Summary
- The Game Awards 2024 had the largest global audience ever at 154 million livestreams, up 31% from the previous year.
- Viewer voting increased by 25% to 112 million, with an influx of international viewers from platforms like Bilibili and Weibo.
- Key game announcements at the show included titles like The Witcher 4, Borderlands 4, Elden Ring Nightreign, and The Heretic Prophet.
The Game Awards 2024 has seen major success, gaining the biggest audience yet at one of the annual award shows. Over its ten year history, The Game Awards has come a very long way, with viewers turning out in droves to see if their favorite games won awards and what game announcements are made.
The Game Awards is a monumental time for game developers and fans alike. The event has been held every year, even during the COVID era, celebrating the best games of the year and granting a number of awards to members of the community, as well. The Game Awards had an impressive – but comparitively humble – start, with 1.4 million viewers, and has experienced a meteoric rise since.
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Now, The Game Awards has revealed that 2024 was its biggest year yet, with a stunning 154 million global livestreams. 2023 was a big year for The Game Awards, setting a record of its own, but 2024 saw a 31% increase over 2023, up from 118 million livestreams. In addition to official streams from The Game Awards itself, this number has been aided by co-streams, in which streamers broadcast the show with commentary while their audiences watch. In all, nearly 16,000 co-stream broadcasts were held this year.
The Game Awards 2024 Sets New Records
In addition to overall viewership, The Game Awards 2024 reached new records overall. Outside of platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and X, The Game Awards was also streamed worldwide, including Chinese streaming services like Bilibili and Weibo. With Black Myth: Wukong nominated for the Best Game of the Year award, the show likely found more viewers in China than ever. Viewers were also more involved in the results than usual, with viewer voting rising to 112 million this year, up 25% from 2023.
In addition to the awards themselves, The Game Awards draws attention every year for its live performances and game trailer debuts and reveals. This year’s show saw major game announcements like The Witcher 4, Borderlands 4, Elden Ring Nightreign, and new Naughty Dog title The Heretic Prophet with new teasers and trailers. Live performances included famous names like Snoop Dogg and Twenty One Pilots, and the returning Game Awards Orchestra. Tons of industry names made appearances and presented awards as well, including Todd Howard, Hideo Kojima, Harrison Ford, Sam Lake, Laura Bailey, and Troy Baker.
Now that E3 is officially dead, The Game Awards and Geoff Keighley’s other show, Summer Game Fest, have become some of the predominant shows of the gaming industry. It will be interesting to see if The Game Awards can continue the trend in 2025 and top this year’s numbers and accomplishments.