# The Game Awards 2020

The Game Awards 2020 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2020. It was produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley, and took place on December 10, 2020. The preshow ceremony was hosted by Sydnee Goodman. Unlike previous Game Awards, the show was broadcast virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic; Keighley presented at a soundstage in Los Angeles, while musical performances took place virtually at stages in London and Tokyo. The show introduced the award's first Future Class, a list of individuals from the video game industry who best represent the future of video games, Innovation in Accessibility award, an award for games that featured notable accessibility options. The show was live streamed across 45 different platforms. It featured musical performances from the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Eddie Vedder, and presentations from celebrity guests, including Reggie Fils-Aimé, Gal Gadot, Brie Larson, and Keanu Reeves.
The Last of Us Part II received the most nominations and wins in the show's history—eleven and seven, respectively—and was awarded Game of the Year. Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross won Best Narrative for their work on the game, while Laura Bailey was awarded Best Performance for her role as Abby. Several new games were announced, including Ark II, Perfect Dark, and an untitled Mass Effect game. The show was the most expensive ceremony to date. It was viewed by over 83 million streams, the most in its history to date, with 8.3 million concurrent viewers at its peak. It received a mixed reception from media publications, with praise directed at new game announcements, and criticism for not allowing developers more time to speak. Some critics and viewers shared concerns over the success of The Last of Us Part II due to its developer's crunch practices.

## Background

As with previous iterations of The Game Awards, the 2020 show was hosted and produced by Canadian games journalist Geoff Keighley. He returned as an executive producer alongside Kimmie Kim, and Richard Preuss and LeRoy Bennett returned as director and creative director, respectively. Sydnee Goodman returned as host of the preshow. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Keighley did not want to host a normal ceremony. Not wanting to take a hiatus and inspired by the success of Summer Game Fest, he considered hosting from his home but his board urged him to attempt a larger show on par with previous years. In case of a significant surge of COVID-19 cases in California, the crew had several back-up plans, including broadcasting from Keighley's house. He worked with his partners to develop a virtual show; he and his team took inspiration from other shows throughout the year, including the Democratic National Convention, in which the "audience" was featured on virtual screens, as well as the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, wherein the hosts were isolated on stage and the winners accepted via video call.
The presentation used three soundstages in Los Angeles, London, and Tokyo; each had minimal attendees, mostly related to production crew and presenters. Keighley said this allowed them to include additional presentation events as with past shows, as well as explore taking future shows to different venues. The 2020 show—featuring a production of more than 400 people, six of whom are full-time employees—had a budget of under US$10 million and was the most expensive to date, partly due to the COVID-19 tests required for the crew and the worldwide remote camera set-ups. It remained profitable due to revenue from advertisers and sponsors, as well as minor earnings from streaming services. The show's theme was strength and comfort due to the impact of the pandemic. Keighley wanted to implore the theme of unity, given the release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in November 2020; he cited The Game Awards 2018 as an example of this theme, which had led with Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aimé, Microsoft's Phil Spencer, and Sony's Shawn Layden sharing the stage. Keighley felt the inclusion of film and television stars was an interesting way to show a wider appreciation for the industry. His team wanted to include Henry Cavill in the show, but he was busy working on The Witcher.
While developing the show, Keighley spoke to hundreds of viewers via Zoom to discuss their own interests, often alongside industry figures like Valve Corporation president Gabe Newell and Epic Games creative director Donald Mustard. As with the previous show, the presentation ran alongside the Game Festival, consisting of playable demos and additional in-game content. The show introduced the award's first Future Class, a list of individuals from across the video game industry who best represent the future of video games. The inductees included industry professionals such as Kinda Funny's Blessing Adeoye Jr., Naughty Dog's Halley Gross, and GameSpot's Kallie Plagge. The presentation was aired on December 10, 2020, live streamed across more than 45 online platforms. It aired on more than ten networks in China, including Bilibili, Douyin, and Huya Live, and on several networks in India including Disney+ Hotstar, JioTV, and MX Player.

