It's that wonderful time of year when Big Geoff's Trailer Extravaganza starts gearing up to dole out awards to the year's biggest games—which also means that it's time for a lot of people with no dog in the race to get extremely upset about certain games not getting a nod.
This year, Palworld—which launched in January—is among the notable omissions from the list of nominees, and yeah, that is quite surprising. For a significant chunk of the year, it was a vast, all-consuming game that generated plenty of discourse and many, many hours played. But The Game Awards is not based on player numbers or articles written. It's all vibes, folks. Just a bunch of folks saying "I like this game". And this year, there weren't enough of them to secure Palworld a nomination.
But this hasn't stopped claims that it's been "snubbed" from doing the rounds—an accusation which community manager John Buckley addressed on Twitter.
"No, I don't think Palworld was snubbed," he said. "Twitter has become such a banterless place. Stop being so over dramatic gamers. Not everything is a conspiracy."
No, I don’t think Palworld was snubbed. Twitter has become such a banterless place. Stop being so over dramatic gamers. Not everything is a conspiracy. That being said…Satisfactory was 1000% snubbed and I’ll be voicing that opinion ad nauseam at The Game Awards in person😡November 18, 2024
Yep, Twitter sure is the worst.
Of course, it's natural for fans to want their tastes to be vindicated by large corporate award shows. Is a game truly good if Geoff Keighley doesn't give it a wee pat on the back? Snideness aside, I do get it. I also want the teams behind the games I like to get recognition for their skill and hard work. But when that doesn't happen, it's not a snub.
We've all got games we'd like to see get nominations. In Buckley's case, it's Satisfactory. In mine, it's literally any strategy game. Like... just pop at least one up there. There are so many! A strategy category is way overdue. But see? It's so easy to get wrapped up in this nonsense. We are all just dancing to Big Geoff's tune.
