Since 2014, The Game Awards has been a highly anticipated event for gamers. On top of giving out the most well-recognized accolades in the industry, The Game Awards is also an event that hosts live music performances, announcements for upcoming games, and appearances from industry icons. Yet despite the show’s growing viewership and success over the years, this year’s awards show has been the subject of controversy.
It’s no secret that The Game Awards is generally a popularity contest with most of it’s previous awards being given to big publishers such as: EA, Activision, and Sony. However, this year’s nominations seem to be weirdly disconnected from public opinion and reality.
While most gamers remained focused on what game would win the prestigious Game of the Year award, others pointed out the bizarre nominations in smaller categories. “Sifu”, a singleplayer third-person action game, was nominated for “Best Fighting Game” alongside “King of Fighters XV” and “MultiVersus”. Activision-Blizzard’s “Overwatch 2”—a release that was highly controversial among both casual players and esports players—was nominated for “Best Multiplayer Game”.
Some of the other categories had even more egregious examples. In the midst of controversy over its predatory monetization and barebones content, “Diablo Immortal” was still able to get a nomination for “Best Mobile Game”. The bizarre “Among Us” VR port also received a nomination for “Best VR Game”.
Some attribute this shift in focus to the increasing inclusion of smaller, indie games in the awards. This transitional period of deciding which indie titles to give recognition to, amidst so many releases from big publishers, could certainly be the reason why this year’s nominations seem so confusing.
Despite this, many great indie games are still getting snubbed this year. “Neon White”—one of the most original titles of the year—was only nominated for “Best Independent Game”. The horror game “Scorn” was only nominated for its art direction. Despite being one of the year’s best strategy games and early access titles, “Songs of Conquest” didn’t even receive a nomination.
Going over The Game Awards nominations this year feels as if they were trying to please everyone. Japanese roleplaying game fans celebrated over “Xenoblade Chronicles 3”’s nomination for “Game of the Year”. Cat lovers also were glad to hear about “Stray”’s six nominations (including “Game of the Year”).
However, the impact of these games getting nominated (or even winning) is somewhat cheapened by how careless this year’s selection seems to be. The fact that these smaller games are gaining recognition is certainly positive, but these games also deserve more.
Many of these issues could be fixed by giving more specific genres their own category. While certain genres like fighting games, sports games, and strategy games receive this treatment, a category specifically for horror games or platformers would help better organize and distinguish categories. These are the types of categories that should receive awards rather than strangely specific categories such as “Best Debut Indie Game” or “Innovation in Accessibility”.
In the past, The Game Awards have given the gaming community a number of great moments to remember, such as: developer Josef Fares’s famous Oscars rant, Hideaki Itsuno’s energetic “Best Action Game” win, and fans’ support for Hideo Kojima after his termination from Konami. However, the show should make a better effort to maintain its credibility if it’s to stand the test of time.