Less Than 10% of The Game Awards Was Actually Focused On the Awards

2 weeks ago 13

Covering the video games industry since 2017, with experience in news, articles, lists, and reviews (and I blame The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for that).

If you are a fan of RPGs and want a third-person version: Tayná Garcia is a Brazilian journalist (but you can call her Tay) who ended up working with video games after finishing Zelda: Majora's Mask when she was a kid. With more than eight years of experience in the segment, she has been an assistant editor at Jovem Nerd in the past and is currently a contributor at DualShockers and a writer for gaming magazines for Editora Europa. Oh, and she may like Hideo Kojima a bit too much.

We all know that The Game Awards’ primary focus is supposed to be celebrating the best games released throughout the year, culminating in special prizes and also the coveted "Game of the Year" title (or GOTY for short).

However, it is also no secret that the majority of viewers tune in live because the ceremony serves as one of the main stages for spectacular trailer reveals and major new game announcements – and we got many of them in The Game Awards 2025.

Now, the community has just discovered that, in terms of screen time, it appears that the awards themselves didn't receive much attention at all in this year’s edition.

Only 17 Minutes Of Trophies In A 3.5 Hour Show

Less Than 10 of The Game Awards Was Actually Focused On the Awards

According to an analysis made on ResetEra by the user SplashWaver, The Game Awards 2025’s ceremony lasted approximately three hours and 35 minutes, and only 17 minutes were actually dedicated to the award presentations.

This number represents only about 8% of the total runtime, a statistic that has caused surprise and debate across the community.

It is important to highlight that the number ended up quite short because many of the awards were quickly revealed without giving the winners a chance to take the stage.

For instance, out of the 30 categories, only nine included an acceptance speech on the main stage: Game of the Year (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33), Best Game Direction (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33), Best Narrative (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33), Best Score & Music (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33), Best Performance (Jennifer English), Games for Impact (South of Midnight), Best Ongoing Game (No Man's Sky), Best Action Game (Hades II), and Best Multiplayer Game (Arc Raiders).

The ResetEra user even compiled a video showing the entire 17 minutes of award announcements. You can check it out below:

Still, at least no one was interrupted before finishing their speech this year, as happened in previous years, generating the infamous "please, wrap it up" meme. Oh, and we must also remember that time was dedicated to musical performances, sketches featuring the Muppets, and, of course, a massive amount of announcements and trailers.