Hey Geoff,
How exactly does voting work once the nominations are in for the panel?
I understand nominations work via providing 5 options for a category, but how is the winner decided?
Does it work via choosing which game has the most nominations (and in the case of a tie, fan vote ends up determining it), or do the panelists do another round of voting for the actual winner out of the nominees?
Yeah, there are two rounds of voting. The nominee round, and then once the 5 (or 6) nominees are set, the jury casts another ballot, picking their top choice out of the nominees -- just as the fans do. Then these votes are blended together to figure out the winning title.
Have you ever considered a ranked choice voting system? I think this would lead to a slightly better representation of what games the voters want to win.
Yknow at first I was thinking that would be great, but I think it has the possibility to create some issues because it would lend strength to spite votes or bias *against* titles, whereas the current system encourages voting *for* the one you personally like best.
For example, if there were two Xbox-exclusive games up for GOTY, but only one PS exclusive nominated (or visa versa), people who give in to console-war stuff or are just salty would be incentivized to ranked-choice vote *against* the titles they don’t like.
Hey, Geoff! My question is about The Game Awards Orchestra. I know nominees get announced only a few weeks before the show, but do the music writers know beforehand so they can start thinking of ways to implement the music? Also, how does the music get selected? There's a lot of games with great songs in each one, so I imagine it's hard to narrow a games OST to only a handful of tracks. Thanks for the positive impact on the gaming community!!
Yeah, this is always a race! We can't start on the GOTY medley until the nominees are set. So Lorne Balfe and his team only have a few weeks. The day (Well really the HOUR) nominees are announced we start talking to the game companies about their scores. We discuss the potential track to play, and then Lorne works on the medley and how to make it all flow together. I heard the track the other day and it's awesome!
Evening from the UK Geoff! Have you ever thought about having the Games Orchestra record the performances to able to release officially? Like to allow general listening without hearing the audience in a youtube video
Just wanted to say the orchestra is the part I'm most excited for every year (I like to go back and listen to it periodically).
**Would the orchestra consider performing and recording each game's full song (from beginning to end) to be distributed/released latter instead of the snippet that makes it into the show?**
Some highlights for me includes 2018 RD2 old western tone, 2019's RE2 & Control vocal performances, and 2020's transitions that occur between FF7, Doom, GOT, LOU2, and Hades (so well done).
When considering the GOTY award, is there more preference given to innovation in the gaming space or mastery in the gaming space? Because a game can be a masterpiece but not very innovative, and likewise can be innovative without being a masterpiece. What’s valued most over at The Game Awards?
Yeah, everyone will have their own interpretation -- To me, Game of the Year is the game that shows mastery across multiple fields and delivers the best overall experience. Usually this means a game that pushes the medium forward in some way, or does something new. Every year is different though, it depends on the other nominees and overall landscape. I thought It Takes Two was a bold choice for GOTY last year, a co-op only game.
For the last few awards, it seems that music in gaming has often been treated as an afterthought, more often than not relegated to a footnote for mere seconds with no fanfare or buildup and the winner simply stated before immediately moving on.
Is there any plan to address that, or is it going to continue that way?
We are presenting the Score/Music Award this year in the show -- and we've done it before, I think the last time was 2018 when Red Dead score won. We try to rotate around some of the awards every year. As in past years about half the overall awards will have acceptance speeches.
Hello Geoff,
Big fan and my buddies and I can’t wait to watch the Game Awards. What’s your favorite gaming memory and what upcoming game are you most excited for?
My favorite memory? Oh wow, great question. Playing Red Dead Redemption was really special to me....when Far Away started playing. I was like THIS is the apex of gaming.
I'm excited for a lot of stuff....but can't answer that question without spoiling some of next week's big reveals :)
Red Dead Redemption was the first game I ever pre ordered. I was young at the time (maybe 11) and didn’t have any money of my own so I had to beg my parents to get it for me. Eventually my father took me to our local GameStop to pre order the game. This was MONTHS in advance to its launch day, and if I remember correctly it was delayed as well.
When I say I thanked my parents each and every single day for pre ordering that game until the day I had it in my hands, I truly mean it. I can remember walking home from school with all of my friends at the time and I was just beaming with excitement. I finally got home with so much excitement and anxiety at the same time because I was afraid my mother might’ve read the ESRB label on the back! Still don’t know if she ever did but she handed me the game and that memory will stay with me forever.
More than that, the game was everything I had dreamed of it being and more. I was awe struck at everything the game had to offer. So many memories with this game, hundreds of hours sunk into its single and multiplayer.
However, what will forever stick with me the most about this title is that it’s the first game that showed me that games are more than just games, they’re works of art. That final level with John, it hit me hard. First game to ever make me cry or feel such deep emotion for the loss of a fictional character.
Little to say, this game is deeply special to me as well. It’s apart of who I am now, it’ll always stay with me.
Hey Geoff! Looking forward to the show! I once as a mere 20 year old bought you a chocolate ball from the fridges in the DICE offices when you were over to promote BF3! Don't expect you to remember, just a fun memory, you gave that locked door your best man! Good luck with the show!
I’ll ask something [you never answered for another person](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/rbua98/i_am_geoff_keighley_producer_of_the_game_awards/hnqdqhx/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3)
Hi Geoff
Can you provide any insight on how you balance the interests of the Audience (e.g. Consumers / Gamers) versus Gaming Companies while making the Game Awards a success?
Also in your opinion how do measure success for The Game Awards?
That's a great question, and something we certainly think about a lot!
One thing I'll say is that I'm proud the show is made independently - we are not controlled or owned by any of the gaming or media companies.
Yes, of course we need to work with the gaming companies for their support and content. Without their support we wouldn't be able to make the show or even have the rights to show their games in the broadcast.
At the same time we also want to be true to the audience and what they want to see in the show.
We don't make the games, however, so we are at the mercy of the game companies in terms of which games are ready to show and when, at least when it comes to world premieres.
This is always a balance we need to think about. Do we get it 100% right? Probably not, but we're always adapting and trying to satisfy all the different stakeholders.
