Why The Game Awards has a lot to learn from The Streamer Awards

Despite having a far smaller production budget, The Streamer Awards’ first ceremony was better than The Game Awards. The entertainment industry has a lot to learn from the Twitch and YouTube celebration.

On March 12, 2022 streamers from around the world gathered in Los Angeles, California to honor their industry. The lavish event had a red carpet pre-show and a dazzling three-hour broadcast honoring the content creators who have had the biggest impact in their medium over the last year.

The event was organized by a single streamer – QTCinderella – and a small production team. Despite being its first year, the self-created Streamer Awards ended up being better than The Game Awards and many other award ceremonies that are backed by major corporations.

The Streamer Awards was authentic

Right out of the gate, the ceremony kicked off with hosts QTCinderella and Maya Higa taking joke shots at streamers attending the event. Their sharp comedy perfectly captured the online humor that Twitch and YouTube’s communities have cultivated over the last decade.

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While most award shows take themselves too seriously, The Streamer Awards found the perfect balance of creating a serious production while maintaining an authentic representation of their industry.

No one in attendance held back and it was a refreshing level of confidence desperately missing from most award events which are so tightly scripted that they end up feeling stuffy or stale in comparison.

A great start

The Streamer Awards felt a little rough around the edges at times, whether it was jokes that didn’t fully translate or awkward sound mixing (the show could have done with the audience being microphoned a little louder, for example).

But despite flaws, the ceremony looked absolutely incredible. Given that it was created and run by a small group of streamers is nothing short of a miracle as it easily looked as good as other events which are funded by millions of dollars.

Speaking of advertisers, while they are necessary for these shows, QTCinderella perfectly integrated these sponsorships with hilarious jokes. Unlike the Game Awards which pummels you in the face with commercials for Doritos and the latest Fast and Furious film, the streaming event kept these moments brief and always with an air of levity to them. 

The fact that The Streamer Awards’ production was on par with major industry events is an incredible achievement. QTCinderella easily one-upped many industry veterans and it was her first try – imagine what this show could be like years from now.

The Streamer Awards celebrated streaming

Most importantly, the Streamer Awards ACTUALLY celebrated their own industry and creators. No, they didn’t hand trophies out during commercial breaks or quickly rush a personality off stage to slip in another sponsorship or paid advertisement. 

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QT’s event actually cared about the content creators and the community that helped build what their industry has become today. It sounds insane but an award show that actually celebrated its own industry felt revolutionary.

Even the musical performances were creators who were actually a part of the community and not some random mainstream artist being paid to take a corporate gig.

Look, The Streamer Awards may have had flaws but it had heart and felt like an authentic celebration of the industry BY the industry. 

While The Game Awards is much larger in scope, Geoff Keighley can learn a lot from QTCinderella on how to organize and run an awards ceremony that feels authentic and actually gives creators an opportunity to be recognized for their hard work.

Given that this was just the inaugural event for the streaming celebration, it’s absolutely insane how good it looked and how smoothly it was run. As livestreaming continues to grow in popularity, The Streamer Awards was an example of how the next generation of entertainers is bringing a new perspective to traditional events like award ceremonies.

• Read More: QTCinderella’s The Streamer Awards breaks Twitch records

When all things are said and done, QTCinderella embarrassed many of the old institutions by putting on an event that not only rivaled them in production but had much more heart and care put into it. But most important of all, the event never betrayed the viewers watching from home.