Fans excited to join one of gaming’s biggest yearly events were left frustrated when The Game Awards website crashed. On Monday, November 17—when the 2025 nominations were revealed and voting opened—hundreds said they couldn’t access the site to check categories or vote for their favorite games.
What Exactly Was the Problem?
The problem was a classic example of heavy traffic overwhelming a website. Millions of fans rushed to The Game Awards site at the same time, causing it to stop loading for many. Users couldn’t view the nominations or submit votes in any category. The large number of complaints made it clear the servers couldn’t handle the sudden spike, resulting in a crash that shut out viewers worldwide.
How Did Viewers React to the Outage?
Frustrated fans quickly went to social media to air their complaints, tagging the show’s creator and host, Geoff Keighley. Their posts made it clear just how widespread the frustration was. One user directly pleaded, “SDN, The Game Awards Website is not letting me vote and I want to vote for Dispatch, can you fix it?”. Another expressed their impatience, stating, “Game Awards website keeps crashing every time I get a few votes in I just wanna vote before I forget man.” The tone ranged from desperate to sarcastic, with one tweet joking, “The Game Awards website must be on the same wifi as Nintendo’s servers. Trash.”
Why Was There So Much Traffic?
The timing of the crash is no coincidence. The Game Awards, hosted by Geoff Keighley, is a premier event in the gaming industry, and the opening of fan voting is a highly anticipated moment. With the 2025 ceremony scheduled for December 11, the November 17 announcement of nominees traditionally triggers a massive wave of fan engagement. Millions of passionate gamers were attempting to access the site at the same time to support their favorite games, creating a traffic spike that ultimately overwhelmed the platform’s infrastructure.
What’s Next?
The technical difficulties cast a shadow on the launch of the voting period for the upcoming live show. The incident highlights the challenges of running a global fan-voted event with such a massive and engaged audience. While the website issues were a significant hiccup, the show itself is still on track. The Game Awards 2025 is scheduled to stream live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Amazon Prime Video on December 11.