### Announcements

Around April and May in 2020, Keighley was worried about a potential lack of game announcements due to the impact of COVID-19 on the industry; however, several developers were able to submit their announcements and trailers for demonstration. Announcements on recently released and upcoming games were made for:
* Among Us
* Back 4 Blood
* Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
* Disco Elysium
* Dragon Age 4
* Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
* Fortnite
* Forza Horizon 4
* The Elder Scrolls Online
* It Takes Two
* Microsoft Flight Simulator
* Monster Hunter Rise
* Myst
* Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139...
* Oddworld: Soulstorm
* Outriders
* Overcooked! All You Can Eat
* Returnal
* Scarlet Nexus
* Sea of Solitude
* Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge
* Super Meat Boy Forever
* Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
* Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
* Warframe
New games announced during the ceremony included:
* Ark II
* The Callisto Protocol
* Century: Age of Ashes
* Crimson Desert
* Endless Dungeon
* Evil Dead: The Game
* Evil West
* F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch
* Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection
* Loop Hero
* Untitled Mass Effect game
* Open Roads
* Perfect Dark
* Road 96
* Season: A Letter to the Future
* Shady Part of Me
* Tchia
* We Are OFK

## Winners and nominees

The nominees for The Game Awards 2020 were announced on November 18, 2020. Any game released on or before November 20, 2020 was eligible for consideration. The nominees were compiled by a jury panel with members from 96 media outlets globally; ballots were sent to outlets on October 29 and due back on November 6, though they had until November 13 to submit updated ballots. Outlets were required to submit three games for each category to determine the nominees. Winners were determined between the jury (90%) and public votes (10%); the latter was held via the official website and on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, and closed on December 9. The two exceptions were the Most Anticipated Game and Player's Voice awards, which were fully nominated and voted-on by the public; the former was determined exclusively on Twitter and announced during the show, and the latter was announced on December 8 after several rounds of voting. A new Innovation in Accessibility award was added for games that featured notable accessibility options. Around 18.3 million people participated in the public vote, doubling from the previous show.

### Awards

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).

