What is the future of The Game Awards’ Future Class program?
That question has been on the minds of industry observers who, for the second year in a row, noticed that the Geoff Keighley-helmed organization hasn’t announced a new cohort of industry professionals that “represent the bright, bold and inclusive future of video games.” Game Developer can now confirm that show organizers are not planning a new Future Class for 2025, and are not planning any programming for future or past honorees.
This information was provided to Future Class alumni in a Discord server established to host networking and mentorship opportunities for the program. Previous honorees (some of whom requested anonymity for fear of retaliation) told Game Developer this update was the only message they’ve received from show management in the last year.
“Last year we completed our promised cycle of programming for the 2023 FC with our TGA mixer, and did not induct a new Future Class,” said Future Class organizer Emily Weir. “At this time, we are not planning a new Future Class for this year and do not have any active programming plans for Future Class.”
Weir said the organization will keep the Discord server online for alumni to stay in touch with each other, but said she and Keighley are not actively monitoring the server.
The Game Awards has also removed the Future Class page on its website, eliminating the definitive record of previous honorees. The 2023 cohort is not named on the program’s Medium page (this may be an oversight, organizers did update the Game Awards Future Class Steam Curator page with games from the most recent class).
Former Future Class honorees say they feel “neglected”
Game writer and 2023 honoree (and former Game Developer contributor) Emma Kidwell explained to Game Developer that she repeatedly tagged Weir and Keighley in messages this year asking for updates on the program, only to receive no response. “I felt disrespected as someone who has spoken with Emily in person,” she said. “It makes everything feel disingenuous and it sounds and feels like they want us to go away quietly. I know not everyone in the Future Class Discord feels like this, but what do they expect from a group of hurt marginalized folks?”
Kidwell was one of the honorees spotlighted in that year’s broadcast. Fellow writer and cohort member Anna Webster concurred, saying she wished the organization was “up front” about the state of the program. She said a 2024 networking event before that year’s Awards now feels like it was “a last hoorah.”
Malek Teffaha, who was recognized by the group in 2022, told Game Developer that the news “honestly hurt.” “I, among others, thought that the Future Class program was not just a platform for celebration, but a means to bridge the gap between industry workers and leaders and help shape the future of the game industry.”
“I’m disappointed, but not surprised,” said JC Lau, another 2022 alumni. When asked if she felt supported by the organization after organizers said they would determine the program’s “next steps” after the 2024 show, she replied “how could they have supported us in the last year if they literally had no contact with us at all?”
These sentiments were shared by other anonymous former honorees who spoke with Game Developer, one of whom called Weir’s statement “minimal and evasive.”
The Game Awards faced internal pressure from Future Class members from 2023 into 2024 on two fronts. Honorees called on Keighley to use the show as an opportunity call for a ceasefire as Israel mounted its invasion of the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ October 7 attacks (a United Nations commission described the invasion as “genocidal” in an October 2025 report). Keighley made no statement during the broadcast.
In 2024 honorees lobbied The Game Awards to improve their post-nomination support for Future Class members, saying they received inadequate accommodations at the ceremony and that there was little support for alumni after the spotlight faded away. Sources told Game Developer in 2024 that Keighley and Weir seemed receptive to the feedback and offered extra networking opportunities.
The organization did not revive those events in 2025.
“I think it’s incredibly stupid of [Keighley] to collect some of the brightest people in our industry, do nothing but the bare minimum, and expect that we wouldn’t say anything about it,” said a second anonymous Future Class alumni.
They accused the organization of using marginalized people for “pats on the back.”
Game Developer has reached out to The Game Awards for comment on this story and will issue an update when the organization responds.
Update 11/6: This story has been updated with the correct surname for Malek Teffaha.
