What is Gayming Awards? Twitch's new awards ceremony leaves online community divided

Twitch took to social media to show support for the Gayming Awards 2023, an upcoming award show that celebrates the representation of the LGBTQ+ community in gaming. This year's Gayming Awards show is set to be hosted live on Gayming Magazine's official Twitch page on April 18. Despite the award show representing a community that has been historically overlooked by mainstream award shows, there appears to be some skepticism from certain sections of fans.

Some have criticized the event for being too focused on identity politics rather than gaming itself. However, it is important to note that the Gayming Awards 2023 is a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community's contributions and recognition of its hard work.

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Gayming Awards 2023 nominations revealed

Gayming Magazine recently announced that the Gayming Awards is set to return for its third installment, which will make its Broadway debut. As announced, this year's event will feature more nominations and categories to better support diversity and inclusivity within the gaming industry. The website writes:

"This year, more of the nominations were opened to the public in a continued quest to find and support diversity in games."

Thus far, these are the nominated categories for the Gayming Awards and their subsequent nominees:

Game of the Year -

Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers – Pqube & Fiction Factory Games
Cult of the Lamb – Devolver Digital & Massive Monster
Elden Ring – FromSoftware & Bandai Namco
God of War Ragnarök – SIE Santa Monica Studio

Gayming Magazine Readers Award -

Cult of the Lamb – Devolver Digital & Massive Monster
Disney Dreamlight Valley – Gameloft
Elden Ring – FromSoftware & Bandai Namco
Ghostwire Tokyo – Bethesda Softworks
Horizon Forbidden West – Sony Interactive Entertainment
Stray – Annapurna Interactive & Blue Twelve Studio
Tunic – Finji
Wylde Flowers – Studio Drydock

Best LGBTQ Indie Game -

Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers – Pqube & Fiction Factory Games
Butterfly Soup 2 – Brianna Lei
SIGNALIS – rose-engine & Humble Games
ValiDate: Struggling Singles in your Area – Veritable Joy
We Are OFK – Team OFK
Wylde Flowers – Studio Drydock

LGBTQ Streamer of the Year -

DragTrashly
Espé Symoné
Fox Queen
Gothika Love
HiDro
psoymilk
Sammy M Jay
SuperButterBuns
Toph
Willow

Authentic Representation Award -

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist – Northway Games & Finji
Saints Row – Deep Silver
SIGNALIS – rose-engine & Humble Games
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands – Gearbox & 2K
ValiDate: Struggling Singles in your Area – Veritable Joy
We Are OFK – Team OFK

Best LGBTQ Character -

Bones Three-Wood – Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands– Gearbox & 2K
Bridget – Guilty Gear Strive – Arc System Works
Catalyst – Apex Legends – Respawn & EA
ELSTER – SIGNALIS – rose-engine & Humble Games
Lor – New Tales from the Borderlands – Gearbox & 2K
Tara Wylde – Wylde Flowers – Studio Drydock

Industry Diversity Award -

Code Coven
GaymerX
Girls Run These Worlds
GLITCH
Qweerty Gamers

LGBTQ Streamer Rising Star Class of ’23 -

BetweenTwoGays (Jayce & Ryan)
Blobarella
itsOnlyVega
MadiDuVernay
Marisol Lords
TheJustRyan

Best LGBTQ Tabletop Game of the Year Award -

Adventuring with Pride – A Queero’s Journey – Jack Dixon
Pathfinder Lost Omens – Paizo
Pride Across the Multiverse – Wizards of the Coast
Tower of the Soul – Awfully Queer Heroes

Best LGBTQ Comic Book Moment Award -

Marvel’s Voices ICEMAN – Luciano Vecchio & Marvel Comics
Rockstar and Softboy – Image Comics
Superman: Son of Kal-El – DC Comics
Young Men in Love – Joe Glass and Matt Miner (editors) & A Wave Blue World

What are fans saying?

Despite the overwhelming support for inclusivity in gaming, there are some who have questioned the relevance of the event. Here are some notable reactions:

It is important to note that the gaming industry has traditionally been dominated by a particular demographic, with little representation of marginalized communities. The Gayming Awards provides a platform to acknowledge and celebrate the efforts of those who have helped to challenge and change that norm, promoting a more diverse and inclusive gaming industry.

About the author

Shreyan is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda, focusing on streamer content. He holds a Master's degree in English Literature, and journalism was the most logical next step for him. Although titles like FIFA 08 and GTA San Andreas acted as the catalyst for his love of video games, the exponential growth of the streaming community also propelled his interest in the genre. He also has a prior work experience of 2 years.

Shreyan considers factual and accurate content to be the most important as a creator and a reader. He ensures this by double checking every piece of information in his articles and sourcing it from streamers directly rather than depend on third parties. His works have caught the attention of the heavyweights, with the PR team of Sidemen (a YouTube group he’s been following since his teenage days) and Chess.com reaching out to him for sending exclusive press releases.

Shreyan would love to drop into the virtual world of FIFA/EA FC and explore it further but, he would recommend playing Red Dead Redemption 2 to gaming skeptics for its top-tier gameplay, story and characters. During his downtime, he enjoys balancing his interests in reading, watching films and sports, and of course, playing video games.

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Edited by Dinesh Renthlei