#### Video games

| Game of the Year | Best Game Direction |
| The Last of Us Part II – Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment‡ Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Doom Eternal – id Software / Bethesda Softworks Final Fantasy VII Remake – Square Enix Ghost of Tsushima – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Hades – Supergiant Games | The Last of Us Part II – Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment‡ Final Fantasy VII Remake – Square Enix Ghost of Tsushima – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Hades – Supergiant Games Half-Life: Alyx – Valve |
| Best Narrative | Best Art Direction |
| The Last of Us Part II – Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross‡ 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim – George Kamitani Final Fantasy VII Remake – Kazushige Nojima, Motomu Toriyama, Hiroaki Iwaki, and Sachie Hirano Ghost of Tsushima – Ian Ryan, Liz Albl, Patrick Downs, and Jordan Lemos Hades – Greg Kasavin | Ghost of Tsushima – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment‡ Final Fantasy VII Remake – Square Enix Hades – Supergiant Games The Last of Us Part II – Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment Ori and the Will of the Wisps – Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios |
| Best Score and Music | Best Audio Design |
| Final Fantasy VII Remake – Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu, and Mitsuto Suzuki‡ Doom Eternal – Mick Gordon Hades – Darren Korb The Last of Us Part II – Gustavo Santaolalla and Mac Quayle Ori and the Will of the Wisps – Gareth Coker | The Last of Us Part II – Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment‡ Doom Eternal – id Software / Bethesda Softworks Ghost of Tsushima – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Half-Life: Alyx – Valve Resident Evil 3 – Capcom |
| Best Performance | Games for Impact |
| Laura Bailey as Abby – The Last of Us Part II‡ Logan Cunningham as Hades – Hades Nadji Jeter as Miles Morales – Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ashley Johnson as Ellie – The Last of Us Part II Daisuke Tsuji as Jin Sakai – Ghost of Tsushima | Tell Me Why – Dontnod Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios‡ If Found... – Dreamfeel / Annapurna Interactive Kentucky Route Zero – Cardboard Computer / Annapurna Interactive Spiritfarer – Thunder Lotus Games Through the Darkest of Times – Paintbucket Games / HandyGames |
| Best Ongoing Game | Best Indie Game |
| No Man's Sky – Hello Games‡ Apex Legends – Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts Call of Duty: Warzone – Infinity Ward / Raven Software / Activision Destiny 2 – Bungie Fortnite – Epic Games | Hades – Supergiant Games‡ Carrion – Phobia Game Studio / Devolver Digital Fall Guys – Mediatonic / Devolver Digital Spelunky 2 – Mossmouth Spiritfarer – Thunder Lotus Games |
| Best Mobile Game | Best Community Support |
| Among Us – Innersloth‡ Call of Duty: Mobile – TiMi Studios / Activision Genshin Impact – miHoYo Legends of Runeterra – Riot Games Pokémon Café Mix – Genius Sonority / The Pokémon Company | Fall Guys – Mediatonic / Devolver Digital‡ Apex Legends – Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts Destiny 2 – Bungie Fortnite – Epic Games No Man's Sky – Hello Games Valorant – Riot Games |
| Best VR / AR Game | Innovation in Accessibility |
| Half-Life: Alyx – Valve‡ Dreams – Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment Iron Man VR – Camouflaj / Sony Interactive Entertainment Star Wars Squadrons – Motive Studios / Electronic Arts The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Skydance Interactive | The Last of Us Part II – Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment‡ Assassin's Creed Valhalla – Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft Grounded – Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios HyperDot – Tribe Games / GLITCH Watch Dogs Legion – Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft |
| Best Action Game | Best Action/Adventure Game |
| Hades – Supergiant Games‡ Doom Eternal – id Software / Bethesda Softworks Half-Life: Alyx – Valve Nioh 2 – Team Ninja Streets of Rage 4 – Dotemu | The Last of Us Part II – Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment‡ Assassin's Creed Valhalla – Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft Ghost of Tsushima – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Ori and the Will of the Wisps – Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order – Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts |
| Best Role Playing Game | Best Fighting Game |
| Final Fantasy VII Remake – Square Enix‡ Genshin Impact – miHoYo Persona 5 Royal – Atlus / Sega Wasteland 3 – inXile Entertainment / Deep Silver Yakuza: Like a Dragon – Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / Sega | Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate Edition – NetherRealm Studios / WB Games‡ Granblue Fantasy Versus – Arc System Works / Cygames / Xseed Games One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows – Spike Chunsoft / Bandai Namco Street Fighter V Champion Edition – Dimps / Capcom Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] – French Bread / Arc System Works / Aksys |
| Best Family Game | Best Sim/Strategy Game |
| Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo‡ Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time – Toys for Bob / Activision Fall Guys – Mediatonic / Devolver Digital Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit – Velan Studios / Nintendo Minecraft Dungeons – Mojang Studios / Xbox Game Studios Paper Mario: The Origami King – Intelligent Systems / Nintendo | Microsoft Flight Simulator – Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios‡ Crusader Kings III – Paradox Interactive Desperados III – Mimimi Games / THQ Nordic Gears Tactics – Splash Damage / The Coalition / Xbox Game Studios XCOM: Chimera Squad – Firaxis Games / 2K Games |
| Best Sports/Racing Game | Best Multiplayer Game |
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 – Vicarious Visions / Activision‡ Dirt 5 – Codemasters F1 2020 – Codemasters FIFA 21 – EA Vancouver / EA Sports NBA 2K21 – Visual Concepts / 2K | Among Us – Innersloth‡ Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Call of Duty: Warzone – Infinity Ward / Raven Software / Activision Fall Guys – Mediatonic / Devolver Digital Valorant – Riot Games |
| Best Debut Game | Most Anticipated Game |
| Phasmophobia – Kinetic Games‡ Carrion – Phobia Game Studio / Devolver Digital Mortal Shell – Cold Symmetry / Playstack Raji: An Ancient Epic – Nodding Heads Games / Super.com Röki – Polygon Treehouse / United Label | Elden Ring – FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment‡ God of War sequel – Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment Halo Infinite – 343 Industries / Xbox Game Studios Horizon Forbidden West – Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel – Nintendo Resident Evil Village – Capcom |
| Player's Voice ||
| Ghost of Tsushima – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment‡ The Last of Us Part II – Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment Doom Eternal – id Software / Bethesda Softworks Hades – Supergiant Games Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment ||

