Honestly, looking back at the video game awards 2015, it feels like a fever dream. It was the year the industry finally stopped pretending it was a niche hobby and started acting like the massive cultural titan it actually is. We’re talking about the night The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt didn't just win; it basically conquered the planet.
But it wasn't all just trophies and shiny suits.
There was this weird, thick tension in the air at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. If you were watching live on December 3, 2015, you probably remember that specific "wait, what?" moment involving Hideo Kojima and Konami. It was messy. It was public. It was the kind of drama that makes for great TV but highlights the often-bruising reality of game development.
The Night CD Projekt Red Became Royalty
Before 2015, CD Projekt Red was a respected Polish developer, but they weren't the developer. The video game awards 2015 changed that narrative permanently. The Witcher 3 took home Game of the Year, and honestly, was there even a real contest?
Think about the competition. You had Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and Super Mario Maker. That is a stacked deck. Yet, Geralt of Rivia walked away with the crown. It wasn't just about the gameplay; it was about the scale. It set a new bar for what "open world" meant. Suddenly, every other developer had to look at their quest design and ask, "Why isn't our side content as good as this?"
CD Projekt Red also snagged Developer of the Year. It felt like a shift in power. The old guard was being challenged by a studio that seemed to actually care about its players, offering free DLC and a massive, sprawling expansion in Hearts of Stone. Of course, we know how the Cyberpunk 2077 story went years later, but in 2015? They were the golden children.
The Konami Controversy That Stole the Show
You can’t talk about this specific year without mentioning the elephant in the room. Or rather, the legend who wasn't allowed in the room.
Hideo Kojima.
📖 Related: The Problem With Roblox Bypassed Audios 2025: Why They Still Won't Go Away
Geoff Keighley, the host and producer, had to stand on stage and awkwardly explain why Kojima wasn't there to accept the award for Best Action/Adventure game for Metal Gear Solid V. Konami’s lawyers had basically barred him from attending. The crowd booed. They booed loudly. It was one of the first times we saw the "prestige" of an awards show clash directly with the brutal corporate politics of the gaming world.
It was a PR nightmare for Konami. It also solidified Keighley’s role not just as a host, but as a defender of the creators. That moment gave the show a sense of legitimacy and "realness" that the old Spike VGA shows never had. It wasn't just a marketing gimmick anymore; it was a platform for the people who actually make the stuff we play.
Breaking Down the Winners and the "How Did They Not Win?" Snubs
The video game awards 2015 were weirdly diverse in terms of who actually got a trophy. While The Witcher dominated the big categories, other titles carved out their own legacies.
Her Story won Best Narrative and Best Performance (Viva Seifert). If you haven't played it, it's basically a FMV (Full Motion Video) game where you search a police database. It was tiny. It was experimental. And it beat out Life is Strange and The Witcher 3 for writing. That’s huge. It showed that the "Triple-A" bias wasn't absolute.
Then you have Rocket League.
Winning Best Independent Game and Best Sports/Racing Game. Back then, we didn't know Rocket League would become a multi-billion dollar e-sports phenomenon. We just knew that "car soccer" was addictive as hell. Its victory over Ori and the Blind Forest and Undertale in the indie category was a massive point of debate. Undertale, specifically, has a cult following that still argues it was the most important game of that year.
A Closer Look at the 2015 Categories
- Best Art Direction: Ori and the Blind Forest. (Deserved. It looked like a living painting.)
- Best Score/Soundtrack: Metal Gear Solid V. (The 80s synth-heavy vibes were immaculate.)
- Games for Impact: Life is Strange. (This was a newer category, focusing on titles with a social message.)
- Best Mobile/Handheld Game: Lara Croft GO. (Back when mobile games were trying to be clever puzzles rather than just microtransaction machines.)
Why 2015 Was the "Goldilocks" Year for Gaming
Sometimes a year just hits right. 2015 was exactly that. We were far enough into the PS4 and Xbox One lifecycle that developers finally understood the hardware, but we weren't yet bogged down by the "live service" fatigue that started to rot the industry a few years later.
👉 See also: All Might Crystals Echoes of Wisdom: Why This Quest Item Is Driving Zelda Fans Wild
Look at Bloodborne.
