The Game Awards 2020 Confirmed for Virtual Release

As the effects of COVID-19 are being seen worldwide, companies are attempting to take extra precautions to keep employees and consumers safe, while still providing quality services. Just over a month ago, Ubisoft launched its first Ubisoft Forward virtual event, Sony premiered its State of Play 2020 and PlayStation 5 reveal, both online. After the overwhelming success of virtual events like these, it seems that the famous Game Awards will also be going digital.

In a recent report from IGN, host and creator of The Game Awards, Geoff Keighley confirmed that the show would be moving online for 2020. When asked, his specific words were: "Yeah... what I will say about it is, we have a very interesting plan for the show this year. We're definitely doing it. A lot of people are [asking], 'Are you delaying it? The Oscars are being postponed, are you postponing The Game Awards?' We are absolutely not. We'll share more in the coming weeks about it, but it's actually probably going to be our biggest show yet.”

Despite being busy with the four month long Summer Game Fest, Keighley seems to have a fair amount of enthusiasm for his next show, as it has been a fan favorite for years. According to Keighly, the team is trying to create a virtual show that captures the live experience...without cramming thousands of people together in a theater. He even revealed that something similar to their plans for The Game Awards would be featured in Gamescom, airing later this week. 

Although no specifics have been reported other than the confirmation of this event, fans can likely expect this event to launch in December, as it has in years past. In addition, it is too soon to guess which games will be nominated for this year, but fingers are pointing to critically-acclaimed titles such as The Last of Us 2, Ghost of Tsushima, and even Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which is more than likely to be in consideration for multiple awards, including Game of the Year.

The Game Awards has always been a widely watched and exciting show, and Keighly's announcement excites fans even more, especially as new games are set to release in the near future. For example, Marvel's Agengers is set to release on September 4, and many fans are expecting a next-generation console release around November 2020, which brings a slew of new games. But as for the Game of the Year 2020, it seems that fans will have to wait a bit longer.

Kieran Mouritsen
Editor, NoobFeed