Swen Vincke, head of Larian Studios, delivered a speech to announce the Game of the Year (GOTY) at The Game Awards 2024. This was because Baldurs Gate 3, the studio’s most recent title, won the award last year.
The creative director spoke about the current state of the industry and the crisis affecting certain sectors. For some reason, his comments didn’t sit well with various players from China, who decided to review-bomb Baldurs Gate 3 as a way to show their dissatisfaction with his speech.
On the other hand, the community speculates that many Chinese players were upset upon learning that ASTRO BOT won the night’s top award, as they had hoped Black Myth: Wukong would claim victory.
The Game Awards 2024 angered Chinese players
Some Chinese players were clearly upset after watching The Game Awards 2024. This became evident when several of them banded together to launch a negative review bombing campaign against Baldurs Gate 3, the GOTY winner of 2023.
Most of the reviews criticize Swen Vincke’s speech, in which he stated that the greatest titles in the industry are those created to entertain players, not those developed based on metrics aimed at increasing market share, promoting a brand, or meeting sales targets.
Apparently, his comments about sales were what upset Chinese players; however, it is speculated that a poor translation into Chinese made his statements sound much harsher than they actually were.
At the time of writing, Larian Studios’ RPG has received over 540 negative reviews from Chinese players in the last few hours. Many of these reviews mention the importance of sales in the industry, directly referencing Vinckes speech.
“Sales not important? Then player review must not be important either. Take this negative review. GOTY doesn’t have to meet sales targets? I’ll never buy Larian games again.”
Part of the community also speculates that many of the negative reviews stem from Black Myth: Wukong, a Chinese game that competed for GOTY, failing to win the top award, which instead went to PlayStation and Team ASOBI.
The Game Awards will return in 2025 with more announcements and awards
The Game Awards 2024 was a success, drawing excellent audience numbers. For this reason, Geoff Keighley has already confirmed that his flagship event will return for another edition next year.
In fact, The Game Awards 2025 already has a date. Players can mark their calendars, as the awards ceremony is set to take place on December 11 of next year at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California, USA.
