogamer'', in May 2017. History ''Rock Paper S ...
''s Alice Bell felt the show only would have voiced support if it "was a profitable stance rather than a moral one". After the ceremony, developers of nominees ''
Goodbye Volcano High ''Goodbye Volcano High'' is a narrative adventure game by KO_OP. It was announced on June 11, 2020, and was released on August 29, 2023 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows. Gameplay The player selects dialogue choices, and control ...
'' and '' Venba'' said they had planned to acknowledge the crisis in their acceptance speeches. Keighley spoke with Future Class members after the show; some members felt he was deflective and unprepared, while others found the meeting productive and hopeful. Members gave a presentation to Keighley and Bouchac in December about their negative experiences at the show and lack of resources and opportunities throughout the year; some felt their complaints were taken seriously and that the program consequently improved. The ceremony was criticized for prioritizing announcements and celebrity guests over nominees and winners. Some journalists felt this was represented by actor
Timothée Chalamet Timothée Hal Chalamet ( ; born December 27, 1995) is an American and French actor. List of awards and nominations received by Timothée Chalamet, His accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to ...
presenting Game of the Year instead of a game developer.
Obsidian Entertainment Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Irvine, California and part of Xbox Game Studios. It was founded in June 2003, shortly before the closure of Black Isle Studios, by ex-Black Isle employees Feargus Urquh ...
director Josh Sawyer called the show "an embarrassing indictment of a segment of the industry desperate for validation via star power with little respect for the devs it's supposedly honoring". ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...
''s Chris Tapsell felt future ceremonies should mirror the goals of its own industry rather than seek validation and relevance from others. ''
Video Games Chronicle ''Video Games Chronicle'' (''VGC'' is a British entertainment website covering video games published independently by 1981 Media. Led by editor-in-chief Andy Robinson, the team consists largely of former ''Computer and Video Games'' staff. Lau ...
''s Andy Robinson empathized with the production team's challenges and considered the show among the best to date but felt it suffered from runtime and curation problems. ''
VentureBeat ''VentureBeat'' is an American technology website headquartered in San Francisco, California. ''VentureBeat'' is a tech news source that publishes news, analysis, long-form features, interviews, and videos. The ''VentureBeat'' company was fou ...
''s Dean Takahashi felt the show "lived up to the reputation of being ... the
Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...
of gaming". Some commentators considered highlights included Old Gods of Asgard's performance and
Abubakar Salim Abubakar Salim (born 7 January 1993) is a Kenyan-British actor and video game developer. For his work on ''Assassin's Creed Origins'', he was nominated for a British Academy Games Award and named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit. On television, he is k ...
announcing '' Tales of Kenzera: Zau'' in memory of his late father. Journalists found it disrespectful that celebrity guests were given several minutes to speak—including more than six minutes for
Hideo Kojima is a Japanese video game designer. Regarded as one of the pioneering auteurs of video games, he developed a strong passion for film and literature during his childhood and adolescence, which in turn has had a significant influence on his game ...
and
Jordan Peele Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is known for his film and television work in the Comedy film, comedy and Horror film, horror genres. He has received List of awards and nominations r ...
—while winners were allocated thirty seconds before being prompted to "wrap it up" and cut off by music, and others were relegated to the preshow or announced in quick succession without acceptance speeches. '' The Escapist''s Liam Nolan calculated that winners' speeches cumulatively ran for less than 11 minutes, compared to the
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
's 30-minute average. Commentators cited Best Performance winner
Neil Newbon Neil Christie Newbon (born 14 August 1977) is an English actor known for voicing Elijah Kamski and Gavin Reed in '' Detroit: Become Human'', Nicholai Ginovaef and Karl Heisenberg in '' Resident Evil 3'' (2020) and ''Resident Evil Village'' respe ...
being cut off while talking about players' heartfelt responses to his work, and Game of the Year acceptee
Swen Vincke Swen Johan Vincke (; ; born 30 May 1972) is a Belgian video game designer, programmer and director. He is the founder and CEO of the video game company Larian Studios, where he has led the development of the ''Divinity'' series and ''Baldur's Ga ...
