I’m Geoff Keighley, Producer of the Game Awards. AMA!

Related to Half-Life: Alyx appearing at the show, what can we expect? Will the previous trailer be rebroadcast, or will we see new content from the game?

How has the Game Awards interfered, if at all, with your return to traditional reporting to be seen in The Final Hours?

Lastly, while talking about The Final Hours, how much of your report will cover the games that lead up to HL:A?

Love your work, Tyler McVicker

Hey Tyler! Enjoyed your stream for the reveal.

Game Awards has definitely "interfered" with Final Hours over the past 5 years if you want to put it that way. Building the Awards has taken a lot out of me and required almost my full attention.

But also, if I'm being honest: I just hadn't really been motivated to write another Final Hours. I have to find the right story to tell because those stories take months and months of work. Maybe if Valve had done another single player game a few years ago I would have figured out how to make it work with my schedule.

Not entirely sure what you can expect from Final Hours right now, that's something to figure out in 2020 once I get through next week :)

Is there any chance of a Game of the Decade award next year, or any other decade retrospective stuff? I was really hoping to see one this year.

I'm thinking about this kind of thing, also 2021 and the 50th anniversary of games.

The Game Awards are getting bigger and better every year. Last year, you and your team managed to put Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft on one stage. How hard was it to pull this off?

It was a dream of mine for a long time -- since the first show. I asked all three of the guys personally and they agreed to do it, but it did take months of negotiations to make it happen. A few days before the show I thought it had fallen apart and I was really sad. But then magically it came back together. Producing these shows is always an emotional rollercoaster, but I'm really proud of that moment, and glad I was able to help make it happen.

Will Kyle Bosman have a presence on the (pre) show again?

Kyle is one of the writers, not sure if he will be on camera yet or not!

How does the photo of you with Doritos and Mountain Dew make you feel? I'm looking forward to the Game Awards.

tbh it's not really something I think about much anymore. I would hope my legacy is more than that photo, but if that's the meme I am remembered for then so be it!

Could you possibly release the build of Half-Life 1 that you have on the alpha disc you've shown off in the past? The historical value of that build is immense, at least to me, and I'd love to see what changed over the years.

Again, Thanks

It's not mine to release. That's Valve's call. It's their code. We have been talking about maybe putting out some playable stuff around Final Hours of HL:A in some form for you guys to check out, but we'll have to see.

Can we get a documentary on the game awards one day? I would love to see what goes on behind the scenes!!!

It's a really intense and stressful process, so I'm not sure if I could handle cameras around us all the time :) But I appreciate the interest, I try to share as much as I can on social media about what's going on.

How many reveals / announcements should we be expecting this year? 👀

We have a bunch of brand new games being announced at the show -- I think there are around 10 new games/projects being revealed if you want to count the things that no one has heard about yet. As always the Internet has a lot of really bad information out there about what you think is at the show...but it sure is fun to read :)

Would you ever consider having someone else host? If yes, who from the industry would be your first pick?

As I get older I do think a lot about who I will hand the show over to and when, if we're lucky enough to keep it going. I'm not sure I've fully come up with the answer to this question, but it's something I do ponder. It's certainly my hope that the show and the statue lives well beyond my years as a celebration of excellence for the medium.

Hey Geoff! I’m attending for the first time this year but I’m not 100% sure on the dress code. Could you let me know what it is?

It's business casual!

Any reveals that will surprise the hell out of everyone watching? Any trailers for games people have been waiting forever for?

Dangerous questions! I'm not sure, everyone reacts differently to things. We're just trying to make the best show we can based on the content available to us!

On a scale of 1 to 10, how crazy would you rate Half-Life: Alyx?

Crazy? It's just really good. Playing a game like that reminds me why I love this industry and have devoted my life to celebrating it. You guys will love it, I promise.

Since you are the producer, are you allowed to vote in the awards?

Nope!

Has there been any leaks (like what happened with resident evil 3) that worried you leading up to this event?

There are no plans (never were) to do anything with Resident Evil 3 at the show. A lot of these "leaks" are completely wrong. Nothing about our show has leaked as of this writing.

Hey there, Geoff. Are there restrictions on whether games can be up for Game of the Year in multiple genres? For example, Fire Emblem was left out of the RPG of the Year nominations, but was nominated for Strategy game, even though it shares a lot more DNA with the games in the RPG category than those in the Strategy category. Would it have been possible to be nominated for both? Or was there a conscious decision that it would be classified as a Strategy game rather than an RPG?

