The Game Awards is an annual event highlighting the biggest video games of the year and celebrating the gaming industry’s many achievements. The 11th ceremony is only a month away, and predictions for nominees and potential winners are popping up on social media and Ohio University’s campus.
Since 2014, The Game Awards have been hosted by producer Geoff Keighley, a video game journalist who has worked in the industry since 1997. Last year, the award show garnered a record-breaking 118 million views. On top of that, over 17,000 influencers and online content creators live-reacted to the show, according to Variety.
The Game Awards is one of the most popular award show events of the year, potentially pulling in more viewers than any other industry award show. There are nearly three dozen awards to be given out, honoring video games, esports and content creators.
The most anticipated award of the night is the Game of the Year award. This coveted award is given to a video game that goes above and beyond in creativity and technicality. Previous winners have included iconic games such as “Overwatch,” “God of War” and “It Takes Two.”
In order to win GOTY, a game first has to be nominated by a “large voting jury of gaming media outlets” brought together by Keighley according to Polygon. After six nominees are chosen, voting commences. The same media jury consists of 90% of the votes, while the other 10% are decided by fans through the Game Awards website.
According to Polygon, the top six contenders for GOTY 2024 are “Astro Bot,” “Metaphor: ReFantazio,” “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth,” “Balatro,” “Silent Hill 2” and “Dragon Age: The Veilguard.”
Red Pietro, a senior studying games and animation and an officer of Bobcat Esports, has made a list of predictions about nominees and winners. They have kept up with the Game Awards since 2019, and have “been trying to watch every year since.”
Pietro’s top picks for GOTY nominees are “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth,” “Dragon Age: The Veilguard,” “Astrobot” and “Metaphor: ReFantazio.” Pietro predicts “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth” will go on to win the GOTY.
“I think it has the widest appeal and is also the highest reviewed game, the second highest reviewed game of the year,” Pietro said.
“Final Fantasy VII Rebirth” is the second game in a series aiming to remake the original 1997 “Final Fantasy VII,” developed by Square Enix. The first game of the series, “Final Fantasy VII Remake,” was nominated for GOTY in 2020 but lost to “The Last of Us Part II.”
Ten games have won Game of the Year, most of which fall into the action and adventure category or are a role-playing game. Other common aspects GOTY games share is each are typically single-player and driven by narrative.
When a game wins GOTY, developers can expect to see an increase in sales and general interest in the game. After “Elden Ring” won GOTY in 2022, sales increased by 206.4%. With numbers like this, it is no wonder developers strive to have their game nominated.
However, Pietro said a game winning GOTY does not have a huge impact on their interest in a game. Instead, awards act as a form of nostalgia.
“It's notable based on looking back at the year because I'd be like 'oh, that was the year ‘UFO 50’ came out, that was a fun year,’” Pietro said. “But I don't think it matters in the grand scheme of things.”
Clearly, awards and accolades are not the only thing making The Game Awards a special event for the gaming industry and gamers alike.
“I believe that the Game Awards is kind of a celebration of the games industry over the last year,” Pietro said.
GOTY is a coveted and hard-to-earn award, in which only the best games in the industry are awarded. Although the award title may not influence sales performance, the Game Awards is a night of celebration and honor for the hardworking gaming industry.
