Event news Game Awards: a major absentee from the video game Oscars
Unmissable annual event for the video game industry, the Game Awards ceremony is the equivalent of the Oscars for video games: it awards prizes for the work carried out by the industry over the past year. An appointment to which the majority of publishers are present, but which this year has observed a rather noticeable absence.
Summary
- Activision Blizzard absent from the show …
- But not from the ceremony
Activision Blizzard absent from the show …
Game Awards presenter and producer Geoff Keighley announced the absence of Activision Blizzard from the ceremony this weekend. It is on Twitter that the ex-journalist announced the news, specifying all the same that the presence of the named titles of the publisher:
Beyond its nominations, I can confirm that Activision | Blizzard will not be a part of this year’s #TheGameAwards
– Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) December 4, 2021
Besides his nominations, I can confirm that Activision | Blizzard will not be part of this edition of the Game Awards.
An absence that Geoff Keighley justifies by indicating that “The Game Awards are a moment of celebration for the industry (…) There is no room for mistreatment, harassment, or predatory practices in any business or communityHe also considers the ceremony to be a major event, making it possible to accelerate or even inspire change.
Statements that come after the heavy accusations against Bobby Kotick, president of Activision-Blizzard. In mid-November, the Wall Street Journal delivered an investigation explaining that Bobby Kotick had known for several years of the toxic behavior of his employees, sometimes stifling business. And if Geoff Keighley takes sides by indicating that the publisher is not part of the ceremony, he is not the first to have spoken on the subject: Nintendo, Xbox or PlayStation have already done so before.
But not from the ceremony
If Activision Blizzard will not play a role in the 2021 edition of the Game Awards, the publisher will still follow the event closely: Rob Kostich, the president of Activision, is on the board of the Game Awards. If this advisory board is not involved in the selection of nominees or winners, he participates in “the progress of the Game Awards mission“.
In addition to Rob Kostich, it is Call of Duty that we find at the Game Awards for this 2021 edition of the Game Awards. He was nominated in the category Best eSport game alongside Counter-Strike, Dota 2, League of Legends or even Valorant.
A program that promises to be very light for Activision Blizzard, especially as Geoff Keighley confirmed in an interview with the Washington Post the absence of Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV during the ceremony. In past years, the publisher had won the title of Best game of the year with Overwatch in 2016 and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice in 2019. Who will have it this year? Answer on the night of Thursday, December 9.
Through Charlanmhg, Writing jeuxvideo.com
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Game Awards: a major absentee from the video game Oscars