The Game Awards Will Host Its 2020 Show From Three Remote Locations

Across different forms of entertainment, the mentality of "the show must go on" has led to some pretty different takes on doing awards shows in the middle of a pandemic, some more successful than others. Video game journalist, presenter, and PlayStation 5 pre-order prophet Geoff Keighley will be taking his own stab at making a remote ceremony with this year's Game Awards, which are set to air on December 10.

Instead of the usual big production hosted from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, an unworkable format because of COVID-19, The Game Awards 2020 will instead be broadcast live with presenters in three cities: Los Angeles, Tokyo, and London. Each city's stage won't have a live audience and Keighley tells Variety that the show may follow the example set by the Emmys, where nominees appeared via video from their homes.

Keighley, a friend and huge fan of Hideo Kojima's work, even says that he was inspired by Death Stranding while envisioning this year's ceremony. Yes, 2019 brought us the term "strand games," and now I guess we have strand awards shows too.

This year will mark the first time the show gives out its new Innovation in Accessibility award, which "recognizes software and/or hardware developers that are pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience." It'll be a while yet before nominees for any category are settled on, but don't be surprised if The Last of Us Part 2 tops the list.

Returning for the 2020 show, The Game Festival will present free, playable demos to accompany the ceremony's usual onslaught of trailers and announcements. Expect details on that lineup come November.

As for which games will be considered for 2020's awards show, Keighley hasn't settled on a cut-off date just yet. With the next-gen consoles launching just a month before the show, and Cyberpunk 2077 about a week after that, The Game Awards may nudge the eligibility date a bit closer to the actual show to let all the holiday-season newness go up against 2020's other heavy-hitters.