After many world premieres and game reveals, The Game Awards 2023 finally got wrapped with some of the most exciting gaming news. From various game reveals to memorable moments, a lot happened during the award ceremony night that sent viewers’ enthusiasm over the roof. That being said, there were some standouts among all others that can be mentioned separately.
Differentiating key moments in this award ceremony from game reveals is a hard job to pull off. However, keeping the game reveals aside, five of the most extravagant moments are listed in this piece.
The five notable moments from The Game Awards 2023
The Game Awards 2023 is mainly done to award games that were the best releases in the year. Besides that, the event also has many world premieres that give a first look at other games that will be released in 2024 or further down the line. In between such big events, there have been moments on stage that were equally surprising.
5) Gonzo and his Chicken delivers the winner of the Best Debut Indie game
Gonzo the Muppet has been a part of The Game Awards for a long time and returned with his chicken called Camilla. The comedy skit pulled off by Geoff Keighley is something that audiences adore. When the Muppet character appeared on stage, he joked about Geoff’s suit and how similar they are. As always the exchange happens funnily and the audience burst into laughter.
But when Gonzo first appeared, many were wondering where Camilla was. However, she came in with a bulletin board covered in Gonzo’s theories. This theory states how every big game these days consists chicken in them. Apparently, that is the single thought process that keeps Gonzo ticking. Jokes apart, this performance was a nice touch and was appreciated by many.
4) Swen Vincke taking the GOTY Award wearing a metal Armor
Swen Vincke, CEO of Larian Studios went viral for wearing metal armor in the past. Thus when the time came for Baldur’s Gate 3 to receive the GOTY Award, he went up on stage wearing a medieval armor set, giving the award presentation a classical touch.
With Baldur’s Gate 3 getting five awards prior to this, the final moment with him wearing the armor was loved by fans and the audience. Every year studio heads or project leads usually step up on stage during presentations to give a personal touch to the event. And Swen’s medieval touch surely did the trick. Additionally, these are the moments people will remember and inspire others in the future.
3) Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2’s Viking-inspired orchestra by Heilung
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is a largely anticipated title from Ninja Theory and has been talked about for years. To reveal the big release date for the title, TGA allowed them to play a musical by “Heilung” that sent shivers down the spine. The theme of the musical was Viking-inspired which fits the setting of Hellblade 2. A sudden performance as such really did surprise the crowd.
With fire, drums, and a dark presentation on the stage, the orchestral performance captivated the audience. Following this performance, Ninja Theory revealed the game with the same musical score, and the game will release in 2024. The melody of the orchestra got stuck in the minds of the masses and netizens can’t stop talking about it.
2) Champion of Light live performance featuring Poets of the Fall
Alan Wake 2 fans requested and wished Poets of the Fall could play at The Game Awards 2023. And once they landed in Los Angeles, everyone knew their wishes will come true The music session was kicked off by David Harewood playing Mr. Door following the same choreography showcased in AW2.
Poets of the Fall took the persona of the Old Gods of Asgard with the same costumes used in the game. Not just that, Ilkka Villi matched vibes by dancing to the immense beats of the song. The voice actor of Alan Wake, Matthew Porretta joined the troupe to give an authentic live-show experience.
This was largely enjoyed by the audience and The Game Awards 2023 has fulfilled the expectations of fans. Alas, the game wasn’t able to win the GOTY, yet got awarded for its unique narrative, game, and art direction, making this performance worth the effort given by the performers.
1) Kratos voice actor Christopher Judge disses Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3’s short campaign
Last year at The Game Awards 2023, Christopher Judge was heavily criticized for having a very long speech that almost bored people out. The award show is all about highlighting every game and the individuals behind it, which the voice actor of Kratos forgot to realize. To redeem himself, he came up on stage to reveal the Best Performance award at The Game Awards 2023.
This time Judge apologized for the last time and promised to stick to the script instead. However, he still went his way for a little while to give a statement that shocked every viewer at the event and sent them laughing. Here’s what he stated:
Fun fact. My speech was actually longer than this year’s Call of Duty campaign
Judge pointed out how short the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 campaign was and even went as far as to say “..another company I will never work for.” Netizens have been talking about it on social media, and the voices have been heard to reach TGA 2023.
Following this, Christopher goes ahead to reveal the Best Performance for this year and gives the trophy over to Neil Newbon for his stellar portrayal of Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3. Both these moments will go down in the history of The Game Awards 2023 and the internet will always remember the moment.