while paying tribute to his deceased colleague, and found it disrespectful considering several acceptees speak
English as a second language English as a second or foreign language refers to the use of English by individuals whose native language is different, commonly among students learning to speak and write English. Variably known as English as a foreign language (EFL), Engli ...
. Keighley said he asked his team to relax the rule during the show and acknowledged it would be addressed in the future. ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' and ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' published speeches from winners who were unable to accept at the show. Critics bemoaned the show's lack of acknowledgement of the video game industry's mass layoffs; ''VentureBeat''s Rachel Kaser found it particularly disappointing considering the show's focus on film and television industry professionals, and ''
The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, cons ...
''s Ash Parrish wrote that "Keighley let video game developers down". ''
Dot Esports The GAMURS Group, simply known as Gamurs, is an esports media and entertainment publisher. Established in 2014, the group operates multiple brands focusing on the esports and entertainment news markets, including the websites: ''Dot Esports'', '' ...
''s Issy van der Velde called it "disappointing but not entirely unexpected" based on the show's history of avoiding acknowledgment. '' Game Developer''s Chris Kerr criticized Keighley's opening speech for calling for unity but failing to address layoffs, and felt the show should spend "less time chasing a hollow sense of legitimacy by curating a showcase that has the cultural awareness and humanity of a shameless
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
ad". The ceremony was picketed by pro-worker protestors advocating for unionization, including members of the Game Workers of Southern California and
SAG-AFTRA The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
; one picket sign read "best year for games, worst year for game workers". Some ''
Call of Duty ''Call of Duty'' is a first-person shooter military video game series and media franchise published by Activision, starting in 2003. The games were first developed by Infinity Ward, then by Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games. Several spin-of ...
'' developers criticized presenter
Christopher Judge Christopher Judge is an American actor. He is best known for playing Teal'c in the Canadian- American military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1'' (1997-2007). He is also the second actor to portray Kratos in the ''God of War'' ...
's joke that his 2022 acceptance speech was lengthier than '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III''s (2023) single-player story campaign. Current and former developers countered by citing ''Call of Duty''s higher commercial success, though some deleted their responses and said they respected ''
God of War A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in polytheism, polytheistic religions. Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been portrayed in their ...
'', in which Judge portrays Kratos.
Barry Sloane Barry Sloane (born Barry Paul Sloan;''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''; at ancestry.com 10 February 1981) is an English actor. He has appeared in numerous television shows, and in the RTS Royal Television Socie ...
, who portrays ''Modern Warfare''s Captain Price, similarly criticized Judge's joke but later wrote " all's fair in games and war" and complimented his performances.
Sledgehammer Games Sledgehammer Games, Inc. is an American video game developer company formed in 2009 by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey. The pair formerly worked at EA Redwood Shores and are responsible for the creation of ''Dead Space (2008 video game), Dead ...
's Darcy Sandall found Judge's joke unexpected "from a peer, at an event that supposed to be celebrating this year's achievements in gaming", particularly in light of reports regarding its development involving crunch.


Viewership

An estimated 118 million viewers watched the ceremony, the most in the show's history to date and a 15% increase from the previous year. More than 17,000 content creators co-streamed the event, including over 13,680 on Twitch (a 24% increase) and 4,000 on YouTube. On Twitch, the show peaked at 1.94 million concurrent viewers and saw a 10% increase in total watch time. The extension "Twitch Predicts The Game Awards" reached almost four million views, with 330,000 concurrent viewers. On YouTube, the ceremony set a show record with a peak of 1.7 million concurrent viewers, a 35% increase, with over 900,000 on the official channel, a 53% increase.


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Game Awards 2023, The 2023 awards in the United States 2023 in Los Angeles 2023 in video gaming 2023 video game awards December 2023 in the United States Events in Los Angeles The Game Awards ceremonies