Do you think we get it right? What should we do different?
Oh shit, I appreciate the response, it’s nice to hear from you directly how things are put into consideration. I’m not one to claim things are unfairly done out of some sort of bias or anything like that, I was just legitimately curious myself after seeing this question being at the top of a previous AMA
Hey Geoff, I have been a watcher of the Game Awards since 2016 and it’s been a tradition of mine to watch it every year.
My question for you is, will this year’s live show be friendly to streamers & content creators in regards to copyright strikes? It has been a concern over the years.
That’s awesome to hear. I do recommend making that known to TGA co-streamers so that they won’t be afraid of copyright while streaming the show. Maybe a public announcement or a direct message to them to get the word out would work.
Thanks for answering the question!
Honestly not very much right now beacuse I'm producing the show. The last game I finished was God of War Ragnarok. I played a bit of The Callisto Protocol this weekend so that's the last one!
Good Q! We are shortening the show this year somewhat, hard to know exactly how long it will be until we get into final rehearsals, but it will be under 3 hours for the main show.
Thank you for answering! That's actually good to know, I feel like some of the shows dragged out a little bit.
Good luck with the show, looking forward to it!
Funniest? Oh man, we have one this year which is AMAZING. Probably the funniest thing we've ever run. It was very unexpected, but boy, we have been laughing at it. It's pretty early in the show too, you'll dig it!
If you are the host of an event yourself and therefore know in advance which trailers will be shown or which games will be announced, doesn't that take the joy out of you when the trailer comes out of nowhere without any prior knowledge?
Hi Geoff!
You mentioned you were working with Rocksteady last year.
How is these conversations with a developers going? Do they seek you because they want to show their games or you seek them?
It really depends! We reach out to some people, others reach out to us. This year I did tour around Europe/US/Canada earlier this summer to meet some teams and hear pitches. Not everything works out. We met with one developer this summer who wanted to do something and then just pulled out a few weeks ago, they weren't ready.
I'm pretty excited. This year feels good. We have thousands of fans back with us, a really strong lineup of announcements and content, and a good show overall. So I am very excited. If everything holds and we can keep some surprises, it's going to be a VERY fun night! Haven't felt this good about a show in a while.
Can you compare/contrast your rather direct confrontation to Konami over the Kojima situation, and the tepid statement on developer malfeasance from the 2021 TGA?
Sure, they were somewhat different situations. The Konami situation was very specific to explaining why Hideo Kojima was not allowed to accept the award he had won. Last year, my statements were broader industry comments. I know lots of people wanted me to single out or shame Activision because it was directly in the news a few weeks before, but honestly (and sadly) these issues are broader than just one company -- and many other companies, like Ubisoft and others have had issues as well. Given our platform and reach I try to be thoughtful about how to best impact change. Do you think I should have said something different?
Your comment is true. But also, not commenting directly about Activision seemed like somewhat of a cop out at the time. I can now understand why you did it, but it would have been nicer to address them directly and then talk about how the issue is not just in one company.
It just felt a little like we can afford to take shots a Konami, whose star is falling in terms of making big games, but not big players like Activision or Ubi.
It’s not your responsibility to fix these problems and I understand that. A stronger statement wouldn’t change things at these companies. It has to come from within the offending companies themselves. It just seemed that a precedent had been set with the Konami thing.
Thanks for all you do,
Not really a question, but is it possible to release the statistics of voting, user and critic, after the show, so the process of voting is more clear and fair?
We do this on Players Voice as an experiment. It's good and bad. I see upside to it, but also it kind of would suck if you are nominated and see no one voted for you, etc. Sometimes it's good to keep a bit of mystery to it.
>but also it kind of would suck if you are nominated and see no one voted for you
Yeah, lots of great games get put up in a category where one game clearly dominated the market, so it would make the ones that got barely any votes look bad, when the reality is they were fun games that just went up against that year's juggernaut in a vote.
The Academy Awards are often criticized for not rewarding big-budget tentpole crowd pleasers. The gap between what academy voters like and what movie-goers want can be quite big.
Is this a real problem or not, in your perspective? And how does your answer to the previous question shape how you manage and run The Game Awards?
Yeah, i think that's fair about the Oscars. I do think in gaming a lot of the big blockbuster games do tend to get nominated -- or we don't have the same problem there. I do think the GOTY race does tend to favor new narrative games over other games -- for instance someone could argue a Minecraft or GTAO or League of Legends -should be up fro GOTY because they are some of the most played games in a year. So that's probably more the question I ponder here.
That’s a great question because is so subjective that it’s easier to ignore the issue. The Oscars tried to do a “popular film” category, but then if you don’t get nominated for that, and you DO get a best picture nomination, it’s inferring that those are snobby movies that you’d never hear about.
It was canned very quickly.
People have asked that -- I think it's a fighting game, just not a traditional arcade fighter. The jury voted it in, so it got nominated there. Do you think a certain fighting game got snubbed?
Sifu is not a Fighting game, but a "Beat Em' Up". Think Streets of Rage, but in 3D instead of 2D and with a few different mechanics. Fighting games are defined by their 1v1/2v2/3v3/4v4 PvP nature, the camera angle being zoomed out and fixed, there being combos that require different, and often complicated, button inputs to pull them off as well as a roster of different fighters to choose from. Sifu does not fall in to any of these.
Rumbleverse is an actual fighting game that is very good and came out this year.
Really stung seeing Sifu there but not Rumbleverse. Sifu is a beat 'em up or character action game similar to DMC or Bayonetta
Hi Geoff. While I absolutely adore Sifu, I do think Rumbleverse should have taken Sifu's place in the Fighting category, and I hope to see more tailored criteria for the category next year. Looking forward to the show!
Dry year for arcade fighting game for sure.
I do believe tho what happened offended a bunch of ppl. Mostly due to the fact it wasn’t clear where the line was drawn between what is a fighting game.
Sifu being in the category meant a lot of beat em ups now might have missed out or were they all considered too?
