The Game Awards 2020 as hosted by Geoff Keighley has quickly become one of the industry's biggest events, humbly rising up from its initial inception in 2014. Since then, every show has been a little different and every year's Game of the Year award is handed out to a new game. There has been one constant, however, since 2014—a tradition 6-years deep that was broken in 2020.
Every show since 2014 has featured a variety of developers, studios, individuals, and the like, but at every show since 2014, Hideo Kojima has been either present, involved, or spoken about. The Game Awards 2020 was the first time in the show's history that Kojima, the fan-favorite creator of Metal Gear Solid and a world-famous developer in his own right, was actually a no talk, no show.
2014's Metal Gear Solid 5's Online Counterpart Trailer
During the very first show, Kojima took the stage alongside a few others to present Metal Gear Online, the obviously online counterpart to Metal Gear Solid 5. Unbeknownst to the audience, however, his 2014 appearance was just the calm before the storm.
2015's Metal Gear Solid 5 Awards, Kojima-Konami Controversy
2015 quickly became an outlier year for Hideo Kojima. His labor of love, Metal Gear Solid 5, received an award for Best Action-Adventure game, but he was not actually physically present to accept it. This is because of the well-known Kojima-Konami controversy, where the company's despicable business practices came to light and where Konami did not allow Kojima to physically appear at the show. However, that doesn't mean Kojima was forgotten. No, not only did the crowd boo Konami's strange decision, but a musical straight from the Metal Gear Solid 5 OST was performed for his honor. Kojima may not have been there physically, but he was definitely there spiritually.
2016's Industry Icon Award, Death Stranding Announcement
Kojima returned in 2016, with no one forgetting the events that transpired in 2015. Geoff Keighley presented him with 2016's industry icon award, talking about the events that Kojima dealt with and how he dealt with them. The emotional speech saw Kojima take the stage, graciously accept the award, and give something to fans as well: the announcement of Death Stranding.
2017 Death Stranding Trailer
In 2017, Kojima return alongside Guillermo Del Toro to present the Best Art Direction Award to Cuphead. That wasn't the only reason for Kojima's presence, however. The Game Awards 2017 saw its longest world premiere to this point, an 8+ minute presentation of Death Stranding. Afterward, Kojima and Norman Reedus took the stage to talk shortly about their collaboration.
2018 Student Game Awards
2018 was another small outlier. Shortly beforehand, Kojima confirmed he couldn't attend The Game Awards 2018, so he wasn't there physically. However, his presence and impact was still somewhat tangible. 2018 presented the Student Game Award to Combat 2018, an award designed "to recognize and support emerging game development talent at the high school, university, and collegiate" level, and this was chosen by a panel of big names throughout the game industry. This included Bethesda's Todd Howard, thatgamecompany's Jenova Chen, Annapurna Interactive's Megan Ellison, StudioMDHR's Maja Moldenhauer, Respawn Entertainment's Vince Zampella, and of course, Kojima Productions' Hideo Kojima.
While he wasn't there physically, he played a big role in selecting one of the awards presented. It may not be as substantial as past years, but Kojima's presence (and subsequent non-attendance) made sure the event didn't happen without his name being tossed around.
2019 Death Stranding Awards
Of course, he came back bigger than ever in 2019. Not only did CHVRCHES perform "Death Stranding" to open the entire showcase, but Death Stranding collected a few awards, namely Best Game Direction, Best Score and Music, and Best Performance (Mads Mikkelsen as Cliff, and it's worth noting Norman Reedus as Sam Bridges was also nominated).
No Kojima at The Game Awards 2020
However, this presence and tradition 6-years in the making came to an end at The Game Awards 2020. There were rumors of Metal Gear Solid remake announcement or a Silent Hill on PS5 reveal going into the event, either of which could have seen Kojima take the stage for, but instead there was no tangible impact. For what it's worth, there was never any real evidence either project could be there, just as there's no real evidence that Kojima is even involved. Whatever's happening at Kojima Productions is clearly staying at Kojima Productions, and perhaps that's the reason Kojima's presence was felt as much as it has been in past years.
On the other hand, Hideo Kojima is under no obligation to appear there, and it could have been as simple as that. With the Game Awards taking place online, that could have been a factor too, as this may have been in the middle of his workday or whatnot. It's uncertain, but ultimately, 2020 is a strange year for everyone. It seems safe to say that Kojima's "presence" at the Game Awards could have been easily impacted as well, and that's not a bad thing. 2020 may be the odd duck out, but come 2021, it could be that Kojima takes the stage once more, perhaps bigger and better than ever with a brand new IP or announcement. For now, fans just have to wait and see what Kojima Productions is cooking up.
Death Stranding is out now for PC and PS4.