The Game Awards have gradually become one of the gaming community’s “must-see” events. If nothing else, it’s a place where developers can make announcements and fans can rant about who won and who lost. The show’s 2022 edition will premiere on December 8th, so voting for the event has begun. It’s been open for about a week at this point.
As a result, fans have complete access to the categories and can vote for their favorite games to win. However, this does not always influence the outcome. But it doesn’t stop people from making their thoughts known.
We have proof, as The Game Awards announced on their official Twitter account that the show has already received 35 million votes. That’s more than double what the show had during its first week of voting last year, according to their tweet.
You have voted in record setting numbers on #TheGameAwards
35 million in the first 7 days — more than double last year’s first week.
Keep voting, polls are open until December 7 at https://t.co/GRYmmn8fdH and https://t.co/dnqsTSe6TC pic.twitter.com/zFqQlOhlOt
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) November 22, 2022
To be clear, this does not imply that 35 million gamers voted. That means 35 million votes have been counted. There are many categories in the show’s structure, so if everyone votes across the board, the total quickly adds up. Still, 35 million votes from the gaming community is impressive, and it will be interesting to see if it has any future impact.
If you’re wondering what we meant when we said that fan voting “didn’t sway the verdict,” the answer is simple. In terms of determining the winner, the show’s structure is decided by a jury and a fan vote. The jury receives 90% of the votes, while the fan vote receives 10%.
That’s a small number, but it’s the one they went with.
There are some categories where fan votes are completely irrelevant, but they are in the minority.
The system is one of the reasons why The Game Awards aren’t always taken seriously. They’ve made big “swerves” in terms of winners in the past, and sometimes they go for the “easy pick” for Game of the Year rather than “thinking on their own two feet.” Due to “time constraints,” Geoff Keighley admitted that the jury does not play all of the games for Game of the Year, further diluting the result.
With A Plague’s Tale Requiem, Elden Ring, God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon: Forbidden West, Stray, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 all in the running for the top prize, it’ll be interesting to see who the jury and fans pick as the winner. On December 8th, we’ll find out.