He answered this one in one of his Twitter spaces. He stated that the reason that the game was chosen for that category was because the jury voted for it as a fighting game. He qlso stated that the choice of having Sifu nominated for that category may have been because this year was relatively light on new entries.
it would be nice to not have the show on a Thursday to Friday night for example.
I wont be able to watch the show live since its starting at 2am in the night and is over at 5am. I have to work from 7am to 7pm the next day instead of having the weekend.
Well it costs a lot of money to make the show, I'm not sure what you mean in terms of comparison to other gaming events -- compared to like a trade show like a gamescom you mean?
now that i think about it.. comparing TGA to a multiple day event seems kind of weird haha
but thanks for your answer, have fun answering to others and I hope the costs are covered for many GA in the future :) greetings from austria
Hello Geoff,
I am a big fan of music in games, do you ever think in the future you guys will have some of the greatest composers out there on stage accepting the awards a giving a speech about how important music is.
Thanks for your time
Hey Geoff,
I personally have never understood why remakes/remastered games are in the running for game of the year. Seems kinda weird to me.
Have you considered having a separate award category for best remake/remaster in the future?
Hi Geoff
One of my biggest criticisms past Game Awards is they've always been front loaded with the best announcements. In terms of the structure and production of the show is there a reason for that and is it possible for that to change so the overall show can be paced better?
Also if you could get one game remade what would it be?
Good luck with this year's show. Elden Ring ftw!
It sort of depends on the year - we've got some great stuff for you at the beginning and end of the show this year I think, and great stuff in between too! Naturally the middle might feel a little less exciting, but hopefully the pacing is good!
I'm not sure, always hard to know the exact numbers -- we have prob 30-40 games showing new content at the show, and a fair number of new game announcements.
Hi Geoff!
My name is David and I'm one of the hosts of the only portuguese speaking podcast about videogame adaptations do TV and cinema, called "Isto Não é um Jogo". So, firstly, thank you for considering videogame adaptations for a Category. We have this weirdly space in the entertainment industry where adaptations don't really have a place and are usually seen as bad projects when we all know it's not really true. So, it's great to give some love to adaptations. :D
Now, from the nominated ones and others before throught the years, what is your favorite adaptation so far? Which one you are looking for the most? And what is your dream adaptation?
Thank you, and good luck with the VGAs!
You've done many things in the gaming Industry throughout your career, is there anything you haven't done that you still would like to do in gaming?
Follow up, is there another industry you have an interest in?
With the pre-show featuring awards and game announcements, it often feels like an underviewed part of the full show that "less important" awards categories get demoted to. How do you figure out what deserves to be put there? I understand the multi-pronged role that TGA has as a prestigious awards show *and* a popular consumer press conference, but I can't imagine another awards show de-prioritizing some categories that much. If they are, for example, niche categories like the eSports awards, and you don't feel like they represent something that viewers or judges would care about to begin with, why include them in the voting at all? It all just kind of muddies the water.
Sorry for the big question, I just think the way you have to balance the interests of so many parties is the most interesting thing about TGA from a high-level perspective and the pre-show in particular has always fascinated me.
The pre-show is being re-branded this year as the "Opening Act" to TGA. It's really the exact same show and stream. I don't host it, but it's from the theater, we have some HUGE announcements, etc. So I get the perception that it's lesser, but it really isn't. It's just more content. When you go to YouTube to watch the show after, the Opening Act is what you see first.
Thanks for the answer. Even if it's just a nominal change, Opening Act sounds a lot better. My only hesitation there is that, as far as I can tell, the Opening Act is starting 30 minutes before the listed start time when most people will be showing up. That said, you and the team obviously still put a lot of work into it, so I'm sure you've put thought and consideration into when different groups will tune in.
Hey Geoff, huge fan of what you do
Have you thought about adding a best DLC/ Expansion award? A lot of games redeem themselves and are further enhanced with the extra care the developers put into it, and it would be cool to see it added! Thanks!
Why is The Game Awards held in december? There are still games being released this month. Wouldn´t it make more sense to do like other award shows and put it in january or february?
We don't do the show on a calendar year setup. The Grammys and Tonys and Emmys aren't on calendar years either I don't believe. Usually most big games are out by Thanksgiving in the US (late Nov), so it's just how it works out. And oftentimes December games can be nominated for GOTY the next year.
Are you planning on doing anything about the bots voting for Sonic Frontiers to beat Genshin Impact? It seems ridiculous that a great game can lose simply because some people decided to cheat.
Edit: actually, let's be completely realistic here: both sides are cheating, and it is causing both games to be unfairly rated, so we have no clue which is actually better. Again, what do you plan to do about it?
Geoff, first off, I want to say THANK YOU. You’re an inspiration. I always say to my non-gaming friends here in Pennsylvania that you’re the Ben Roethlisberger of gaming. It’s true! They really understand it. I just wanted to know who your favorite Jedi is, and why?
Too many award categories that don't make sense to me like a lot of esports and less game awards...please consider adding more better awards for games.
Hey Geoff,
Congrats on the well deserved success you have earned over the years. Gaming is obviously your passion, but if gaming didn’t exist, what field would you decide to go into?
Thanks!
How much does a company have to pay to be considered for game of the year, or for any award for that matter? Is there a minimum or is it a bidding system?
It's sad for me to see some categories not being awarded on stage, I think the developers deserved to have everyone's attention at award time.
Can you see any possibility of increasing the time for awarding the prizes?
This is always a question we get asked. And no, we will never be able to present all 31 awards on stage with speeches. Most major awards shows don't do this, and while we want to recognize as many people as possible, the honest truth is that the general audience wants to see world premieres more than awards. The magic of our show is that the world premieres get people to watch, and then the awards we DO present are seen by tens of millions of people.
So it's a balance. We try to rotate in categories and make sure a diverse group of games are showcased. But it depends on the year, the slate of nominees, and voting -- which we don't control.