Genre definitions are really hard -- especially as action and adventure and RPG games all blend together. If I'm being totally honest I wish we could get rid of the genres all together and focus on crafts. But if we did that, I think a lot of really amazing games wouldn't get recognized. Games are only eligible in one genre to keep things fair, and it's up to the judges to pick a genre based on some general guidelines/definitions we give them. I agree Fire Emblem you could argue for either category.

With The Game Awards attempting to position itself as the "Oscars" of gaming, i.e: the most prestigious or "official" awards of the year, do you intend to remain in control of it in perpetuity or transition to a more decentralized model?

Obviously there are concerns with how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and other organizations run, but I would wonder about the long term vision of an Awards show under one business/organization.

It's a good and fair question. Honestly after working for other companies/media outlets (and producing their awards shows), it was important to me to build this on my own. One of the secrets to our success is that we can move quickly and decisively, versus getting bogged down in politics. I'm always open to adapting and changing the model as needed, but we're pretty happy with how things are running so far. In today's decentralized media landscape individual creators are able to have as strong a voice as big corporate entities/media outlets, and I'm honored to be given this opportunity (and responsibility) to lead the show. We're only official in so far as being the awards show that the industry and fans watch and believe in. I'll always be listening and open to adapting as needed.

Is there an easy explanation for why you don't do the Game Awards after the new year so it can encompass all of the previous year and no 10.5 months, plus 1.5 months of the previous year?

We don't operate on a traditional calendar -- same as I think the Grammy awards cut off is like in August or September I think?

We like the December timing a lot, it's the biggest month of the year for games and a good time to tease what's coming in the future.

As you saw with Smash this year, December games can get nominated the next year.

Has the thought of hosting the awards outside of the USA crossed your mind? Would love the awards to be hosted in the UK

My dream is to one day travel the show around the world -- like the Olympics, do it in major cities. Most of the year I travel the world and I'd love to do the show in New York, London, or even Tokyo. Game Awards live from Tokyo would be amazing. I hope I get to do this in my lifetime.

Do you feel that it's a conflict of interest that you're the producer of the event and in one of the games nominated for a good number of awards?

Lots of thoughts around this, but more than anything, the integrity of the show and the awards is the most important thing of all. I don’t vote on the nominees or winners – that’s done by a jury of 80 global media outlets that we list on the website. That process isn’t the result of me having a cameo in a game, but also because I work with developers on world premieres, announcements, sponsorships, and other aspects of the show. I want the jury to be “blind” to all those other aspects.

But I certainly get any appreciate the concern, and people know that Hideo is a personal friend of mine, as are many other developers in the industry. Look, it sort of cuts both ways – there are developers who won’t talk to me to this day because they are upset they didn’t win an award one year, even though I do not select the winners. If I’m being honest it can sometimes be pretty lonely trying to keep everyone happy. But I just have to stay true to the rules and voting and hope that, if I want to build something that stands the test of time, I act as ethically and fairly as I can. On the other hand it’s really nice that developers – and the community -- value the award so much and care about it.

On that cameo BTW, a bit of background -- Originally Hideo scanned me 2 years ago, in the Fall of 2017, ago for an idea he had of me “introducing” a Death Stranding trailer at Game Awards from within the game world. (Would have been cool!) That never came together, but the scan was still out there. So this summer he told me he was going to use it as a special easter egg in the game. I didn’t perform any kind of role or have any lines in the game (at least any that I recorded, Matt Mercer did that!).

Over the years I’ve "cameoed" in a couple games – Peter Molyneux named a villager in Black and White after me, I remember EA Chicago scanned me for their Marvel fighting game they were doing (it got cancelled). Even going way back I “cameo’d” in the game Blood II, when the developers wrote a rant about me in the end credits. (Which they eventually patched out). Actually way back in the day, on my first trip to id and Apogee in 1994, I recorded a voice over line for Rise of the Triad which I think they used in the game somewhere.

But back to your point, I certainly get the concern. As producer of the show I'm inevitably going to have relationships with people in the industry. That's what allows me to do the show in the first place. The producers of the Oscars, for instance, are often (or almost always) people who produce movies. I don't make games, don't invest in games or own game stock. All I can do is be transparent about those relationships and make sure the voting is separate.

If people think I shouldn't allow my image to be in a game in the future maybe I should say no. I'm just trying to navigate this as best (and as transparently) as I can, as a creative person who wants to do things other than the Awards. I saw some people saying that I shouldn't even be writing Final Hours of Half-Life: Alyx....

how long tga will be?

Probably 2.5 hours or so

What was the main inspiration behind this year’s theme? I really like it!

Games Come Alive? I thought it up this summer when I was in Stockholm for a while. I was listening to this track from Ruelle one night called "Where We Come Alive," and it sounded familiar to me....and then I realized it was in this Google Search Ad last year lol.

