Fans Slam The Game Awards 2025 for Weak Ending Despite Good Production

Poll results show 37% rated The Game Awards 2025 a D or lower, citing poor second-half pacing.

The Game Awards 2025 has wrapped up, but not everyone is clapping. While the show pulled in massive viewership numbers and delivered plenty of trailers and announcements, fans weren’t shy about voicing their disappointment once host Geoff Keighley posted his traditional post-show poll on X.

And the results? Brutal. Out of more than 356,000 votes, only 15.6% gave the show an A grade, while a hefty 37.8% rated it a D or lower. Compare that to last year, when nearly half of voters gave the show an A, and you can see why Keighley might be sweating.

Still, the poll didn’t stop the show from being a streaming juggernaut. At one point, the official YouTube channel had over 1.3 million concurrent viewers, proving that even if fans weren’t thrilled with the pacing, they were still tuning in.

The Second-Half Slump

The biggest criticism? The back half of the show. Fans praised the production value but felt the pacing fell apart after the midway point.

A big chunk of the frustration pinned the blame on the final reveal: Highguard, a free-to-play hero shooter from former Apex Legends and Titanfall devs, launching next month. Fans felt it wasn’t a strong enough closer for a flagship event and wanted a bigger, shock-and-awe final beat.

At the same time, Kojima’s Death Stranding 2 walked away empty-handed despite seven nominations, which fueled complaints that the awards themselves were overshadowed—some even joked it felt more like a “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 show” than a balanced ceremony.

Here’s a taste of what people had to say directly on Keighley’s poll:

• Content creator Synth Potato: “What exactly were y’all smoking when you decided a free-to-play hero shooter was a worthy show closer, bro. The final hour of the show was seriously badly paced and lacked any exciting moments; it badly needed a final surprise. The other two hours were great though!”

• “First half was the best in ages. Second half fell off with gacha and 3 awards given in a rush in the same breath.”

• “Possibly the worst ending to TGA of all time with that final reveal but overall a good show.”

• “I feel like the Total War 40K should have been the last reveal, certainly had way more impact. On the other hand... boy did you do my man Kojima Dirty.”

• “Why was there a random award show in the middle of my trailer reel?”

• “It really needs balance Geoff! Less trailers, more time on the awards! Developers should be celebrated for their incredible work, and the least they deserve is a proper award, not a drive by mention. Please consider shifting the balance a bit. It would make for a better show!”

This isn’t the first time The Game Awards has been accused of being more ad reel than award ceremony. Keighley himself has admitted that balancing trailers, ads, and actual awards is tricky. And with reports claiming that publishers pay up to $1 million per trailer slot, it’s easy to see why the show leans heavily on reveals.

So while The Game Awards 2025 may break viewership records, the fan feedback paints a different picture.