The Game Awards founder Geoff Keighley wants it to be as big as the Grammys

For films, there are the Oscars. For music, the Grammys. For television, the Emmys. And for video games, The Game Awards.

They are the brainchild of Geoff Keighley, video game journalist and TV presenter. He got his start as a young teenager in Canada, writing articles about online games. He also wrote for Cybermania ’94, the premier television awards show for video and computer games, and attended the event at Universal Studios Hollywood.

“It made such an impression on me to be in this room where people were celebrating video games and everyone was coming together to celebrate this thing that I had just really loved in my bedroom back home in Canada.”

The experience would sow the seed of The Game Awards.

“I’ve really been on this 30-year journey since then to try to create something that celebrates games in the right way,” he said. “They are the greatest and most powerful form of entertainment in the world.”

He spoke with NPR about the video games that defined 2022, the evolution of the industry, and his hopes for the future of The Game Awards.

Interview Highlights

On the games that defined 2022

2022 has been a very interesting year for the video game industry. There were a lot of big releases at the start of the year, and they got a little quiet, but they picked up again recently with the release of God of War Ragnarökwhich is an amazing game for PlayStation. [It’s] the sequel to the game that won “Game of the Year” in 2018, God of the war.

The other big game that everyone is really talking about is elderberry ring. It came out in February. It’s based on a world created by George RR Martin and made by FromSoftware, a Japanese studio known for its intense and truly hardcore role-playing games. So those are two of the types of great flagship games.

But there are also fun things in the series and fun games that came out like Wander where you play a cat and it’s for the game of the year. And then there is Xenoblade Chronicles, which is a great Nintendo game that was nominated. And there is another indie game called Worship of the Lamb, which is about a crazy little lamb who fights with a sword. So, you know, the fun thing about games is that there’s always something new every year.

Striking a balance between creating an entertaining spectacle and promoting new and upcoming games

What we’re really showing people is a glimpse of where the industry is going and hopefully there’s going to be an excitement like, you know, when you go to the movies, you get excited about the trailers, right? And you’re marketed, but you’re excited to see that content. So yeah, there’s actually kind of a commercial aspect to our show, but we actually get a lot of viewers. I just did a poll last week on Twitter and most fans say what really excites me about the show is the world premieres. And they also have, you know, the ability to see the rewards as part of that.

It’s a careful balance. I think that’s something unique about our show, and that’s part of the reason for our success. But on your point, you know, we’re called The Game Awards, so we want to make sure the awards are also a key part of the experience.

On how video games are now getting more critical acclaim and mainstream attention than before – and are part of that shift

It’s encouraging in a way, because when I started I remember applying to colleges back then and I was writing about video games and people weren’t doing it – they were calling and asking clarification on my application. Like, “What’s this CD-ROM thing you’re writing about? We don’t know what it is.” You know, people didn’t really appreciate or understand the industry, and I think over the last few decades games have become more and more accepted as a valid form of entertainment and really rich and interesting storytelling , progressive technology and narratives. It is comforting to me to see that there has been an acceptance of the power of this medium. And that made our job easier in some ways to do a show like this.

But I still think the gaming industry is facing a little identity crisis. People still talk about the Oscars and the Grammys in a different way from The Game Awards. And I think that’s changing, but there’s still a lot of work to do.

On his hopes for the future of The Game Awards

My goal when I started the series was to create the biggest award show in the world devoted to video games. You know, people always joke about EGOT, okay, where a talent will get, you know, an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. And I always, you know, I hope we end up getting… where The Game Awards are in the mix on this. The idea that we’re one of those shows that’s considered one of the most important recognitions for an industry – and in the same conversation as all of these other big awards shows. So that’s where I think we’re on the right track to get there, and hopefully we’ll continue to grow and develop in that direction.