"Its purpose was to highlight a cohort of individuals working in video games as the bright, bold and inclusive future of the industry. Considering the widespread reach of the annual Keighley-led show, which saw an estimated 154m livestreams last year, Future Class felt like a genuine effort. Inductees were invited to attend the illustrious December ceremony, billed as gaming's Oscars, featured on the official Game Awards website, and promised networking opportunities and career advancement advice."
"However, the programme reportedly struggled from the start. Over the last couple of years, support waned. Now, it appears the Game Awards Future Class has been wholly abandoned. This is the second year in a row Future Class has not announced a new cohort: there are usually 50 inductees across various games industry disciplines, including writing, development, journalism and community management."
Future Class launched in 2020 to spotlight a diverse cohort of roughly 50 rising professionals across development, writing, journalism, and community management, offering ceremony attendance, website features, networking, and career advice. The Game Awards' large audience (an estimated 154 million livestreams) initially gave the programme prominent visibility. Support for Future Class declined over subsequent years, and organisers confirmed there are no active programming plans or a new cohort for 2025. Past inductees report prolonged internal advocacy and describe feeling used for positive publicity before the programme lost momentum amid shifting attitudes toward DEI initiatives.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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