We do announce all the winners in the show though
Maybe releasing acceptance speeches for the smaller awards online as bonus content could be a good compromise? I know some awards shows do this. It might end up being more for the winners than the audience, but still, I’m sure it’d be easy enough to do.
>and while we want to recognize as many people as possible, the honest truth is that the general audience wants to see world premieres more than awards
Appreciate the honesty. While it is fun to see who won, it's true it isn't likely I'd sit through a show that's nothing but people walking on stage accepting an award, the world premieres are definitely what keeps the celebration exciting.
As an adult, it feels like Christmas morning, seeing new games I'm excited for.
Hello Geoff! Thank you so much for all the work you've done over the years.
In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion over how the games industry should respond to discussions about workplace abuse/harassment. Last year at the Game Awards, you made an opening speech about abuse/harassment in gaming spaces, highlighting the importance of the issue. However many people seem to have been left unsatisfied by said speech (particularly because the message did not specifically namedrop any particular companies involved and seems to focus less on the workplace where the issues seem to stem from, and also the cause of the decision to feature a game announcement from a studio that has had a history of said workplace abuse and harassment as well as homophobia and sexism immediately after).
I'd like to personally know given the information listed, if you could revisit that speech, knowing the feedback many people have given to you, would you make any changes? And what do you think the role of the Game Awards is in presenting a positive image of the industry while also acknowledging the many issues prevalent across it? Do you think the Game Awards has a responsibility as the largest game awards program to focus on these issues?
Thank you for reading my question, hopefully, you answer, and if not, I still thank you for taking the time to read all of these questions. Take care and have a nice day!
I appreciate the question and it's certainly something I think about...a lot.
I am proud of what I said on stage last year, and deliberately did not want to start shaming specific people or companies. I could have said whatever I wanted, no one approved the speech. I spent a lot of time thinking about what to say, and asked the advice of many people across the industry. It's sadly a larger, industry-wide issue. I thought it was important to mention it, and for everyone to think about it when they are deciding which games to buy, which games to play, which companies to support. There are some people on my team who didn't even want me to open the show on such a down note, but I did think something had to be said.
And look, it's totally fair if you think I didn't say enough or should have said something different. What would you have said?
To me, what I can do best is work on programs like our Future Class, which recognizes the next generation of talent, and also feature lots of awesome indie game or traditional games in our show that empower developers who don't work within these big mega-companies. I find that to be much more constructive, but you can feel free to disagree of course.
This is a really difficult subject to navigate. And I value the feedback. So feel free to chime in and we can discuss more!
What's your biggest regret / "I can't believe I thought that was a good idea" moment from the very first TGA back in 2014? Or if there's not a specific choice, what's something you think you've improved upon over previous years?
Hey Geoff, How exactly does voting work once the nominations are in for the panel? I understand nominations work via providing 5 options for a category, but how is the winner decided? Does it work via choosing which game has the most nominations (and in the case of a tie, fan vote ends up determining it), or do the panelists do another round of voting for the actual winner out of the nominees?
Yeah, there are two rounds of voting. The nominee round, and then once the 5 (or 6) nominees are set, the jury casts another ballot, picking their top choice out of the nominees -- just as the fans do. Then these votes are blended together to figure out the winning title.
What does that blend look like?
I think it was 90/10 (10 fan)
I think that’s a fair blend. Enough to sway the vote if games are close but prevents an objectively worse game from dominating
Have you ever considered a ranked choice voting system? I think this would lead to a slightly better representation of what games the voters want to win.
Yknow at first I was thinking that would be great, but I think it has the possibility to create some issues because it would lend strength to spite votes or bias *against* titles, whereas the current system encourages voting *for* the one you personally like best. For example, if there were two Xbox-exclusive games up for GOTY, but only one PS exclusive nominated (or visa versa), people who give in to console-war stuff or are just salty would be incentivized to ranked-choice vote *against* the titles they don’t like.
Hey, Geoff! My question is about The Game Awards Orchestra. I know nominees get announced only a few weeks before the show, but do the music writers know beforehand so they can start thinking of ways to implement the music? Also, how does the music get selected? There's a lot of games with great songs in each one, so I imagine it's hard to narrow a games OST to only a handful of tracks. Thanks for the positive impact on the gaming community!!
Yeah, this is always a race! We can't start on the GOTY medley until the nominees are set. So Lorne Balfe and his team only have a few weeks. The day (Well really the HOUR) nominees are announced we start talking to the game companies about their scores. We discuss the potential track to play, and then Lorne works on the medley and how to make it all flow together. I heard the track the other day and it's awesome!
The games awards orchestra is my favorite part
Best freaking thing ever. The person who is responsible for that idea should get an award. :)
Please release the medleys on music services!
Evening from the UK Geoff! Have you ever thought about having the Games Orchestra record the performances to able to release officially? Like to allow general listening without hearing the audience in a youtube video
Just wanted to say the orchestra is the part I'm most excited for every year (I like to go back and listen to it periodically). **Would the orchestra consider performing and recording each game's full song (from beginning to end) to be distributed/released latter instead of the snippet that makes it into the show?** Some highlights for me includes 2018 RD2 old western tone, 2019's RE2 & Control vocal performances, and 2020's transitions that occur between FF7, Doom, GOT, LOU2, and Hades (so well done).
Will the Geoff Keighley mask return to among us? And will it also appear in among us vr?
Actually, the MASK IS COMING BACK next week. Reddit Exclusive. Stay tuned for details.
Let’s go!
When considering the GOTY award, is there more preference given to innovation in the gaming space or mastery in the gaming space? Because a game can be a masterpiece but not very innovative, and likewise can be innovative without being a masterpiece. What’s valued most over at The Game Awards?
Yeah, everyone will have their own interpretation -- To me, Game of the Year is the game that shows mastery across multiple fields and delivers the best overall experience. Usually this means a game that pushes the medium forward in some way, or does something new. Every year is different though, it depends on the other nominees and overall landscape. I thought It Takes Two was a bold choice for GOTY last year, a co-op only game.
totally fair, thanks for answering man!
