Game Awards’ Fake Trailer Confusingly Hypes ‘Gaming’s Biggest Night’
Elden Ring, written by Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin, features in a Game Awards hype trailer despite having nothing to do with this year's nominations. | Source: Shutterstock.com
- The Game Awards take place this Thurs. Dec. 12.
- Host Geoff Keighley has prepared a hype trailer for the occasion.
- Despite featuring unsubtle nods at unreleased titles, the trailer isn’t teasing any of the reveals set for the event.
The gaming industry’s go-to host Geoff Keighley has pieced together a hype trailer for this Thursday’s The Game Awards. The two-minute teaser is a veritable assault on the senses as countless clips of the year’s biggest games shuffle past at breakneck speed.
Award Nominees Steal The Show
Numerous titles nominated for the various awards set to be dished out make an appearance. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, A Plague Tale: Innocence, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Gears 5, Borderlands 3, Fortnite, Luigi’s Mansion 3, and more.
The trailer also features an unmissable glut of Death Stranding clips. The reason for this may lie in the fact Hideo Kojima’s latest title is peppered with cinematic sequences that suit this type of trailer. Or maybe because of Keighley’s links to the title.
Either way, it will do little to quiet down those that feel the multiple nominations afforded Death Stranding reek of impropriety and a conflict of interest for Keighley .
Fake Teases For The Game Awards
At first glance, the trailer appears to fuel much of the speculation around the 15 odd titles penciled in for a reveal during the event. There are glimpses of Overwatch 2, and Half-Life: Alyx. But, more interestingly, we see From Software and George R.R. Martin’s fantasy collaboration, Elden Ring, which many speculate will feature during The Game Awards.
Alongside the trailer, Keighley also authored an accompanying tweet explaining that he personally edited the trailer. He also states, in no uncertain terms, that nothing in the trailer is there to tease any of the reveals and announcements slated for The Game Awards.
With that in mind, the whole affair seems a disingenuous exercise in toying with gamer expectations. Why include highly-anticipated unreleased titles in The Game Awards trailer if they won’t feature during the event?
Geoff Keighley says he did so under the guise of telling a story. Yet, he could have achieved the same result sticking to footage from released games nominated for awards.
