Geoff Keighley let video game developers down
By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.
At this point, you cannot talk about how amazing 2023 has been for the quality of games released this year without also mentioning how it’s been utterly disastrous for the people who made them. But that’s exactly what Geoff Keighley did during this year’s Game Awards.
The numbers vary, but estimates say anywhere between six and seven thousand workers have lost their jobs just this year. No level of studio size or success has been spared. And those who have been let go are now being forced to contend for an ever-dwindling number of open job postings.
“This has been one of the most volatile periods in the games industry in the last 15 years,” said Jakin Vela, executive director of the International Game Developers Association, in an interview with Polygon.
To be clear, Geoff Keighley isn’t responsible for these layoffs, and layoffs are an unfortunate but regular part of this and many other industries. But with the platform Keighley has, he does have a duty to his audience to recognize the conditions under which the games his events celebrate are made. He’s done it before.
In 2021, when Activision Blizzard was hit with a harassment suit by the state of California, Keighley took to X (formerly Twitter) to say the company wouldn’t make an appearance at the show, writing on X, “There is no place for abuse, harassment or predatory practices in any company or any community.”
In that same thread, he also recognized the power and visibility of his platform.
“I also realize we have a big platform which can accelerate and inspire change,” he posted. “We are committed to that, but we
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