Anyway, the lyrics to that song kept turning around in my head and eventually it led me to start thinking of this idea of "Games Come Alive." A positive sense of momentum and excitement about how games are now at the center of popular culture. We are no longer in the shadows, in fact stepping into the light as a leading force of culture. As someone who has covered and been in this industry for 2+ decades it feels like the medium is finally being appreciated....so that's sort of where the theme came from.

What are you hoping wins Game of the Year?

It's an interesting year. In the past couple of years there were clear front runners or battles between a couple of games (God of War or Red Dead, Mario vs. Zelda vs Horizon!), but this year it's really hard to predict.

Hey, Geoff! Good to see you.

How do you feel about the ways this show has changed and grown over the past few years? And I don't know if it's too soon to ask this, seeing as this year's show is still a week away, but do you have any idea what direction you intend to take it in the future?

The show has changed in a lot of ways -- as has the industry. When we started we were pretty focused on boxed products. Now the "ongoing" game space is a big part of what we do, and next week you'll see some pretty incredible things happen in and around the show in that regard.

In terms of where the show goes in the future, next week I'll be announcing a big new concept that is the future of where I want to take not only The Game Awards but events like E3 too. It's a project that's going to take a few years to realize, but it's one of my next big challenges to take on. It's a brand new concept, and something I'm really passionate about. It's going to involve all of you around the world. I can't wait to share it.

Hiya Geoff! Thanks for putting the event together again for another year! Two questions:

1. Are Reggie and Josef going to be at the Awards?
2. Anything Mother 3 (or Earthbound in general) announcements planned? One wink for yes, two for no. 😉

We will start announcing presenters next week!

Hi Geoff!

You have such a long history on the game industry, and i wonder:

How do you see this massive change in media coverage, going from mostly big media companies to a huge part of it coming from usual self-funded people on YouTube/Twitter/Reddit?

I ask that ‘cause i deeply apprecciate your time at Spike’s, GameTrailers (Loved Bonus Round and GT.TV) and also G4. It’s almost impossible to get an high budget show like that off the ground these days.

Is that for the better? Or do you miss it when those huge media companies where investing more money in the medium?

Thank you so much for The Game Awards! It’s amazing.

I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to work with those companies, but the media landscape has changed so much -- It's insane I get to run a show of this scale on my own, but I'm deeply honored to have this chance. It's a positive change....now I just get to make the show I want, and I hope it's one that you guys like. If you don't maybe someone else can create one that works better!

Good day,

1) How were your schooling days like? What kind of student were you back during those days? Do you miss those moments?

2) Is there any country that you would like to visit but did not have a chance to do so? Why?

Thank you.

I really enjoyed school! I got to play and write about games on the side. I've always wanted to go down to Brazil and never have!

How do reveals/announcements get started? Do you reach out to developers or do they reach out to you?

Combo! Sort of goes both ways.

Hey Geoff in previous years you would usually announce what we could be expecting pretty regularly on twitter in terms of game announcements last year, but this year you've kind of left it a surprise what is the thinking behind that this year?

Most of the stuff in the show this year are brand new games. But there is still a week to go :)

What do you think the future of E3 will be? Any plans to host your own E3?

E3 stands at a real crossroads. It's sad. I've been to every E3 since the first one in 1995. I'm trying to do all I can to help.

As WRC 8 was one of the few racing games released this year, could you tell us (if that's possible of course) why it hasn't made it to the nominee list?

From what I've seen on video reviews and articles, it's maybe a niche game (like Dirt Rally 2.0), but a really good racing game that would deserve some recognition.

Thank you!

I would suggest you ask the jury as I don't vote on the nominees or winners. Not trying to give you a stock answer but I really don't know.

How stressful is it planning the game awards and how far in advance do you plan it?

It takes all year to plan! It's funny, some people think I start in October on it.

What is your vision for the show 10, 20, or 30 years from now? Do you feel the show could still happen without you at its helm?

I would hope the show outlives me. I'll keep doing it as long as you guys let me, but I guess there may come a day when I'm just not able to do it for health or other reasons. It definitely takes a lot out of me and is stressful, but a great honor to produce.

I hope in 10/20/30 years from now the show will be the biggest awards show in the world -- that just happens to be about games. I think we'll get there. That's what ultimately motivates me: To firmly cement games as the most important medium for entertainment in the world. That would be pretty cool, because when I started playing games and loving them people thought I was weird :)

Why didn't Ace Combat 7 get nominated for best score or a single nomination at all?

You'd have to ask our voting jury.