The Game Awards, in one form or another, have been an annualized tradition in the video game industry since 2003 and 2018 will continue that trend. Creator and Producer of The Game Awards, Geoff Keighley, confirmed today on Twitter that the ceremony will return on Thursday, December 6th at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale on June 8th.
We have a date! @thegameawards returns live on Thursday, December 6 from Los Angeles. Tickets on sale this Friday at https://t.co/j9FsVIzldn I can’t wait to celebrate this industry, and I promise to work as hard as I can to make it a great night for all of us! pic.twitter.com/B5X0tGaXwo
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) June 6, 2018
A new ceremony isn’t a surprise, given how successful last year’s show was. According to The Game Award’s official website, viewership was up 202% over 2016 and saw over 11.5 million viewers across all platforms. For comparison, 2018’s Oscar ceremony garnered 26.5 million viewers and The Game Awards, in its current form, debut show in 2014 had 1.9 million viewers.
The Game Awards, as the name implies, gave out plenty of awards last year during the show (and commercials). Cuphead, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took home the most trophies, with the latter also receiving Game of the Year. You can read the rest of the winners here.
In addition to celebrating the medium, publishers and developers use the big stage as an opportunity to debut new game footage and announcements. Last year’s show had trailers for Soul Calibur 6, Death Stranding, From and Software’s next game, and many more other titles, some of which still have not come out. While the show garners criticism for leaning on these world premieres, it makes sense given the forward-looking nature of the medium. Speaking of premieres, we will have to wait until later this year to see the lineup of possible reveals.