It didn't win Game of the Year, but many critics argue it’s the best game FromSoftware has ever made. It refined the Souls formula into something faster, bloodier, and more aggressive. The fact that it lost to The Witcher 3 isn't a slight against Bloodborne; it just shows how insanely high the quality was that year.
We also saw the rise of the "content creator" as a legitimate force. During the video game awards 2015, Greg Miller won Trending Gamer. This was a transition period. We were moving away from magazines and towards personalities. The show reflected that change, integrating YouTubers and streamers into the fabric of the event. It felt modern. It felt like it actually belonged to the internet.
The Technical Leap and the Rise of "The New Narrative"
We need to talk about Super Mario Maker. It won Best Family Game, but its impact was way bigger. It turned players into developers. It was a meta-commentary on game design itself.
The video game awards 2015 recognized this shift. The industry was moving away from "here is a story we wrote for you" toward "here are tools for you to tell your own story." Minecraft had started it, but Mario Maker polished it for the Nintendo crowd.
Meanwhile, Splatoon won Best Multiplayer. It was a weird, messy, ink-flinging shooter that didn't involve killing people with realistic guns. In a world dominated by Call of Duty, Splatoon was a breath of fresh air. It proved that Nintendo could still innovate in genres they had previously ignored.
The Underappreciated Gems of the Ceremony
Axiom Verge and Undertale were nominated for Best Indie, but they didn't win. In hindsight, these two games probably influenced the indie scene more than Rocket League did. Undertale especially broke the fourth wall in ways that still get analyzed in video essays today.
✨ Don't miss: The Combat Hatchet Helldivers 2 Dilemma: Is It Actually Better Than the G-50?
And don't forget Splissa—wait, no, let’s stick to the facts. Primal Carnage: Extinction and other smaller titles were hovering in the background, but the show was focused on the heavy hitters.
One thing people forget is how much the video game awards 2015 relied on world premieres. We got our first real look at Far Cry Primal and Psychonauts 2 (which took forever to actually come out). The show became the new E3. Since E3 was already starting its slow decline, Keighley’s December showcase filled the void.
Misconceptions About the 2015 Results
A lot of people think Fallout 4 was a shoe-in for awards that year. It actually walked away mostly empty-handed. While it was a commercial juggernaut, the critical consensus was that it felt a bit "safe" compared to the risks The Witcher or Bloodborne took.
There's also a common myth that the "Game of the Year" is a consensus across all outlets. It's not. The Game Awards is just one show. However, 2015 was the year the "TGA" version of the award became the one that everyone actually cited on the back of the box. It became the industry standard.
Real-World Impact: How 2015 Shaped Today's Games
If you play an open-world game today, you're playing the legacy of the video game awards 2015. The Witcher 3's success convinced every major publisher that "bigger is better," which led to the massive (and sometimes bloated) maps of the Assassin's Creed RPG trilogy and Ghost of Tsushima.
We also see the "Keighley Effect." The spectacle of the 2015 show—the music, the celebrities, the awkward corporate drama—became the blueprint for every gaming event since. It proved that gamers want a "Hollywood" moment. They want the glitz, even if they complain about the "cringe" moments in the live chat.
Actionable Steps for Exploring 2015’s Legacy
If you want to understand why modern gaming looks the way it does, you have to go back to this specific year. Don't just read about it; experience it through these steps:
- Play the "Big Three": You cannot understand 2015 without playing The Witcher 3, Bloodborne, and Undertale. They represent the three pillars of the year: Narrative Scope, Mechanical Perfection, and Indie Innovation.
- Watch the "Kojima Moment": Find the clip of Geoff Keighley explaining Kojima’s absence. It is a masterclass in how to handle a corporate crisis while maintaining integrity.
- Compare the Nominees: Look at the Best Indie category from 2015. Most of those studios are now the "Prestige" developers of the 2020s.
- Check the Sales: Look at how The Witcher 3 sales spiked after the awards. It’s a perfect case study on how "Game of the Year" branding actually affects a company's bottom line.
The video game awards 2015 wasn't just a ceremony. It was a turning point. It was the moment the industry grew up, got messy, and finally realized it was the biggest entertainment force on the planet. Whether you were cheering for Geralt or fuming that Bloodborne was robbed, you were part of a moment that still dictates how games are made, sold, and celebrated today.