{"id":1040064,"date":"2026-01-16T21:32:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T21:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=481955"},"modified":"2026-01-16T21:32:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T21:32:27","slug":"in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"In a tough year for video games, the Game Awards nominations give some cause for hope"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure> <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-caption=\"\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope.jpg\" \/><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap has-text-align-none\">Not long after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/480312\/game-awards-2024-nominees-list-game-of-the-year\">Game Awards nominations<\/a> were announced on Monday, we at Polygon noticed something interesting happening in our web traffic. Readers were clicking from our story about the nominations through to reviews of some of the games that had been recognized \u2014 and they were doing so in surprisingly large numbers. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/reviews\/24084564\/balatro-review-poker-game-deck-building-roguelite\">review of indie card game <em>Balatro<\/em><\/a>, which was nominated for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/awards\/450195\/game-of-the-year-game-awards-frontrunners\">Game of the Year<\/a>, was read by more people on Monday than it was in its entire first week of publication in February. Reviews of fellow GOTY nominees <em>Metaphor: ReFantazio<\/em> and <em>Astro Bot<\/em> and indie contender <em>Neva<\/em> all saw significant bumps in readership, too. It seemed like people were more curious than usual about this year\u2019s nominees, and wanted to know more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">This is the bonus of a year with a slightly sparse release schedule and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/24209076\/game-of-the-year-2024-unclear\">no consensus narrative<\/a> about Game of the Year contenders. If you\u2019d been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/awards\/450737\/goty-watch-2024\">following the awards race closely<\/a>, there were few surprises in the Game Awards voting jury\u2019s choices. But if you hadn\u2019t \u2014 or if you hadn\u2019t been following video games in general that closely this year \u2014 the list of nominations presented a lot of unfamiliar names, and a pile of great games to discover.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">This was the main takeaway from Monday\u2019s nominations list. TGA\u2019s voting jury is large and internationally diverse, and in the past its collective taste has tended to settle in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/awards\/450688\/what-makes-game-of-the-year-tgas\">a rather conservative place<\/a>. But the industry\u2019s lean year has led the jury to a suite of nominees that is varied, high-quality, and culturally rich.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">Look at the six nominees for Game of the Year. There is only one sequel from a big franchise (<em>Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth<\/em>). There is a candy-colored, all-ages platformer (<em>Astro Bot<\/em>). There is an original role-playing epic from a studio operating deep within its niche (<em>Metaphor: ReFantazio<\/em>). There is an abstract indie card game made by a solo developer (<em>Balatro<\/em>). There is the first-ever game from China to get a GOTY nomination (<em>Black Myth: Wukong<\/em>). And \u2014 controversially \u2014 there is an expansion pack (<em>Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree<\/em>).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" data-caption=\"&lt;em&gt;Astro Bot&lt;\/em&gt;.\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" \/> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" data-caption=\"&lt;em&gt;Metaphor: ReFantazio&lt;\/em&gt;. | Image: Studio Zero\/Atlus\" data-portal-copyright=\"Image: Studio Zero\/Atlus\" \/> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" data-caption=\"&lt;em&gt;Balatro&lt;\/em&gt;.\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" \/> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" data-caption=\"&lt;em&gt;Black Myth: Wukong&lt;\/em&gt;. | Image: Game Science\" data-portal-copyright=\"Image: Game Science\" \/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">Setting aside the downloadable content controversy for a moment, the prevalence of original games in the GOTY lineup is heartening. And quality isn\u2019t an issue. 2021 was the last year the nominees felt this broad and the race this open \u2014 which was also the only year that all the GOTY nominees scored 90 or lower on Metacritic. This year, all but one have scores exceeding 90 \u2014 and whether you set store in Metacritic\u2019s method of review aggregation or not, it can\u2019t be disputed that these are some genuinely good games. The game industry\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/opinion\/446844\/two-ways-to-save-a-video-game-industry-on-fire\">financial health and stability are in question<\/a>, but if these nominations are anything to go by, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/gaming\/449809\/astro-bot-inspirations-influences-nintendo-platformers\">its creative health is strong<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">Down the ballot, things are a little less adventurous, but there are still signs of a broadening of the voting jury\u2019s horizons. Two of my favorite games this year were <em>Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess<\/em> and <em>Pacific Drive<\/em> \u2014 both highly unusual, slightly awkward genre hybrids. I would never have expected either to get nominated at The Game Awards, but they\u2019ve both been recognized (in Best Sim\/Strategy and Best Debut Indie, respectively).