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The Game Awards 2019 shatters viewership record with over 45 million livestreams

The Game Awards 2019, which was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on December 12, shattered viewership records with more than 45 million livestreams, up 73% from last year’s edition.

The growth of the annual awards show’s viewership has been nothing short of impressive. From just 1.9 million livestreams in its inaugural 2014 edition, the numbers have steadily increased every year, to 2.3 million in 2015, 3.8 million in 2016, 11.5 million in 2017, 26.2 million in 2018, and now 45.2 million in 2019.

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The Game Awards 2019 also had a peak concurrency of more than 7.5 million global viewers, including more than 2 million across Twitch and YouTube. Particularly on video game-focused Twitch, 4,700 streamers across the world co-streamed the show live, up from 3,300 streamers last year, with many doing real-time translations for their viewers. The peak was 1.3 million concurrent viewers on Twitch, up from 1.1 million in 2018.

Fan participation for this year’s The Game Awards was also up 50% from last year, reaching 15.5 million authenticated votes that were the basis for the awards that were handed out in the record-breaking show.

“We are grateful and humbled by the continued growth of The Game Awards over the past six years,” said the show’s creator and producer, Geoff Keighley, in a statement. “These record-setting results show that gaming culture continues to reach new audiences around the globe, and these numbers re-affirm our distribution approach of streaming the show live and free across more than 50 digital video platforms.”

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice took home The Game Awards 2019’s Game of the Year trophy, beating out Control, Death Stranding, Resident Evil 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and The Outer Worlds. The annual show, however, is now more than just handing out awards, as it also featured appearances by celebrities such as Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Margot Robbie, and J.J. Abrams, as well as performances by Green Day, CHVRCHES, and Grimes.

The Game Awards 2019 was also filled with major announcements, including the name of the next-generation Xbox console the Xbox Series X; Godfall, an action game that is the first title to be revealed for the PlayStation 5; and the May 2020 release of Amazon Games’ MMO New World, which is set during the 17th century in the Age of Exploration.

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The release date of the highly anticipated Star Wars game Star Wars Jedi: Survivor leaked on the game's official Steam page.
A Steam Page for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor went live with this release date information on Monday morning, seemingly ahead of a heavily rumored appearance at The Game Awards. The store page description reveals more details about Star Wars Jedi: Survivor as well as its Deluxe Edition, which contains cosmetics that make protagonist Cal Kestis look like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo and the pre-order bonus with a costume, Lightsaber, and Blaster based on Obi-Wan. 

The "About This Game" section also provides more details on the game. Narratively, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's Steam page explains that "Cal is driven to make a stand during the galaxy’s darkest times -- but how far is he willing to go to protect himself, his crew, and the legacy of the Jedi Order?" On the gameplay side of things, new Force abilities, Lightsaber fighting styles, and enemies to take down are teased. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor looks like it will be a galaxy-trotting adventure like its predecessor the description hints that there will be lots of planets to explore and that they'll be bigger and have more secrets than the ones in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
EA and Respawn Entertainment have been relatively quiet regarding Star Wars Jedi: Survivor since announcing the game in May, so it's exciting to get a lot of new information about the game like its sooner-than-expected release date. If the rumors are true, this may have deflated the hype from one of The Game Awards 2022's big reveals.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will be released for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on March 15, 2023.

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A year like 2022 would usually be considered an off year for gaming tech. We’re two years past the latest console launch, a time that tends to be dominated by peripherals and add-ons. So it’s a surprise that this year ended up being a landmark one for gaming tech. That’s because companies began rolling out new approaches to gaming technology that targeted both accessibility and portability. From devices built around cloud gaming to portables that changed the way PC gaming fundamentally works, the history books may look back at 2022 as the start of a revolution. Here’s what tech dared to push the industry forward, even if it meant taking an experimental risk to do so.

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