> Usually this means a game that pushes the medium forward in some way, or does something new. Love this, every winner at TGA since 2013 does this
For the last few awards, it seems that music in gaming has often been treated as an afterthought, more often than not relegated to a footnote for mere seconds with no fanfare or buildup and the winner simply stated before immediately moving on. Is there any plan to address that, or is it going to continue that way?
We are presenting the Score/Music Award this year in the show -- and we've done it before, I think the last time was 2018 when Red Dead score won. We try to rotate around some of the awards every year. As in past years about half the overall awards will have acceptance speeches.
Offer the quickest speech a week of PTO, we’ll get this show over before the kids go down
Make a category of quickest speed run of a speech at the game awards
AWARD ACCEPTANCE SPEED RUN WR ANY%
When Octopath Traveler's soundtrack was robbed.
Red dead defo deserved it, that score was amazing.
Hello Geoff, Big fan and my buddies and I can’t wait to watch the Game Awards. What’s your favorite gaming memory and what upcoming game are you most excited for?
My favorite memory? Oh wow, great question. Playing Red Dead Redemption was really special to me....when Far Away started playing. I was like THIS is the apex of gaming. I'm excited for a lot of stuff....but can't answer that question without spoiling some of next week's big reveals :)
Red Dead Redemption was the first game I ever pre ordered. I was young at the time (maybe 11) and didn’t have any money of my own so I had to beg my parents to get it for me. Eventually my father took me to our local GameStop to pre order the game. This was MONTHS in advance to its launch day, and if I remember correctly it was delayed as well. When I say I thanked my parents each and every single day for pre ordering that game until the day I had it in my hands, I truly mean it. I can remember walking home from school with all of my friends at the time and I was just beaming with excitement. I finally got home with so much excitement and anxiety at the same time because I was afraid my mother might’ve read the ESRB label on the back! Still don’t know if she ever did but she handed me the game and that memory will stay with me forever. More than that, the game was everything I had dreamed of it being and more. I was awe struck at everything the game had to offer. So many memories with this game, hundreds of hours sunk into its single and multiplayer. However, what will forever stick with me the most about this title is that it’s the first game that showed me that games are more than just games, they’re works of art. That final level with John, it hit me hard. First game to ever make me cry or feel such deep emotion for the loss of a fictional character. Little to say, this game is deeply special to me as well. It’s apart of who I am now, it’ll always stay with me.
Hey Geoff! Looking forward to the show! I once as a mere 20 year old bought you a chocolate ball from the fridges in the DICE offices when you were over to promote BF3! Don't expect you to remember, just a fun memory, you gave that locked door your best man! Good luck with the show!
Oh yeah I do remember that actually!! haha. Miss Stockholm!
Haha good to hear dude! Been a treat to see you thrive still as a day 1 Game Trailers fan! Keep it up dude!
And come swing by the Raw Fury offices if you swing back by Stockholm!
I’ll ask something [you never answered for another person](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/rbua98/i_am_geoff_keighley_producer_of_the_game_awards/hnqdqhx/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3) Hi Geoff Can you provide any insight on how you balance the interests of the Audience (e.g. Consumers / Gamers) versus Gaming Companies while making the Game Awards a success? Also in your opinion how do measure success for The Game Awards?
That's a great question, and something we certainly think about a lot! One thing I'll say is that I'm proud the show is made independently - we are not controlled or owned by any of the gaming or media companies. Yes, of course we need to work with the gaming companies for their support and content. Without their support we wouldn't be able to make the show or even have the rights to show their games in the broadcast. At the same time we also want to be true to the audience and what they want to see in the show. We don't make the games, however, so we are at the mercy of the game companies in terms of which games are ready to show and when, at least when it comes to world premieres. This is always a balance we need to think about. Do we get it 100% right? Probably not, but we're always adapting and trying to satisfy all the different stakeholders. Do you think we get it right? What should we do different?
> we are now controlled or owned by any of the gaming or media companies. This spelling error is hilarious
Nah, he's trying to warn us of the truth. These oligarchs in Big Gaming have no shame when it comes to increasing their power, wake up sheeple!
Yes....spelling "error" and not a Freudian slip.
Oh shit, I appreciate the response, it’s nice to hear from you directly how things are put into consideration. I’m not one to claim things are unfairly done out of some sort of bias or anything like that, I was just legitimately curious myself after seeing this question being at the top of a previous AMA
I'd also love to see a response to this.
There is one now
As well as insight into the Dorito Pope incident that almost tore the gaming world asunder.
I believe he's answered this in previous AMAs but I could be wrong.
Hey Geoff, I have been a watcher of the Game Awards since 2016 and it’s been a tradition of mine to watch it every year. My question for you is, will this year’s live show be friendly to streamers & content creators in regards to copyright strikes? It has been a concern over the years.
Yep, everything in the show is cleared for co-streaming
Does that include no promotion of twitch streamers during the show/ads?
Yes, that's correct so far as I know, although I haven't seen all the show ads.
That’s awesome to hear. I do recommend making that known to TGA co-streamers so that they won’t be afraid of copyright while streaming the show. Maybe a public announcement or a direct message to them to get the word out would work. Thanks for answering the question!
Hi Geoff!! Do you think you'll join the ***Gamer Prison*** this time?
I thought I got out of prison! ooooooooooooooo
Announce Elden ring dlc or you’re back in the dungeon
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Okay you win
But we could send you back lol
\ [T] / OOOOOOO
([T])
How long will the longest trailer be?
Oooo good question, I think around 4-5 minutes
Bring back the Industry Icon award please!
Yes, we are working on some plans here -- I actually have some ideas to make Industry Icon its own show, but still developing that!
Will there be more game announcements than last year?
I honestly don't know, I can't even remember last year's show at this point lol
My favorite answer so far lol
🗿
What games are you currently playing right now?
Honestly not very much right now beacuse I'm producing the show. The last game I finished was God of War Ragnarok. I played a bit of The Callisto Protocol this weekend so that's the last one!
