Game Awards 2024 attendees claim they were urged to stand and clap

Game Awards 2024 attendees claim they were strongly encouraged to clap and give standing ovations by Geoff Keighley and staff throughout the ceremony. 

The 2024 Game Awards have come and gone, the 10-year anniversary of the ceremony dropping some bombshell announcements throughout the event. 

From the unexpected reveal of the new standalone Elden Ring co-op title to Naughty Dog finally unveiling their new IP, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, there were plenty of big takeaways from the awards alongside the list of winners.

While the show was streamed live for those playing along at home, the event itself was filled with game developers, voice actors, and more. 

According to some of those in the crowd, the Game Awards staff spent the whole night “passive-aggressively” shouting at attendees to give standing ovations during announcements and make sure they clapped as loud as possible.

Game Awards staff told attendees when to give standing ovations

Former Santa Monica Studios writer Alanah Pearce revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that producers were “telling people in [her] section that they have to give standing ovations.” 

Further, she claimed Geoff Keighley himself essentially yelled out after announcing that Snoop Dogg would be taking to the stage to perform new music, “You’ll give a standing ovation when he does that.”

Pearce later commented in the post, “It also isn’t a fan section or anything. I’m next to the Sony team, and Josef Faris and Sam Lake are right behind me”, calling the whole situation “weird.”

Another X user commented on the thread and revealed that the “same thing happened to [them] last year!” Therefore, forcing attendees to clap and give standing ovations may be common practice when exciting the crowd at the game award and for those watching at home.

From the sounds of things, this revelation didn’t surprise anyone, with another X user adding that it “explains all the unenthused clapping [they] kept hearing.”