A common complaint about The Game Awards is that it often fails to acknowledge wider issues in the industry.
Against a backdrop of widespread layoffs worldwide – a trend that has continued this year – critics of the 2023 show called for winners to be given more time on-stage to speak out.
This year’s the event introduced the Game Changers Award.
The winner, Amir Satvat, a director at Tencent Games in the US, set up a personal project to help recently laid-off game developers find new work.
In an emotional acceptance speech, he said “growing up, all I ever wanted was to be a part of the video game industry”.
He also thanked his parents, who he said “taught me that my value lies in how I treat other people”.
Larian Studios boss Swen Vincke, who presented the Game of the Year award after his team’s Baldur’s Gate 3 won the title last year, was also praised for his remarks.
He took aim at chasing market share and “arbitrary sales targets” and mourned the “lost art” of studios making “a game they want to play themselves”.
source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0rn57j1lkeo
