It was the tenth show hosted by Geoff Keighley, creator and producer of the Game Awards, held with a live audience at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California, on December 7, 2023.

It featured musical performances from Loren Allred, Heilung, and Old Gods of Asgard, and presentations from celebrity guests, including Timothée Chalamet, Christopher Judge, and Matthew McConaughey.

Journalists criticized the show for prioritizing announcements and celebrities over awards, and its lack of acknowledgement of industry layoffs and the ongoing Gaza humanitarian crisis.

[4] The presentation took place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California, on December 7, 2023,[2] and was live streamed across more than 30 online platforms globally, including Facebook, Instagram, Steam, TikTok, Twitch, X, and YouTube.

The list was announced on December 5, featuring individuals like Marvel's Midnight Suns writer Emma Kidwell, The Sims 4 experience design lead Alister Lee, and accessibility consultant Ross Minor.

[8] The Game Awards partnered with Nighttimes and Studio 568 to create an in-game hub world in Fortnite, available from November 14, allowing players to vote for their favorite user-created islands among ten nominees; the winner was announced during the ceremony.

[51][53] The lack of nominations for Hogwarts Legacy was similarly highlighted, with some citing the game's divisiveness as a possible reason,[40][54] though others felt it was due to its relative quality.

[61] Before the ceremony, more than 3,000 game industry members, including 79 previous Future Class recipients[62]—more than half of the 150 members to date[63]—signed an open letter calling for a statement to be read during the show addressing the ongoing Gaza humanitarian crisis, supporting the rights of Palestinians and calling for a ceasefire, and asking the industry to address the dehumanization of people from South West Asia and North Africa and their portrayal as villains or terrorists in games.

The letter's author, 2021 Future Class recipient Younès Rabii, said it was motivated by Meg Jayanth's withdrawal as a presenter at the Golden Joystick Awards in October after being barred from making a statement about Palestinians.

[69][70] Members gave a presentation to Keighley and Bouchac in December about their negative experiences at the show and lack of resources and opportunities throughout the year; some felt their complaints were taken seriously and that the program consequently improved.

[63][71] Obsidian Entertainment director Josh Sawyer called the show "an embarrassing indictment of a segment of the industry desperate for validation via star power with little respect for the devs it's supposedly honoring".

[63] Video Games Chronicle's Andy Robinson empathized with the production team's challenges and considered the show among the best to date but felt it suffered from runtime and curation problems.

[77] Some commentators considered highlights included Old Gods of Asgard's performance[72][78][79] and Abubakar Salim announcing Tales of Kenzera: Zau in memory of his late father.

[90] Dot Esports's Issy van der Velde called it "disappointing but not entirely unexpected" based on the show's history of avoiding acknowledgment.

[92] Game Developer's Chris Kerr criticized Keighley's opening speech for calling for unity but failing to address layoffs, and felt the show should spend "less time chasing a hollow sense of legitimacy by curating a showcase that has the cultural awareness and humanity of a shameless Super Bowl ad".

[94][95][96] Current and former developers countered by citing Call of Duty's higher commercial success, though some deleted their responses and said they respected God of War, in which Judge portrays Kratos.

[97][98] Barry Sloane, who portrays Modern Warfare's Captain Price, similarly criticized Judge's joke but later wrote "all's fair in games and war" and complimented his performances.