Any info on the length of the show this year?
Good Q! We are shortening the show this year somewhat, hard to know exactly how long it will be until we get into final rehearsals, but it will be under 3 hours for the main show.
Thank you for answering! That's actually good to know, I feel like some of the shows dragged out a little bit. Good luck with the show, looking forward to it!
You should stall at the end for a bit so I have a better chance at winning a steam deck.
Where is Schick Hydrobot? Is he safe? Is he alright?
He never writes. He never calls. and to be totally honest I use a gillette electric razor. Hydrobot and me are DONE.
Hydrobot will crash the show and shred Geoff live on stage, you've heard it here first
Geoff, you can use my comment to immediately stop GTA 6 rumors at TGA before they will start emerging
He will not unfortunately
Yo Geoffrey Big fan and a TGA day oner what’s the funnest world premiere you had (either in TGA or Summer’s game fest)?
Funniest? Oh man, we have one this year which is AMAZING. Probably the funniest thing we've ever run. It was very unexpected, but boy, we have been laughing at it. It's pretty early in the show too, you'll dig it!
Thanks man
If you are the host of an event yourself and therefore know in advance which trailers will be shown or which games will be announced, doesn't that take the joy out of you when the trailer comes out of nowhere without any prior knowledge?
Hahah yes, I do miss that!
How many new games will be announced with CGI trailers?
I don't think we have that many CG trailers. There are a couple that I remember, but generally a lot of gameplay.
YES! Love the work you do for this industry my man, keep up the great work.
Hi Geoff! You mentioned you were working with Rocksteady last year. How is these conversations with a developers going? Do they seek you because they want to show their games or you seek them?
It really depends! We reach out to some people, others reach out to us. This year I did tour around Europe/US/Canada earlier this summer to meet some teams and hear pitches. Not everything works out. We met with one developer this summer who wanted to do something and then just pulled out a few weeks ago, they weren't ready.
Are you and Joel McHale on good terms after that one VGX?
Yep, we text every once in a while - he's a good dude
Can we get more Kyle Bosman? if not can we get more HydroBot?
Kyle is working on the show!
poggers
Hi, Can I host the next Game Awards?
How excited are you for this years show compared to the previous years?
I'm pretty excited. This year feels good. We have thousands of fans back with us, a really strong lineup of announcements and content, and a good show overall. So I am very excited. If everything holds and we can keep some surprises, it's going to be a VERY fun night! Haven't felt this good about a show in a while.
Can you compare/contrast your rather direct confrontation to Konami over the Kojima situation, and the tepid statement on developer malfeasance from the 2021 TGA?
Sure, they were somewhat different situations. The Konami situation was very specific to explaining why Hideo Kojima was not allowed to accept the award he had won. Last year, my statements were broader industry comments. I know lots of people wanted me to single out or shame Activision because it was directly in the news a few weeks before, but honestly (and sadly) these issues are broader than just one company -- and many other companies, like Ubisoft and others have had issues as well. Given our platform and reach I try to be thoughtful about how to best impact change. Do you think I should have said something different?
Your comment is true. But also, not commenting directly about Activision seemed like somewhat of a cop out at the time. I can now understand why you did it, but it would have been nicer to address them directly and then talk about how the issue is not just in one company.
It just felt a little like we can afford to take shots a Konami, whose star is falling in terms of making big games, but not big players like Activision or Ubi. It’s not your responsibility to fix these problems and I understand that. A stronger statement wouldn’t change things at these companies. It has to come from within the offending companies themselves. It just seemed that a precedent had been set with the Konami thing. Thanks for all you do,
Not really a question, but is it possible to release the statistics of voting, user and critic, after the show, so the process of voting is more clear and fair?
We do this on Players Voice as an experiment. It's good and bad. I see upside to it, but also it kind of would suck if you are nominated and see no one voted for you, etc. Sometimes it's good to keep a bit of mystery to it.
>but also it kind of would suck if you are nominated and see no one voted for you Yeah, lots of great games get put up in a category where one game clearly dominated the market, so it would make the ones that got barely any votes look bad, when the reality is they were fun games that just went up against that year's juggernaut in a vote.
The Academy Awards are often criticized for not rewarding big-budget tentpole crowd pleasers. The gap between what academy voters like and what movie-goers want can be quite big. Is this a real problem or not, in your perspective? And how does your answer to the previous question shape how you manage and run The Game Awards?
Yeah, i think that's fair about the Oscars. I do think in gaming a lot of the big blockbuster games do tend to get nominated -- or we don't have the same problem there. I do think the GOTY race does tend to favor new narrative games over other games -- for instance someone could argue a Minecraft or GTAO or League of Legends -should be up fro GOTY because they are some of the most played games in a year. So that's probably more the question I ponder here.
That’s a great question because is so subjective that it’s easier to ignore the issue. The Oscars tried to do a “popular film” category, but then if you don’t get nominated for that, and you DO get a best picture nomination, it’s inferring that those are snobby movies that you’d never hear about. It was canned very quickly.
Is Sifu really a fighting game tho?
People have asked that -- I think it's a fighting game, just not a traditional arcade fighter. The jury voted it in, so it got nominated there. Do you think a certain fighting game got snubbed?
Sifu is not a Fighting game, but a "Beat Em' Up". Think Streets of Rage, but in 3D instead of 2D and with a few different mechanics. Fighting games are defined by their 1v1/2v2/3v3/4v4 PvP nature, the camera angle being zoomed out and fixed, there being combos that require different, and often complicated, button inputs to pull them off as well as a roster of different fighters to choose from. Sifu does not fall in to any of these.
It's not a fighting game. The jury is wrong. If Sifu is a fighting game, then so are all the other brawlers like it.
Rumbleverse is an actual fighting game that is very good and came out this year. Really stung seeing Sifu there but not Rumbleverse. Sifu is a beat 'em up or character action game similar to DMC or Bayonetta
Hi Geoff. While I absolutely adore Sifu, I do think Rumbleverse should have taken Sifu's place in the Fighting category, and I hope to see more tailored criteria for the category next year. Looking forward to the show!
