As we reach the end of game award season (with our own on p54, we’ve peaked surely?), I can’t help but ponder the state of the industry’s pillar events. While The Game Awards last month likes to bill itself as one of the shiniest, the most recent felt like it was treading water a bit.
Devs, press, and fans in the audience alike were quick to point out the brutal 30-second timer on acceptance speeches, trying to dissuade industry icons from thanking their teams with a “please wrap it up” message before shoving yet more ads in our faces. We’ve always been an industry in love with trailers, but coming at the expense of celebrating its creators feels a bit much, especially given last year was unprecedented in terms of industry layoffs, which will take literally years to recover from in some cases. Devaluing moments like these in turn devalues creatives, enabling mass layoffs in the first place. All I ask is that devs get the space to celebrate properly in the years ahead.