"It's 2012. Barack Obama is president. Gamers are melting down over the ending of Mass Effect 3. Harvey Smith and Raphael Colantonio, then at Dishonored developer Arkane Studios, are flying on a Bethesda-chartered private jet to Los Angeles for the Spike Video Game Awards, hosted by Samuel L. Jackson and held at Sony Pictures Studios. Dishonored is up for several awards, including Game of the Year."
"Things are a little different 13 years later. Donald Trump is president. Gamers are melting down over whether or not Lara Croft is hot enough for them. Arkane Austin doesn't exist anymore (though both Smith and Colantonio are still working on games). And the Game Awards streams online as cable TV is dismantled and sold for parts. The only constant is that the event is still hosted by the same man: Geoff Keighley."
"But the video game industry in which he operates has changed dramatically. Back-to-back years of layoffs and studio closures, market consolidation, and a race to embrace generative AI have left many developers dazed, confused, and unemployed. Video game launches don't have as much fanfare as they did in the aughts -there are no appearances from Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan. And the Game Awards, while still boasting some Hollywood talent, isn't as star-studded as the defunct Spike ceremony."
Between 2012 and 2025 the video game industry underwent major cultural and structural shifts. Early 2010s ceremonies featured celebrity-packed awards nights, private jets, and exuberant reactions from developers celebrating wins. Over the years market consolidation, widespread layoffs, studio closures, and a rapid push toward generative AI reshaped labor and morale. Media distribution shifted from televised ceremonies to online streaming as cable television declined. Game launches lost much of their previous fanfare, and awards shows became less star-studded. Ongoing controversies among gaming communities and changes in consumer and industry priorities created a more uncertain, less glamorous environment for developers and events.
Read at Kotaku
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]