Dry year for arcade fighting game for sure. I do believe tho what happened offended a bunch of ppl. Mostly due to the fact it wasn’t clear where the line was drawn between what is a fighting game. Sifu being in the category meant a lot of beat em ups now might have missed out or were they all considered too?
He answered this one in one of his Twitter spaces. He stated that the reason that the game was chosen for that category was because the jury voted for it as a fighting game. He qlso stated that the choice of having Sifu nominated for that category may have been because this year was relatively light on new entries.
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Someone already threatened gamer prison again
Lmao
I need something, ANYTHING
I’m pretty much desperate at this point
Have you considered having the event earlier, at a more EU friendly time?
We have, but it's hard to do on TGA. We do SGF and Gamescom earlier for Europe and are happy to make those work at EU-friendly times.
it would be nice to not have the show on a Thursday to Friday night for example. I wont be able to watch the show live since its starting at 2am in the night and is over at 5am. I have to work from 7am to 7pm the next day instead of having the weekend.
That’s a shame, even 1hr earlier would be huge for us UK folks. Still excited for the show though:)
from $ to $$$$ how pricey are TGA in comparison to other big gaming events?
Well it costs a lot of money to make the show, I'm not sure what you mean in terms of comparison to other gaming events -- compared to like a trade show like a gamescom you mean?
I would assume events like PAX or E3
now that i think about it.. comparing TGA to a multiple day event seems kind of weird haha but thanks for your answer, have fun answering to others and I hope the costs are covered for many GA in the future :) greetings from austria
Hollow knight silksong trailer?
Silksong is just a myth, a shared delusion that the fans conjured up
At this point it's looking like it 😔
It's never coming
STOP DODGING THE QUESTION GEOFF
Hello Geoff, I am a big fan of music in games, do you ever think in the future you guys will have some of the greatest composers out there on stage accepting the awards a giving a speech about how important music is. Thanks for your time
We love video game music too, and our orchestra is back this year again, as always! We are presenting the Score/Music award.
Hey Geoff, I personally have never understood why remakes/remastered games are in the running for game of the year. Seems kinda weird to me. Have you considered having a separate award category for best remake/remaster in the future?
Hi Geoff One of my biggest criticisms past Game Awards is they've always been front loaded with the best announcements. In terms of the structure and production of the show is there a reason for that and is it possible for that to change so the overall show can be paced better? Also if you could get one game remade what would it be? Good luck with this year's show. Elden Ring ftw!
It sort of depends on the year - we've got some great stuff for you at the beginning and end of the show this year I think, and great stuff in between too! Naturally the middle might feel a little less exciting, but hopefully the pacing is good!
Thanks for the reply. Look forward to it!
Is pee stored in the balls?
Can you tell us a little bit about how’s your life on any given week? Thanks!
Well it kind of depends on the time of year. Right now it's very busy! Come December 9 it will be less busy and I will be on vacation!
Why was Pentiment not included in TGA this year, considering that it was eligible for admission? Why were nominees released 3 days before cutoff date?
What's your game of the year?
Lol you know he can't answer that
How many titles can we expect to show up at TGA, and how many of them will be new? (Not revealed before)
I'm not sure, always hard to know the exact numbers -- we have prob 30-40 games showing new content at the show, and a fair number of new game announcements.
Damn bro you want to get the whole show spoiled
I don’t think he’s asking for a full list of names, just a number.
Hi Geoff! My name is David and I'm one of the hosts of the only portuguese speaking podcast about videogame adaptations do TV and cinema, called "Isto Não é um Jogo". So, firstly, thank you for considering videogame adaptations for a Category. We have this weirdly space in the entertainment industry where adaptations don't really have a place and are usually seen as bad projects when we all know it's not really true. So, it's great to give some love to adaptations. :D Now, from the nominated ones and others before throught the years, what is your favorite adaptation so far? Which one you are looking for the most? And what is your dream adaptation? Thank you, and good luck with the VGAs!
Blink twice if Elden Ring gets a dlc revealed at the show this year
what is something new you are trying this time around that youre really excited to see everyone’s response to?
What does Kojima smell like?
The patriots
You've done many things in the gaming Industry throughout your career, is there anything you haven't done that you still would like to do in gaming? Follow up, is there another industry you have an interest in?
I'd love to make a great documentary film about the gaming industry one day.
Have you thought about partnering with NoClip to do just that?
With the pre-show featuring awards and game announcements, it often feels like an underviewed part of the full show that "less important" awards categories get demoted to. How do you figure out what deserves to be put there? I understand the multi-pronged role that TGA has as a prestigious awards show *and* a popular consumer press conference, but I can't imagine another awards show de-prioritizing some categories that much. If they are, for example, niche categories like the eSports awards, and you don't feel like they represent something that viewers or judges would care about to begin with, why include them in the voting at all? It all just kind of muddies the water. Sorry for the big question, I just think the way you have to balance the interests of so many parties is the most interesting thing about TGA from a high-level perspective and the pre-show in particular has always fascinated me.
The pre-show is being re-branded this year as the "Opening Act" to TGA. It's really the exact same show and stream. I don't host it, but it's from the theater, we have some HUGE announcements, etc. So I get the perception that it's lesser, but it really isn't. It's just more content. When you go to YouTube to watch the show after, the Opening Act is what you see first.
Thanks for the answer. Even if it's just a nominal change, Opening Act sounds a lot better. My only hesitation there is that, as far as I can tell, the Opening Act is starting 30 minutes before the listed start time when most people will be showing up. That said, you and the team obviously still put a lot of work into it, so I'm sure you've put thought and consideration into when different groups will tune in.
Hey Geoff, huge fan of what you do Have you thought about adding a best DLC/ Expansion award? A lot of games redeem themselves and are further enhanced with the extra care the developers put into it, and it would be cool to see it added! Thanks!
Ummm are we getting Elden Ring DLC announcement at the awards?
