35 articles
2025 in video games
2025 in video games: Switch 2's record 10.36M-unit launch, GTA 6 delayed to Nov 19 2026, EA's $55B take-private, ~4,000 layoffs by July, Battlefield 6 top US seller, Clair Obscur wins TGA Game of the Year.
2026 in video games
2026 in video games: a release year anchored by Grand Theft Auto VI's November launch, with a $213.9 billion global market forecast (Newzoo, +6.1%), Resident Evil Requiem, Nioh 3, Control Resonant, and Wolverine, amid AI-driven RAM price inflation and heavy schedule churn.
22nd British Academy Games Awards
The 22nd British Academy Games Awards (2026 BAFTA Games Awards), held 17 April 2026 in London, honored games released November 2024 to November 2025; Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won Best Game among 17 categories.
29th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards
29th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, presented by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences on February 12, 2026 in Las Vegas; Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won Game of the Year and five awards total, with Evan Wells inducted into the Hall of Fame.
AIAS Hall of Fame
The AIAS Hall of Fame is a career-achievement award given by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences since 1998, when Shigeru Miyamoto became the first inductee.
BlizzCon
BlizzCon is Blizzard Entertainment's single-publisher fan convention at the Anaheim Convention Center since 2005, distinct from trade shows like E3 and Gamescom. Key facts: 35,000–40,000+ peak attendance, Diablo Immortal 2018 backlash, 2019 Hong Kong apology, COVID-era BlizzConline, 2024–2025 cancellations, 2026 return.
British Academy Games Awards
The British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA Games Awards) are BAFTA's annual video game honors, launched in 2004 after the 1998 Interactive Entertainment Awards, voted by about 1,700 industry members plus expert juries; Astro Bot led 2025 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won Best Game in 2026.
D.I.C.E. Awards
D.I.C.E. Awards (Design Innovate Communicate Entertain): annual peer-voted video game awards since 1996 by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, decided by AIAS member instant-runoff voting each February; recent GOTY winners include Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Astro Bot.
E3
E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) was the video game industry's largest annual trade show, held in Los Angeles from 1995, organized by the ESA, opened to the public in 2017, and permanently canceled in December 2023.
Game Developers Conference
Game Developers Conference (GDC), now GDC Festival of Gaming, is the annual professional game industry conference at the Moscone Center, San Francisco. Founded by Chris Crawford in his living room in April 1988; about 30,000 visitors in 2026.
Games Done Quick
Games Done Quick (GDQ), founded by Mike Uyama in 2010, is a semi-annual charity speedrunning marathon series: AGDQ each January for the Prevent Cancer Foundation and SGDQ each summer for Doctors Without Borders, raising over $62 million total.
Gamescom
Gamescom: world's largest video game trade fair and public festival, held every August at Koelnmesse, Cologne since 2009 as successor to Leipzig's Games Convention; organized by Koelnmesse and game association; 373,000-record 2019 attendance, Opening Night Live, global editions.
Golden Joystick Awards
The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, are an annual British video game award show decided by public vote and held each year in London.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on video game industry events
The COVID-19 pandemic canceled video game trade shows including E3 and GDC between 2020 and 2023, shifting game announcements to livestreamed digital showcases like Summer Game Fest.
LAN party
LAN party: a gathering where gamers connect computers or consoles to a local area network, mainly to play multiplayer games together. Peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s before broadband; BYOC tradition; DreamHack 2013 record 22,810 visitors.
List of accolades received by Baldur's Gate 3
The accolades of Baldur's Gate 3 include Game of the Year wins at the Golden Joysticks, The Game Awards, DICE, the GDCA, and the BAFTAs in 2023 and 2024.
List of Game of the Year awards
List of Game of the Year awards: GOTY prizes from The Game Awards, Golden Joysticks, BAFTA, DICE, GDCA, Steam Awards, and Japan Game Awards; voting bodies differ, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 holds a record 540 documented awards.
List of gaming conventions
List of gaming conventions: major video game expos including Gamescom (Cologne, 2009), Tokyo Game Show (1996), PAX, GDC, EGX, G-Star, QuakeCon, and the canceled E3 (1995–2023), with attendance figures and trade versus consumer character.
PAX (event)
PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming conventions founded in 2004 by Penny Arcade's Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, now held in Seattle, Boston, Melbourne, and Philadelphia, featuring expo halls, panels, concerts, tabletop gaming, and the Omegathon.
QuakeCon
QuakeCon: annual LAN party and gaming convention in the Dallas, Texas area, begun August 1996; Guinness record largest free LAN party (7,000 in 2007); BYOC hall, id Software sponsorship, Gaylord Texan venue, 30th anniversary 2026.
Spike Video Game Awards
Spike Video Game Awards (VGAs, final year VGX), annual Spike TV game award show 2003-2013 produced by Geoff Keighley; first GOTY Madden NFL 2004, last Grand Theft Auto V; succeeded by The Game Awards in 2014.
State of Play (video program)
State of Play is Sony Interactive Entertainment's recurring PlayStation video showcase, debuting March 25, 2019 after Sony left E3, airing game reveals and trailers on YouTube and Twitch; its June 2026 show peaked above 3 million viewers.
The Game Award for Game of the Year
The Game Award for Game of the Year, given since 2014 at Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards, honors the year's best video game by a 90% jury and 10% fan vote; Dragon Age: Inquisition won first, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in 2025.
The Game Awards
The Game Awards (TGA): annual video game awards show founded by Geoff Keighley in 2014, successor to the Spike VGAs. Jury of 100+ media outlets votes 90%, fans 10%; 2025 drew a record 171 million livestreams.
The Game Awards 2016
The Game Awards 2016, third annual edition hosted by Geoff Keighley on December 1, 2016 at the Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles; Overwatch won Game of the Year, Kojima received the Industry Icon award, and Zelda: Breath of the Wild premiered.
The Game Awards 2017
The Game Awards 2017, fourth annual ceremony held December 7, 2017 at the Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, hosted by Geoff Keighley. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild won Game of the Year; Nintendo took five awards; Bayonetta 3 and SoulCalibur VI were revealed; 11.5 million livestreams.
The Game Awards 2018
The Game Awards 2018, the fifth annual TGA ceremony held December 6, 2018 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, hosted by Geoff Keighley; God of War won Game of the Year, Red Dead Redemption 2 took four awards, and the broadcast drew 26.2 million livestreams.
The Game Awards 2019
The Game Awards 2019, sixth annual edition of Geoff Keighley's show, held December 12, 2019 in Los Angeles; Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice won Game of the Year, Disco Elysium swept four awards, and the Xbox Series X was revealed to 45.2 million livestreams.
The Game Awards 2020
The Game Awards 2020, Geoff Keighley's virtual December 10, 2020 ceremony from Los Angeles, Tokyo, and London, gave The Last of Us Part II seven awards including Game of the Year and drew a record 83 million livestreams.
The Game Awards 2021
The Game Awards 2021, hosted by Geoff Keighley on December 9, 2021 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, returned in person after a virtual 2020; It Takes Two won Game of the Year and the show drew a record 85 million livestream views.