After scandal: Activision does not want to have “The Game Awards” with Blizzard
Activision Blizzard has taken another blow. They are not allowed to introduce any new games at the Game Awards 2021.
The negative news about and for Activision Blizzard is currently not ending. An opportunity to present future games on a big stage is now going through their fingers. At the Game Awards, they don’t want to give Activision Blizzard a stage – they simply don’t have a place for companies with abuse and harassment.
What are the Game Awards? The Game Awards were launched in 2014 by Geoff Keighley. He is always the host of the awards, but you may also know him from Gamescom, because there he produces the program for the “Opening Night Live”, at which the biggest innovations are announced.
The Game Awards are about choosing the best game titles of the past year in numerous categories. At the same time, it is also an opportunity for many publishers and developers to unveil upcoming games and show first, exclusive pictures of the next top games.
This year, the Game Awards will take place on Friday, December 10th – from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.
What was said now? Geoff Keighley announced on Twitter that Activision Blizzard will not make a big appearance at the Game Awards. Games from Activision Blizzard only appear in the nominations, after all Call of Duty (“Best Esports Game”) and Warzone (“Best Ongoing Game”) were nominated.
Keighley explains on Twitter:
The Game Awards are a time of celebration for this industry, the greatest form of entertainment in the world.
There is no place for abuse or harassment in any company or community.
Geoff Keighley up Twitter
He further explains in a follow-up tweet:
I am also aware that we have a large platform that can inspire and accelerate change. We are committed to this, but we must all work together to create a better, more inclusive work environment where everyone can feel comfortable and build the best games in the world.
Geoff Keighley up Twitter
Anyone who has been looking forward to the big new announcements from Activision Blizzard will probably not see them at least at the Game Awards. Since at least Blizzard recently canceled BlizzConline 2022, at least not much was to be expected from this direction anyway.
What does that mean? It is relatively rare that such a big developer as Activision Blizzard does not even appear in the categories apart from the nominations and possible winnings. After all, the Game Awards are not only used to honor past titles, but also to give an outlook on the future. Trailers or short comments from the developers on upcoming projects should hyping fans and players a bit – regardless of the fact that it is a solid advertisement for their own projects.
The fact that the Game Awards do not want to offer a large platform to Activision Blizzard is another, quite open sign of rejection and joins many reviews. The bosses of PlayStation and Xbox had already expressed themselves critical of Activision Blizzard and especially Bobby Kotick.
Reference-mein-mmo.de