Geoff Keighley’s sixth annual The Game Awards continued to grow in a big way this year, racking up over 45 million livestreams and 7.5 million peak concurrent viewers.
The Game Awards has grown its viewership number for the fifth straight year. Last year’s 26.2 million livestreams were dwarfed by this year’s 45.2 million, with an increase of 73 percent.
“It’s surprising I have to say. I thought last year was the peak of things,” Keighley told The Hollywood Reporter. “What’s nice is that it’s not just one place. Pretty much all the platforms that we aired on saw double-digit growth.”
Keighley added that the show was broadcast in new regions this year, with live distribution in countries like Japan, Germany, South Korea, Brazil, and India.
“We’ve added in more global distribution,” Keighley said. “We did some stuff in India this year for the first time. China continues to be a really strong territory. I can’t put my finger on one specific thing, but I think it’s just a general rise in live-streaming has increased global awareness.”
The 2019 version of the show featured performances by Green Day, CHVRCHES, and Grimes, and appearances by Hollywood personalities like Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and even NBA star Stephen Curry.
The viewership numbers for The Game Awards can be seen below, further illustrating how it’s grown in popularity with each iteration:
- 2014: 1.9 million
- 2015: 2.3 million (up 23 percent)
- 2016: 3.8 million (up 65 percent)
- 2017: 11.5 million (up 202 percent)
- 2018: 26.2 million (up 128 percent)
- 2019: 45.2 Million (up 73 percent)
The top winner of the night for 2019’s Game of the Year award was Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.