The Future Class—an initiative spearheaded by Geoff Keighley, the producer and host of the Game Awards—has been on ice for two years now, with no news on the program’s status since. Given its purpose of highlighting rising talent within the video games industry from marginalized groups, the initiative has undoubtedly fallen short of its promises, as it has been confirmed that 2025 will not see a new cohort of the Future Class. The two-year-old, original cohort expresses incredible disappointment with how the program has been handled from the very beginning, as communication between cohort honorees and the program heads seems to have been nonexistent almost from the start.
It began fine, with honorees being invited to a Discord community server exclusive to the Future Class cohort members. The program’s primary purpose of being an invaluable networking opportunity for marginalized rising game developers was being fulfilled. This changed shortly after, however, when the program’s second intended purpose ended up backfiring in the face of The Game Awards themselves. The Future class was designed to give a platform to specifically marginalized individuals up-and-coming in the field of video games. As such, being given a platform, the cohort honorees used it to speak out about the issues that marginalized people face. In 2024, cohort members sent a letter to Geoff Keighley requesting that The Game Awards plead for a ceasefire regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict in Gaza. With this came a stark silence from the program heads of the Future Class, speaking volumes to the fact that the event’s sponsors clearly weren’t happy. A feeling that the cohort was being silenced, as though the program leads were hoping they would just “go away quietly”, as stated by former cohort member Emma Kidwell in an interview with Game Developer. With the Game Awards choosing ultimately to remain quiet, not speaking out on the issues, their Future Class—meant to encapsulate the “bright, bold, and inclusive future” of the field—was effectively being ignored by the very people who gave them the microphone and the spotlight to speak out on what they believe in.
All of this being said, other than being listed on The Game Awards’ Future Class website, little to no support is being given to the cohort honorees. No news updates regarding the future of The Game Awards’ Future Class have surfaced, ringing a rather disappointing tune for the possibility of its revival.