#### Esports and creators

| Best Esports Game | Best Esports Athlete |
| League of Legends – Riot Games‡ Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Infinity Ward / Raven Software / Activision Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – Valve Fortnite – Epic Games Valorant – Riot Games | Heo "Showmaker" Su (Damwon Gaming, League of Legends)‡ Anthony "Shotzzy" Cuevas-Castro (Dallas Empire, Call of Duty League) Kim "Canyon" Geon-bu (Damwon Gaming, League of Legends) Matthieu "ZywOo" Herbaut (Team Vitality, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) Ian "Crimsix" Porter (Dallas Empire, Call of Duty League) |
| Best Esports Team | Best Esports Coach |
| G2 Esports (League of Legends)‡ Dallas Empire (Call of Duty League) Damwon Gaming (League of Legends) San Francisco Shock (Overwatch League) Team Secret (Dota 2) | Danny "zonic" Sorensen (Astralis, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)‡ Lee "Zefa" Jae-min (T1, League of Legends) Fabian "Grabbz" Lohmann (G2 Esports, League of Legends) Raymond "rambo" Lussier (Dallas Empire, Call of Duty) Dae-hee "Crusty" Park (San Francisco Shock, Overwatch League) |
| Best Esports Event | Best Esports Host |
| 2020 League of Legends World Championship (League of Legends)‡ 2020 Overwatch League Grand Finals (Overwatch) BLAST Premier: Spring 2020 European Finals (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) Call of Duty League Championship 2020 (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare) IEM Katowice 2020 (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) | Eefje "Sjokz" Depoortere‡ Alex "Goldenboy" Mendez Alex "Machine" Richardson James "Dash" Patterson Jorien "Sheever" van der Heijden |
| Content Creator of the Year | Global Gaming Citizens |
| Rachell "Valkyrae" Hofstetter‡ Timothy "TimTheTatman" Betar Nick "Nickmercs" Kolcheff Jay-Ann Lopez Alanah Pearce | Jennifer Hazel Adam Gazzaley Latinx in Gaming |

### Games with multiple nominations and awards
#### Multiple nominations

The Last of Us Part II received eleven nominations, the most in the show's history. Other games with multiple nominations included Hades with nine, Ghost of Tsushima with eight, Final Fantasy VII Remake with six, and Doom Eternal with five. Sony Interactive Entertainment had 26 total nominations, more than any other publisher, followed by Supergiant Games and Xbox Game Studios with eight.
Games that received multiple nominations :
| Nominations | Game |
| 11 | The Last of Us Part II |
| 9 | Hades |
| 8 | Ghost of Tsushima |
| 6 | Final Fantasy VII Remake |
| 5 | Doom Eternal |
| 4 | Fall Guys |
| 4 | Half-Life: Alyx |
| 3 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons |
| 3 | Fortnite |
| 3 | Ori and the Will of the Wisps |
| 3 | Spider-Man: Miles Morales |
| 3 | Valorant |
| 2 | Among Us |
| 2 | Apex Legends |
| 2 | Assassin's Creed Valhalla |
| 2 | Call of Duty: Warzone |
| 2 | Carrion |
| 2 | Destiny 2 |
| 2 | Genshin Impact |
| 2 | No Man's Sky |
| 2 | Spiritfarer |
Nominations by publisher :
| Nominations | Publisher |
| 26 | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 9 | Supergiant Games |
| 9 | Xbox Game Studios |
| 6 | Activision |
| 6 | Devolver Digital |
| 6 | Nintendo |
| 6 | Square Enix |
| 5 | Bethesda Softworks |
| 5 | Riot Games |
| 5 | Valve |
| 4 | Electronic Arts |
| 3 | Capcom |
| 3 | Epic Games |
| 3 | Sega |
| 3 | Ubisoft |
| 2 |
| 2 | 2K Games |
| 2 | Annapurna Interactive |
| 2 | Bandai Namco |
| 2 | Bungie |
| 2 | Codemasters |
| 2 | Hello Games |
| 2 | Innersloth |
| 2 | miHoYo |
| 2 | Thunder Lotus Games |

