The Game Awards has been criticised in the past for prioritising advertising over awards, with winning speeches being cut short and on-stage presentations being absent in some categories.
There was praise of 2024’s show for going some way to address criticisms, but developers have continued to call on organiser Geoff Keighley to better acknowledge problems in the industry, such as the high number of job losses in recent years.
This year, there have been complaints about the awards abandoning its Future Class scheme – an initiative founded in 2020 to highlight “rising stars” in video games.
It was last run in 2023, when current and former members of the group signed an open letter urging the awards to address the Israel-Gaza war.
In the run-up to this year’s nominations, after it was confirmed Future Class would not return, alumni accused the scheme of tokenism and not doing enough to help them build contacts.
Last year, the ceremony gave out a new game changer award to Amir Satvat, for his work to help laid-off developers find jobs.
BBC Newsbeat has approached organisers for comment.