The Game Awards serve as the biggest stage when it comes to accomplishments in the gaming world. The ceremony will take place on December 7 at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, California, USA. Gaming enthusiasts can stream the ceremony on all major platforms starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
While it will naturally be interesting to see which titles, artists, and studios secure victory at the show, when the word secure is mentioned in the context of The Game Awards, one is instantly reminded of the fiasco that was put on display by a stage intervener at the 2022 ceremony.
Recently, in a Q&A that was streamed on Twitch, Geoff Keighley, TGA’s founder, confirmed that the security arrangements for the ceremony this time around will be much more stringent. This comes as a reassuring statement to the esteemed attendees and the gaming fans eager to witness the ceremony in LA.
What Exactly Happened at the 2022 The Game Awards Ceremony?
One can find a clip of what happened at the 2022 TGA ceremony when a random individual came to the stage along with the Elden Ring team to receive the award for Game of the Year. A seemingly nonsensical statement was made by the individual, which can be seen here. While it was hilarious to see the crowd applauding the statement made by the stage invader, it speaks volumes in terms of the stage security at the 2022 ceremony.
Fortunately, it wasn’t something that resulted in someone getting hurt physically or being insulted, apart from an erstwhile American president who was mentioned by the individual. Regardless, it was disrespectful to both the recipient of the award and the sanctity of the ceremony.
Akin to most award ceremonies, The Game Awards ceremony is most certainly a formal occasion and an honorable gathering. To prevent something similar from occurring at the 2023 show, the ceremony this time around is going to be much more careful with its security implementations.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only time something of the kind took place during a ceremony involving Keighley. Earlier this year, at Gamescom 2023, the opening night saw Geoff Keighley host the show. After a special performance by the composer of Bethesda’s Starfield, another intervention took place.
An individual clad in a Steve Austin hoodie interrupted Keighley while chanting the keywords Bill Clinton and GTA 6. Geoff Keighley maintained his composure and acted in the most nonreactive and commendable manner possible. For the latest TGA ceremony, Geoff Keighley reassured that security protocols will be better equipped to prevent such interventions. This was during an online Q&A that was streamed on Twitch. The entire recording of the stream can be found here.
The question was asked by a curious individual about the ceremony taking special security measures to prevent the stage crashing. Keighley answered that:
Yeah, we are, we don’t want to talk about that stuff too publicly just because, you know, it’s security and we definitely have plans and we are doing all we can to kind of keep me safe but also everyone watching the show and the audience…
This was followed by Keighley graciously appreciating the questioning individual’s concern on the matter and reiterating that the thing that is prime for The Game Awards is to put up a good show. The primary agenda is to celebrate games and appreciate and honor them, to gather in a collective spirit for the love of gaming.
Such acts are committed for the sake of being relevant during an evening that celebrates years of hard work from studios and development teams and is incredibly asinine and foolish. A few seconds of fame and relevance are not worth ruining the experience of the attendees and perhaps thousands of viewers who tune in to enjoy their favorite games being honored. Hopefully, now that Keighley has ensured that security will be amplified, nothing of this sort should take place.
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