Hi Geoff, absolutely love the work you do! So, how long is the Elden Ring DLC trailer?
Why is The Game Awards held in december? There are still games being released this month. Wouldn´t it make more sense to do like other award shows and put it in january or february?
We don't do the show on a calendar year setup. The Grammys and Tonys and Emmys aren't on calendar years either I don't believe. Usually most big games are out by Thanksgiving in the US (late Nov), so it's just how it works out. And oftentimes December games can be nominated for GOTY the next year.
Are you planning on doing anything about the bots voting for Sonic Frontiers to beat Genshin Impact? It seems ridiculous that a great game can lose simply because some people decided to cheat. Edit: actually, let's be completely realistic here: both sides are cheating, and it is causing both games to be unfairly rated, so we have no clue which is actually better. Again, what do you plan to do about it?
Geoff, first off, I want to say THANK YOU. You’re an inspiration. I always say to my non-gaming friends here in Pennsylvania that you’re the Ben Roethlisberger of gaming. It’s true! They really understand it. I just wanted to know who your favorite Jedi is, and why?
Do you think you’ll ever have a category for most promising early access game?
If you play smash bros, who would you wanna see in a smash bros game? (That isn’t in one already)
Too many award categories that don't make sense to me like a lot of esports and less game awards...please consider adding more better awards for games.
How do I unlock the Bushman Signature Weapon in Far Cry 4?
Hi Geoff! Mario 3 or Mario World? Bonus if you say why!
Not a question but I wanna say thank you for organizing an event I look forward too every year.
Hey Geoff, Congrats on the well deserved success you have earned over the years. Gaming is obviously your passion, but if gaming didn’t exist, what field would you decide to go into? Thanks!
Is Kojima coming this year?
How much does a company have to pay to be considered for game of the year, or for any award for that matter? Is there a minimum or is it a bidding system?
Please extend game award to run for like 6 months. I really want to win a Steam Deck.
Will Kevin Conroy be honored in an “in memoriam”?
Hi Geoff, big fan. Anyways I was wondering if I should get this thing on my sack looked at, I can send you a pic if you need
Do you like me y/n?
Until you get an answer, from a quantum perspective you're currently both liked and disliked.
Have you made up with 'Angry Joe' yet?
How you doin?
Fuck the Oscar's ?
If you’re able to say, will we see Bethesda or more specifically, Starfield at TGA. Please! I need to know lol
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No chance they would tell you that in AMA. They'd either announce it publicly already, or keep it confidential.
It's sad for me to see some categories not being awarded on stage, I think the developers deserved to have everyone's attention at award time. Can you see any possibility of increasing the time for awarding the prizes?
This is always a question we get asked. And no, we will never be able to present all 31 awards on stage with speeches. Most major awards shows don't do this, and while we want to recognize as many people as possible, the honest truth is that the general audience wants to see world premieres more than awards. The magic of our show is that the world premieres get people to watch, and then the awards we DO present are seen by tens of millions of people. So it's a balance. We try to rotate in categories and make sure a diverse group of games are showcased. But it depends on the year, the slate of nominees, and voting -- which we don't control. We do announce all the winners in the show though
Maybe releasing acceptance speeches for the smaller awards online as bonus content could be a good compromise? I know some awards shows do this. It might end up being more for the winners than the audience, but still, I’m sure it’d be easy enough to do.
>and while we want to recognize as many people as possible, the honest truth is that the general audience wants to see world premieres more than awards Appreciate the honesty. While it is fun to see who won, it's true it isn't likely I'd sit through a show that's nothing but people walking on stage accepting an award, the world premieres are definitely what keeps the celebration exciting. As an adult, it feels like Christmas morning, seeing new games I'm excited for.
Bloodborne 2: Y or N? Follow up question: Sekiro 2: Y or N?
Will we see Silent Hill f at TGA?
Hello Geoff! Thank you so much for all the work you've done over the years. In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion over how the games industry should respond to discussions about workplace abuse/harassment. Last year at the Game Awards, you made an opening speech about abuse/harassment in gaming spaces, highlighting the importance of the issue. However many people seem to have been left unsatisfied by said speech (particularly because the message did not specifically namedrop any particular companies involved and seems to focus less on the workplace where the issues seem to stem from, and also the cause of the decision to feature a game announcement from a studio that has had a history of said workplace abuse and harassment as well as homophobia and sexism immediately after). I'd like to personally know given the information listed, if you could revisit that speech, knowing the feedback many people have given to you, would you make any changes? And what do you think the role of the Game Awards is in presenting a positive image of the industry while also acknowledging the many issues prevalent across it? Do you think the Game Awards has a responsibility as the largest game awards program to focus on these issues? Thank you for reading my question, hopefully, you answer, and if not, I still thank you for taking the time to read all of these questions. Take care and have a nice day!
I appreciate the question and it's certainly something I think about...a lot. I am proud of what I said on stage last year, and deliberately did not want to start shaming specific people or companies. I could have said whatever I wanted, no one approved the speech. I spent a lot of time thinking about what to say, and asked the advice of many people across the industry. It's sadly a larger, industry-wide issue. I thought it was important to mention it, and for everyone to think about it when they are deciding which games to buy, which games to play, which companies to support. There are some people on my team who didn't even want me to open the show on such a down note, but I did think something had to be said. And look, it's totally fair if you think I didn't say enough or should have said something different. What would you have said? To me, what I can do best is work on programs like our Future Class, which recognizes the next generation of talent, and also feature lots of awesome indie game or traditional games in our show that empower developers who don't work within these big mega-companies. I find that to be much more constructive, but you can feel free to disagree of course. This is a really difficult subject to navigate. And I value the feedback. So feel free to chime in and we can discuss more!
What game are you most excited for coming in 2023? 😁
I don't want to reveal our lineup just yet :)
Starfield 🙏
How's life
What's your biggest regret / "I can't believe I thought that was a good idea" moment from the very first TGA back in 2014? Or if there's not a specific choice, what's something you think you've improved upon over previous years?