I finally find the time to jot down a few lines about The Game Awards 2024.
Fortunately, this year I experienced them almost as an insider, sitting in the thirteenth row at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

I want to focus more on this aspect rather than the awarded or presented video games themselves. During the Uber ride home, I took the time to reflect on my life and career path that led me there.

Yes, because after the main event, the company I work for was the main partner of the official after-party. This meant having a cocktail with Ken Kutaragi, the father of PlayStation, the maestro Hideo Kojima, and many other figures of similar stature. Idols of my childhood self, people who have changed my life and continue to do so through the stories they tell and being able to even just exchange a greeting nod meant a lot to me.

Although I don't work for a gaming company in the strict sense, being able to embrace any aspect of it gives me a huge advantage. Practically unlimited access to those who create, move, and make this world thrive.

I felt extremely fortunate. I retraced all the efforts made, all the sacrifices to get so close to the top while always being careful not to get burned, maintaining the humility and gratitude that characterize me.

It was a moment not so much of happiness as of fulfillment, an important milestone in both my career and my life, which fortunately are increasingly intertwined.
(And I even ended up in the show's live stream, there, tiny in the middle!)

The announcements

As every year, I list here what surprised me the most (complete Microsoft absence too):