#### Multiple awards

The Last of Us Part II received the most wins in the show's history, with seven. Four games—Among Us, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Ghost of Tsushima, and Hades—won two awards. Across its two winning games, Sony Interactive Entertainment won a total of nine awards, while Innersloth, Square Enix, Supergiant Games, and Xbox Game Studios won two.
Games that received multiple wins :
| Awards | Game |
| 7 | The Last of Us Part II |
| 2 | Among Us |
| 2 | Final Fantasy VII Remake |
| 2 | Ghost of Tsushima |
| 2 | Hades |
Wins by publisher :
| Awards | Publisher |
| 9 | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2 | Innersloth |
| 2 | Square Enix |
| 2 | Supergiant Games |
| 2 | Xbox Game Studios |

## Presenters and performers
### Presenters

The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or introduced trailers. All other awards were presented by Keighley or Goodman.
| Name | Role |
| Rand Miller | Presented the launch trailer for Myst for Oculus Quest |
| Stephen A. Smith | Presented the award for Best Esports Athlete |
| Brie Larson | Presented the award for Best Performance |
| Chris Ashton | Presented the gameplay trailer for Back 4 Blood |
| Josh Holmes | Presented the beta announcement trailer for Scavengers |
| Glen Schofield | Presented the reveal trailer for The Callisto Protocol |
| John David Washington | Presented the award for Best Narrative |
| Swedish Chef | Presented the Swedish Chef trailer for Overcooked: All You Can Eat |
| DrLupo | Introduced Future Class |
| Gal Gadot | Presented the award for Games for Impact |
| Tom Holland | Introduced presenter Nolan North |
| Nolan North | Presented the award for Best Multiplayer Game |
| Ralph Macchio | Presented the award for Best Fighting Game |
| Yuji Okumoto | Presented the award for Best Fighting Game |
| Josef Fares | Presented the reveal trailer for It Takes Two |
| Reggie Fils-Aimé | Presented the award for Innovation in Accessibility |
| Troy Baker | Introduced performer Eddie Vedder |
| Jacksepticeye | Presented the award for Content Creator of the Year |
| Donald Mustard | Presented the Master Chief, Blood Gulch, and The Walking Dead trailers for Fortnite Battle Royale |
| Kaskade | Presented the Rocket League Season 2 trailer |
| Keanu Reeves | Presented the award for Best Game Direction |
| Christopher Nolan | Presented the award for Game of the Year |

