Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order released on November 15, 2019, which explains why many may have been confused to see it nominated at this year's Game Awards ceremony. Indeed, it's confusing to see it with one nomination as Best Action-Adventure game of 2020 for a 2019 game.
As many fans of the game may recall, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was practically snubbed by The Game Awards 2019. Because its release date fell after the nomination date, it did not qualify for anything in The Game Awards 2019 (even though 7 weeks remained in the year) and, as explained last year, would be able to qualify for the ceremony this year. However, that's hardly an accurate representation on what has happened and, instead, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has practically been snubbed again.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - The Problem
Despite everything going on with the pandemic, 2020 has been a juggernaut year for video games, but 2019's not really trailing behind in comparison either. GOTY at the Game Awards in 2019 had games like Sekiro, Death Stranding, Control, The Outer Worlds, and more. But because of everything going on with the pandemic, it's easy to forget what happened 6 months ago, let alone a year ago. Arguably, it would seem that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order may have performed better, at least in terms of nominations, if it showed up on stage at The Game Awards 2019.
Instead of at least a few nominations in categories like Best Action Adventure, Art Direction, Narrative, Performance, or yes, even Game of the Year, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is given a consolation prize with one nomination that, arguably, it probably won't even win. Again, 2019 could have been a completely different story, but Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and The Last of Us 2 are all fresher on voters' minds. This alone would suggest that votes could practically go almost anywhere else, really snubbing all the work Respawn put into bringing back a bonafide Star Wars gaming experience.
Of course, while Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is hit by this, so too may Cyberpunk 2077. Releasing on December 10, CD Projekt Red's next epic RPG has a lot of expectation to live up to. Whether it does or not remains to be seen, but it can't appear at the show until 2021...which doesn't quite make sense. There's still three weeks in 2020 after its release date, and while that means not everyone is likely to have beaten it, three weeks is plenty enough time to make some key decisions about its impact on 2020. Arguably, CD Projekt Red has more pedigree and Cyberpunk 2077 is far more anticipated that Jedi: Fallen Order was, but it could still fall victim to the same trap.
2021 is unpredictable; hopefully, it's a much better year. The pandemic rages on nonetheless, more distractions could take place, and new games seizing the power of the PS5 and Xbox Series X may arise. It's unlikely, especially if it does indeed nail its landing, but Cyberpunk 2077 could be overshadowed in 2021 just as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was overshadowed in 2020. It's a real concern for those who prefer this style of game and enjoy the end of year festivities the ceremony brings.
The Solution for The Game Awards
Of course, this begs the question how to fix this for future games, even if it's too late for the likes of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Cyberpunk 2077. It should be noted that there seems to be a simple fix, but at the same time, coordinating a large-scale presentation with all the bells, whistles, world premieres, and the like is no easy feat. Ergo, while this solution seems like it would work, this isn't some prescriptive, eureka fix-all and likely has some behind-the-scenes problem of its own. It's just one where every game actually matters and isn't left in the dust.
Push it back. The nightly festivities of The Game Awards would be perfect for New Year's Eve, counting down the end of the year with every big award-winning game of the year, but that itself is it own problem. Most companies will be on holiday at this time, and it's unlikely this could be coordinated well, as awesome as it sounds. Instead, push it back further. It could be two weeks into January, and that may not be as prestigious as early December, but it would work as well, so it seems.
Doing so would mean every game can get considered, with votes submitted by the end of December 31, 2020, instead of much sooner. This would have been a huge boon for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. After all, its merits speak for themselves: at the Game Critic Awards and the Titanium Awards in 2019, it was nominated for Best of Show, Best Console Game, and Best Action-Adventure game at the former and won Game of the Year, Best Game Design, and Best Adventure Game at the latter. Why could these shows pay it the attention it deserves but not The Game Awards 2020?
The Game Awards 2020 isn't the end-all for awards, but year after year, it proves to be the most "red-carpet" event there is in gaming (outside of E3). But its current structure means some games get lost in the shuffle, which doesn't seem to be the intent but just an unintended consequence, one that chewed up Jedi: Fallen Order and spit it out.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.