The Game Awards and Gamesmon, two of the most prestigious events in the gaming industry, have been plagued by stage invasions in recent years. In 2022, a member of the audience joined the FromSoftware team on stage as they collected an award for Elden Ring, before referencing his “orthodox rabbi Bill Clinton”.
This was followed by a second stage invasion at Gamescom Opening Night Live this year. Keighley was interrupted early during the show by an audience member who appeared to repeat “Bill Clinton wants to play GTA 6” several times before being removed by security.
This has made the showrunners concerned about the safety of Keighley and the other people on stage. It’s gotten far too easy to get onto the stage, but it has also taken a while to get rid of the invaders.
In an interview with VGC shortly after the Gamescom Opening Night Live events, Gamescom head Christian Baur explained that the safety of participants and attendees is of great importance and that security was prepared for the possibility of a stage invasion.
“Our security measures have increased over time and we’re trying to make the whole experience as safe as possible for everybody who attends… In the end it was good because the intention of the person was just something silly but, of course, if somebody with bad intentions would have tried to do the same thing, that was a big risk. And I think it’s something we have to take really seriously, and we have to think of ways we can improve security,”
Gamescom head Christian Baur
In response to these concerns, The Game Awards organizers have announced that they will be tightening security for this year’s event (Thanks VGC).
Some of the security measures that will be in place include:
- Increased security personnel
- More thorough bag checks
- Metal detectors
- A “Safer Space Policy” that encourages attendees to report any suspicious activity
In both of the stage invasions that have occurred, the invaders could get onto the stage by simply walking up to it. Someone who may want to do damage would see how effortless it was for them to do so. I really hope that security is taken more seriously because at this point it’s a huge risk to everyone involved.
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