The Game Awards 2023 under fire for rushing every single winning speech

Game Awards 2023 host Geoff Keighley has addressed complaints that winning speeches were constantly rushed throughout the show.

The annual Game Awards typically receive some form of ire from spectators. Many dislike that not every category gets the spotlight on the main stage. The number and frequency of ads regularly serve as a topic of discussion during and after each year’s ceremony, as well.

But the 2023 show specifically hit a nerve because of the minimal time allotted to each recipient’s speech. A 30-second timer counted down the seconds as developers and other industry professionals thanked their teams, families, and fans. If they ran over the set time, ‘wrap it up’ music started playing accompanied by a notice on the teleprompter.

It seemed especially egregious early on, with Neil Newbon’s Best Performance win for Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3. Viewers also took umbrage with the organizers hurrying Alan Wake 2’s Sam Lake and BG3’s Swen Vincke off stage during their heartfelt speeches. Fortunately, show host Geoff Keighley has acknowledged the problem.

Keighley addresses Game Awards 2023 speech timer criticism

Countless developers, pundits, and enthusiasts called out The Game Awards for limiting how much time each award winner had to deliver their acceptance speeches.

Developer Rami Ismail noted the discrepancy in the show “playing Sam Lake off stage,” while Kojima participated in a minutes-long segment for a game “that has literally nothing to show yet.”

YouTuber Benjamin Breuer also commented on the issue: “The Game Awards really looked at the critiques about Christopher Judge’s really long speech from last year and learned the wrong lesson from it.”

In addressing the critiques, Geoff Keighley agreed the ‘wrap it up’ music played too quickly. He continued, “I asked our team to relax that rule as the show went on. While no one was actually cut off, it’s something to address going forward.”

I have a hard time reconciling playing Sam Lake off the stage after 30 seconds, or the publisher representing COCOON's devs after the same, but having a many minutes-long Kojima bit for a game that has literally nothing to show yet. That felt wrong, genuinely.

— Rami Ismail / رامي (@tha_rami) December 8, 2023

By the way – I do agree that the music was played too fast for award winners this year, and I asked our team to relax that rule as the show went on. While no one was actually cut off, it’s something to address going forward.

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) December 8, 2023

Responses to Keighley’s post note that while recipients weren’t cut off, they were most certainly “played over.” Apex Legends developer Tyler Owens wrote, “In the crowd you could barely hear Sam Lake speak as you played him off stage, drowning him out with the music from AW2.”

Interestingly, a YouTuber compiled a video featuring every Game Awards 2023 speech. It runs just over 10 minutes long. As one Twitter user put it, speeches took up only five percent or so of a three-hour show. At least it seems Keighley’s set on rectifying this problem for future ceremonies.