The Game Awards have become a yearly tradition in gaming since its debut in 2014. With its celebration of games, developers, and genres, many fans tune in to to show to show their appreciation for the industry and watch surprise game reveals along the way.
With COVID-19 impacting the production of the show this year, host Geoff Keighley and the crew behind the scenes have had to retool The Game Awards without the presence of an audience and restrictions on how many people could be at a production studio. Keighley has stated that Covid-19 is not the only reason the show is changing however, with a focus on innovation at this year's event.
One new way Keighley is celebrating games with fans this year is through Zoom calls featuring hundreds of fans and special guests. This week, Keighley was joined by Phil Spencer and Gabe Newell where they discussed the next generation of gaming and the upcoming digital Game Awards show. While nothing substantial came out of the call as far as reveals of games or further plans for the show itself, lucky fans got a to witness the trio interact ahead of the upcoming event.
Some upcoming changes to the show include the addition of a new category at this year's Game Awards called Innovation in Accessibility. The new category will showcase games, developers, and tech innovations that provide options to game players with disabilities. Games like The Last of Us Part 2 with its colorblind options and even Microsoft's adaptive controller, made for those who have difficulty playing games due to limited mobility, are sure to be a part of the category.
One major discussion about this year's awards was the cutoff date for qualifications. With the event being held in December some games will have only been out for a few weeks and may not have a significant time to make a huge impact on the gaming community. The same can be said about games that released early in the year, with many of them often forgotten due to the significant amount of games releasing over the course of a year. Keighley has stated that games not released this year but still major topics of discussion in 2020 will still be considered at the Game Awards.
Despite releasing in June of 2018, Among Us has become a major hit over the summer with stay-at-home mandates in place all over the world. The game has become a phenomenon on Twitch and is even being played by celebrities and politicians like AOC who is playing Among Us to connect to voters. While it's currently unknown what games will qualify for what categories, Among Us is sure to be at the awards in some capacity.
The Game Awards will be live on December 10.