What does the future hold for The Game Awards’ Future Class program?
This question has arisen among industry observers, as for the
second consecutive year
, they have noted the absence of any announcements regarding a new cohort of professionals aimed at showcasing the inclusive future of video games. Game Developer has confirmed that organizers do not intend to establish a Future Class for 2025 and have no plans for programming related to previous or future honorees.
This update was shared with Future Class alumni in a Discord server set up for networking and mentorship. Past honorees, some of whom preferred anonymity, reported to Game Developer that this was the only communication they had received from the organizers in the past year.
“Last year, we concluded our planned programming for the 2023 FC with our TGA mixer, and no new Future Class was inducted,” stated Future Class organizer Emily Weir. “Currently, we do not have intentions for a new Future Class this year and lack active programming for it.”
Weir mentioned that the Discord server will remain accessible for alumni to connect, but indicated that neither she nor Keighley would be actively monitoring it.
Additionally, The Game Awards has removed
the Future Class page from its website
, thus removing the official record of past honorees. The 2023 cohort is also absent from the program’s Medium page, although the Game Awards Future Class Steam Curator page has been updated with games from this class.
Former honorees expressed feelings of neglect. 2023 honoree Emma Kidwell noted her struggles to get updates from Weir and Keighley were met with silence. “To me, it feels disingenuous and suggests they would prefer we just fade away quietly,” she shared.
Malek Teffaha, a 2022 honoree, voiced disappointment over the program’s stagnation, feeling it should have served as a bridge for industry dialogue. Another 2022 alumni, JC Lau, articulated disappointment and skepticism about the supposed future support from the organization, questioning its absence of communication.
