Rumors are swirling forward of the 2024 Sport Awards Thursday — however they’re not about who will take house the present’s prizes. As an alternative, many of the buzz forward of the tenth anniversary of the Geoff Keighley-hosted occasion, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, is surrounding what large bulletins and trailers online game builders and publishers will select to launch out of the present.
Will Take-Two Interactive use this as its second to lastly reveal the discharge date for “Grant Theft Auto 6”? Will Skydance Interactive and Disney unveil particulars surrounding their intently guarded “Star Wars” recreation? Will Xbox shock avid gamers and shortly reveal the primary downloadable content material (DLC) for MachineGames’ new hit “Indiana Jones and the Nice Circle”?
“I at all times say, individuals get excited to see one factor as a result of they realize it exists — however what about all these issues that you just don’t know exist? That’s what’s type of enjoyable,” Keighley tells Selection. “We at all times see the faux lists on-line of, ‘All these items are getting introduced.’ And it’s simply because these are issues individuals know exist. And I’m like, however, what if there’s a complete set of different issues on the market?”
Keighley and Sport Awards govt producer Kimmie Kim, director Richard Preuss and manufacturing designer LeRoy Bennett are remaining tight-lipped on that entrance, however have loads to say concerning the work that’s gone into prepping the tenth annual Sport Awards.
“What’s attention-grabbing about our present is that each one the clips are on-line,” Keighley stated, noting the present has at all times been free to look at (and rewatch) by way of YouTube and the Sport Awards’ social media channels. “You possibly can see it. It was on anniversary reveals, you need to roll all these clips and all of the issues that occur as a result of you possibly can’t discover them anyplace else. For us, our reveals have been very accessible to everybody for a decade. So we’re going to tip our hat to some nice individuals and moments which have been a part of our present’s historical past — however we’re additionally going to focus loads on the longer term. And with our present, it’s half an award present and half a look-forward to what’s coming subsequent. This viewers actually does wish to see the longer term, so we’ll be targeted not simply on what’s occurring in 2025 in gaming, however I believe you’ll see some issues which can be even additional out on the present.”
It took time, however over the previous decade, the Sport Awards has gained the belief of the gaming trade to interrupt these large moments and publishers plan a yr out to have their titles and bulletins revealed through the present.
“I come from awards reveals just like the Oscars or the VMAs the place, the day after we’ve completed and the present goes out, we plan for the subsequent yr,” Kim says. “And there’s the same vibe right here, the place we’re working intently with the overwhelming majority of recreation firms at all times considering forward, how they needed to collaborate years forward, which we didn’t see the primary couple years.”
Throughout that 10-year time interval, the manufacturing high quality of the present has additionally developed to maintain up with the trade it’s showcasing. For the 2024 present, the manufacturing workforce is working with extra LED screens than ever earlier than for these anniversary surprises.
“Through the years that I’ve been designing the present, yearly, I’m making an attempt to push know-how boundaries and check out various things,” Bennett says. “There’s a sure format that we’ve to stay to due to simply the character of the awards, the video games, and the way you present the video video games on the screens and stuff. However I continuously attempt to change the look of the present and the manufacturing inside the format. This yr includes much more LED screens and modules than we’ve ever had earlier than. It’s a really architectural LED-based set.”
Whereas recreation builders, execs and followers can be celebrating Thursday, it should be famous that the SAG-AFTRA strike towards main gaming publishers rages on and there doesn’t appear to be an finish in sight for the time being for contract negotiations, which largely encompass the difficulty of generative AI in video video games. Keighley and the Sport Awards workforce are monitoring the state of affairs and have saved this in thoughts when reserving expertise for the present.
“We’re studying about it because it evolves and we’ve seen a few of the feedback round what’s a struck recreation, what shouldn’t be a struck recreation, and might individuals seem or not?” Keighley says. “So we wish to be respectful of the performers and their selections and the way they wish to take part within the evolving state of affairs. We’re it daily and making an attempt to be very respectful and we hope for a constructive decision.”
Over the previous 10 years, Kim says the extent of status has risen for the present, whereas it’s additionally managed to keep up its indie standing — not airing on a selected community or streamer behind a paywall, however on YouTube — and create a type of common tribute to the yr in video video games.
“There’s positively individuals invested in it,” Kim stated. “There’s a friendship and partnership the place this can be a workforce, doing this collectively, which I actually discover it attention-grabbing and distinctive to some other award reveals, in a approach. So it turned certainly one of these true group coming collectively moments when planning issues forward. That’s very useful for producing the present, and in addition such a morale booster and rewarding factor that we capable of create.”
Preuss agrees with the all-for-one-and-one-for-all sentiment that he’s seen from the gaming trade relating to the Sport Awards — not one thing typical of a competition-based occasion the place persons are duking it out for the highest prizes.
“The good factor about this present from yr to yr is that there are these surprises, there are these particular bulletins. And it’s a lot greater than concerning the awards,” Preuss says. “It’s a complete celebration of the trade in a approach that I don’t suppose different awards do. They have a good time, in fact, the accomplishments of that yr, which the Sport Awards does — however there’s a only a better historical past inside the present and it additionally at all times seems to be to the longer term.”
The trade may be in love with the Sport Awards — however they don’t love its prolonged runtime. Whereas not alone in that specific difficulty, a typical grievance for the Oscars, Emmys and different prime occasions, Preuss says they’re engaged on bettering it every year.
“Just like loads of different award reveals, it’s all about pumping the fuel and the brakes to maintain the present working as tight as attainable, in order that there’s no awkward pauses,” Preuss says. “And that’s the place our crew is so nice, by way of having the subsequent band arrange, or getting The Muppets — who’ve joined us a few years and are again once more — arrange. Preserving our present very tight, but additionally doing our greatest to let issues breathe appropriately.”