### Performers

The following individuals or groups performed musical numbers. A planned orchestral version of Cyberpunk 2077's music was scrapped when the game was delayed to the same day as the ceremony, rendering it ineligible for nomination.
| Name | Song | Game(s) | Location |
| Lyn Inaizumi | "Last Surprise (Scramble)" | Persona 5 Strikers | Tokyo |
| OFK | "Follow/Unfollow" | We Are OFK | Virtual |
| London Philharmonic Orchestra | Mario medley | Super Mario series | Abbey Road Studios, London |
| Eddie Vedder | "Future Days" | The Last of Us Part II | Seattle |
| London Philharmonic Orchestra | Game of the Year medley | Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Abbey Road Studios, London |
| London Philharmonic Orchestra | Game of the Year medley | Doom Eternal | Abbey Road Studios, London |
| London Philharmonic Orchestra | Game of the Year medley | Final Fantasy VII Remake | Abbey Road Studios, London |
| London Philharmonic Orchestra | Game of the Year medley | Ghost of Tsushima | Abbey Road Studios, London |
| London Philharmonic Orchestra | Game of the Year medley | Hades | Abbey Road Studios, London |
| London Philharmonic Orchestra | Game of the Year medley | The Last of Us Part II | Abbey Road Studios, London |

## Ratings and reception
### Nominees

Inverse's Corey Plante felt the cutoff date led to several games getting snubbed, including Demon's Souls and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, as well as Pokémon Sword and Shield, which was eligible for both the 2019 and 2020 awards but was unrecognized in both. He felt Ghost of Tsushima was more deserving of a Best Score and Music nomination than Doom Eternal. Den of Geek's Matthew Byrd similarly lamented the lack of recognition for Demon's Souls and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Kat Bailey of USgamer questioned Doom Eternal's nomination for Game of the Year, describing it as "messy, unfocused, and, well, just not as good" as its predecessor. Kotaku Australia's Alex Walker similarly found the nomination misplaced and considered games like Half-Life: Alyx and Microsoft Flight Simulator more deserving.

### Ceremony

The show received a mixed reception from media publications. VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi praised the ceremony, particularly applauding its celebration of diverse games such as The Last of Us Part II and Tell Me Why as well as the varied and interesting new game announcements. Todd Martens of Los Angeles Times felt the show should have allowed more time for the developers to speak and discuss their artistic visions behind the games, noting the presentation does little to demonstrate video games as art. Eurogamer's Martin Robinson said the show was understandably "low-key" but called it a "three-hour long advert". Inverse's Ana Diaz criticized the rapid announcement of winners between premieres and during the preshow, preventing developers from accepting the awards, and its focus on Hollywood actors over game creators.
Similar to concerns over Death Stranding's predominance in the nominations and ceremony for the 2019 awards due to its creator Hideo Kojima's friendship with Keighley, some viewers shared concerns related to The Last of Us Part II at the 2020 awards, both for its awards success and due to the developer's crunch practices. The Last of Us Part II was well-received at release but narrative elements polarized some critics and players, and the game had been subject to review bombing; Keighley clarified the awards were not rigged in the manner some viewers had suggested and there was no influence of Naughty Dog or its staff on the award selection, citing the game's popularity among players and media alike as proven by its runner-up placement in the Player's Voice award. Kotaku's Ian Walker criticized the game's Best Game Direction win, noting Hades should have won due to developer Supergiant Games's less demanding work culture. TheGamer's Peter Glagowski similarly felt the game's awards were a message excusing crunch culture in game development. Keighley felt it would be difficult to incorporate criteria related to games developed under poor industry practices like crunch into the awards selection process without becoming a slippery slope, but believes discussions of these practices should be a conversation held by the larger community.

### Viewership

Over 83 million streams were used to view the ceremony, the most in the show's history to date, with 8.3 million concurrent viewers at its peak. On Twitch, the show had over 2.63 million concurrent viewers, more than double the previous year, with 9,000 creators co-streaming the ceremony. On YouTube, live viewership increased 84 percent over the previous year. In total, live hours viewed increased by over 129 percent across Facebook Gaming, Twitch, and YouTube. The show trended worldwide on Twitter, with a 31 percent increase in conversation from the previous year, while usage of the hashtag #TheGameAwards increased 107 percent. Keighley expressed his surprise by the consistent growth of the show over the years, but confessed it has led him to fear "that year where it doesn't grow ... There's going to be a year where we don't have the same viewers".