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">There are a few other trends worth highlighting. Perhaps most noticeable: 2024 is the year of the role-playing game, while action-adventures are on the wane. These two genre categories have historically been the strongest by far in terms of GOTY nominees and winners at The Game Awards. Typically, at least half the GOTY nominees have been shared with the Best Action\/Adventure Game category, but this year there is only one (<em>Astro Bot<\/em>, which is nominated in Best Family Game, too). Meanwhile, three RPGs are represented. The RPG category itself is so deep that even a big player like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/awards\/481109\/game-awards-2024-nominees-snubs-surprises\"><em>Dragon Age: The Veilguard <\/em>couldn\u2019t score a nomination<\/a>. Yet over in Best Action\/Adventure, room could be found for Ubisoft\u2019s underperforming <em>Star Wars Outlaws<\/em>, even with its 75 Metascore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">Despite <em>Balatro<\/em>\u2019s breakout nominations in Game of the Year and Game Direction, the siloing of indie games continues to be a problem at The Game Awards. There\u2019s quite a lot of room for smaller games to be recognized across the two indie categories and the indie-skewing Games for Impact, but you can count indie nominations across all the other genre and craft categories on the fingers of one hand: <em>Neva<\/em> in Art Direction, <em>No Man\u2019s Sky<\/em> in Community Support, <em>The Plucky Squire<\/em> in Family Game, <em>Frostpunk 2 <\/em>and <em>Manor Lords <\/em>in Sim\/Strategy. Fantastic, acclaimed games like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/gaming\/475119\/arco-review\"><em>Arco<\/em><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/gaming\/441617\/tactical-breach-wizards-review\"><em>Tactical Breach Wizards<\/em><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/impressions\/460243\/mouthwashing-horror-game-steam-itchio-narrative\"><em>Mouthwashing<\/em><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/2024\/6\/11\/24173823\/1000xresist-impressions\"><em>1000xResist<\/em><\/a>, and <em>Satisfactory<\/em> didn\u2019t make the cut. Considering the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/459580\/too-many-video-games\">incredible quantity and quality<\/a> of indie releases in this and every year, it feels as though the jury\u2019s indie blinkers are still on.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" data-caption=\"&lt;em&gt;Arco&lt;\/em&gt;.\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" \/> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" data-caption=\"&lt;em&gt;1000xResist&lt;\/em&gt;.\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" \/> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" data-caption=\"&lt;em&gt;Tactical Breach Wizards&lt;\/em&gt;.\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" \/> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope-8.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" data-caption=\"&lt;em&gt;Mouthwashing&lt;\/em&gt;.\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">It was surprising, perhaps, to see Sony Interactive Entertainment top the nominations table yet again, with 15 \u2014 most of them for <em>Astro Bot<\/em> and <em>Helldivers 2<\/em>. The company had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/24072730\/no-new-ps5-games-exclusives-2024-release\">downplayed its slate<\/a> for 2024 and perhaps didn\u2019t fully appreciate what it had in these two games before they were released. Microsoft\u2019s aggregate total across Xbox Game Studios, Activision, and Blizzard is not far behind at 12 nominations, though \u2014 and this was a year with no qualifying Bethesda releases. Next year, Microsoft\u2019s stacked slate includes <em>Fable<\/em>, <em>Avowed<\/em>, and <em>Doom: The Dark Ages<\/em>, while Sony has <em>Death Stranding 2<\/em> and <em>Ghost of Yotei <\/em>for starters. The rivalry between these two huge stables of studios is heating up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">Nintendo\u2019s relatively poor performance (six nominations) was to be expected, considering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/nintendo\/23899504\/nintendo-switch-2-release-date-power-name-games\">Switch 2<\/a>\u2019s reported delay into next year. But the Japanese industry as a whole is in rude health as far as the voting jury is concerned, with Square Enix, Sega, and Bandai Namco all boasting <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Game_Awards_2024#Multiple_nominations\">major nomination hauls<\/a> and leaving the likes of Ubisoft, EA, and 2K in the dust. Are Japanese publishers adapting better to the challenges of the moment \u2014 in which AAA development is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/24086441\/final-fantasy-7-rebirth-sony-layoffs-death-of-aaa\">rapidly becoming unaffordable<\/a> \u2014 than their Western counterparts? Creatively, at least, it seems like they might be.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">As for <em>Shadow of the Erdtree<\/em>\u2019s nomination: This appears to have blindsided the public, leading to a lot of angry reactions. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/awards\/480437\/tgas-game-awards-elden-ring-dlc-goty-rules-change\">eleventh-hour clarification about its eligibility<\/a> from The Game Awards didn\u2019t seem to help. There are valid debates to be had about the creative merit of expansions versus original games or iterative sequels. There are also valid questions to be asked about the extent to which The Game Awards outsources tricky delineations like this to a large, diverse jury that likely doesn\u2019t see them all the same way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">But The Game Awards has at least been consistent in its messaging to both the jury and the public that \u201ccreative and technical excellence\u201d is what matters, regardless of the wrapper it comes in. That stance suits a medium as multifaceted and constantly evolving as video games. It\u2019s also what allows a pixelated card game made by one person to take its place on the roll of honor alongside mega-budget blockbusters, and to reach crowds of curious new players in the process. Maybe a bit of confusion and controversy is a price worth paying for that. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/awards\/481955\/game-awards-goty-nominations-2024-analysis\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not long after the Game Awards nominations were announced on Monday, we at Polygon noticed something interesting happening in our web traffic. Readers were clicking from our story about the nominations through to reviews of some of the games that had been recognized \u2014 and they were doing so in surprisingly large numbers. Our review of indie card game Balatro, which was nominated for Game of the Year, was read by more people on Monday than it was in its entire first week of publication in February. Reviews of fellow GOTY nominees Metaphor: ReFantazio and Astro Bot and indie contender Neva all saw significant bumps in readership, too. It seemed like people were more curious than usual about this year\u2019s nominees, and wanted to know&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"excerpt-more\"><a class=\"blog-excerpt button\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1040065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1040064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>In a tough year for video games, the Game Awards nominations give some cause for hope | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Not long after the Game Awards nominations were announced on Monday, we at Polygon noticed something interesting happening in our web traffic. Readers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In a tough year for video games, the Game Awards nominations give some cause for hope | Arcader News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Not long after the Game Awards nominations were announced on Monday, we at Polygon noticed something interesting happening in our web traffic. Readers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-16T21:32:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"272\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"headline\":\"In a tough year for video games, the Game Awards nominations give some cause for hope\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-16T21:32:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1221,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Polygon\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\\\/\",\"name\":\"In a tough year for video games, the Game Awards nominations give some cause for hope | Arcader News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-16T21:32:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"description\":\"Not long after the Game Awards nominations were announced on Monday, we at Polygon noticed something interesting happening in our web traffic. Readers\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope.jpg\",\"width\":480,\"height\":272,\"caption\":\"In a tough year for video games, the Game Awards nominations give some cause for hope\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"In a tough year for video games, the Game Awards nominations give some cause for hope\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"description\":\"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arcade News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cricketgames.tv\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/author\\\/arcade-news\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"In a tough year for video games, the Game Awards nominations give some cause for hope | Arcader News","description":"Not long after the Game Awards nominations were announced on Monday, we at Polygon noticed something interesting happening in our web traffic. Readers","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"In a tough year for video games, the Game Awards nominations give some cause for hope | Arcader News","og_description":"Not long after the Game Awards nominations were announced on Monday, we at Polygon noticed something interesting happening in our web traffic. Readers","og_url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/","og_site_name":"Arcade News","article_published_time":"2026-01-16T21:32:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":272,"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Arcade News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arcade News","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/"},"author":{"name":"Arcade News","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"headline":"In a tough year for video games, the Game Awards nominations give some cause for hope","datePublished":"2026-01-16T21:32:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/"},"wordCount":1221,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope.jpg","articleSection":["Polygon"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/","name":"In a tough year for video games, the Game Awards nominations give some cause for hope | Arcader News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-16T21:32:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"description":"Not long after the Game Awards nominations were announced on Monday, we at Polygon noticed something interesting happening in our web traffic. Readers","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope.jpg","width":480,"height":272,"caption":"In a tough year for video games, the Game Awards nominations give some cause for hope"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/in-a-tough-year-for-video-games-the-game-awards-nominations-give-some-cause-for-hope\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"In a tough year for video games, the Game Awards nominations give some cause for hope"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/","name":"Arcade News","description":"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839","name":"Arcade News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arcade News"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/cricketgames.tv"],"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/author\/arcade-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1040064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1040064"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1040064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1464614,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1040064\/revisions\/1464614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1040065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1040064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1040064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1040064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}