The Game Awards 2019

The Game Awards 2019 were held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on December 12, 2019, hosted and produced by Canadian games journalist Geoff Keighley.[1] The show was livestreamed globally in over 50 countries across numerous services, such as YouTube and Twitch, with a pre-show hosted by Sydnee Goodman.[2] The show was also the first to have a live television broadcast in India via MTV India, a significant growing market for the video game industry.[3] Additionally, it was simulcast in select Cinemark movie theaters throughout the United States in partnership with Sony Pictures.[4] The show was watched by 45.2 million people via livestream, including a peak concurrent count of 7 million, representing an increase of 73% from The Game Awards 2018's 26.2 million. Additionally, fan votes totalled 15.5 million, a 50% increase from the previous show as well.[5]

In association with the event, a virtual games festival was held online from December 12–14. During this period, several upcoming games had free demos through Steam that were only available to play during the festival.[6] Keighley stated his intentions to expand this Game Festival to all digital platforms for the 2020 awards.[7]

The show had several guests as award presenters, including former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé, NBA player Stephen Curry, film director Jonathan Nolan, actors Norman Reedus, Vin Diesel, and Michelle Rodriguez, and Muppets characters Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker, among others.[8][9] In addition to the Game Awards Orchestra, the show included musical performances by Chvrches with their song for Death Stranding, Grimes performing her composition for Cyberpunk 2077, and Green Day to promote a Beat Saber content pack featuring their songs.[5]

Nominees were announced on November 19, 2019, with any game released on or before November 15 that year being eligible for consideration.[41][42] Nominees were compiled by jury panels of over 80 media outlets globally for the main awards, and 17 outlets for the esports categories.[42] Users were able to vote for the categories between November 19 and December 11; the net user vote contributed 10% of the final winners, with the remaining 90% coming from the jury panels.[42] The sole exception was the Player's Voice award, which was a fully fan-voted with a three-round nomination process starting with 24 games that ended with four.[43] Additionally, the show included new honorees under the Global Gaming Citizens award for those that used video games for the benefit of their communities.

Following the nominations for the 2019 show, there were some concerns related to possible impropriety due to the number of nominations, including Game of the Year, received by Death Stranding, Kojima Productions' first project after becoming an independent studio from Konami. Keighley had been open about having a friendly relationship with game director Hideo Kojima in the past, and Kojima included Keighley as a cameo character in the game. When these relationships were brought up, Keighley reiterated on social media that he had no part in any of the jury nominations or award selections, stating that since he has to work closely with developers and publishers to prepare the show, he keeps himself at a distance from any selection process. Additionally, while Kojima sits on the advisory board for The Game Awards, Keighley asserted the board had no direct influence on the selections.[44][45]

Games and subjects in bold won their respective category.[46]

• Official website