The Game Awards’ Future Class alumni feel “neglected”, program won’t return for second year

"It makes everything feel disingenuous."

The Game Awards’ Future Class program will not return for the second year running, while alumni of the program — one meant to mentor and support up-and-coming talent — say they feel “neglected” rather than uplifted.

News of the seeming discontinuation of the Future Class program was relayed to alumni on a Discord server by organiser Emily Weir, as reported by Game Developer.

“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,” Weir wrote on the Discord server. “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.”

Reporting by The Guardian states that alumni of the program “feel they were used for positive publicity, then cast aside when [diversity, equity, and inclusivity initiatives] was no longer in vogue”.

“We were effectively props,” game producer Dianna Lora, a Future Class 2020 honouree, told the outlet. “Once we got to the Game Awards (most people flew in from other countries, which was expensive), we showed up, and it felt like we were pushed to the side door … We found out later that Keighley had a party in another room with all the influencers and industry people. You know where Future Class met that day? At a Starbucks.”

“No one from official leadership even showed up until the meet-up was basically over,” Future Class member Jes Negrón added. “We were pretty bummed about just being cast aside.”

“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,” 2022 honouree Malek Teffaha told Game Developer.

We’ve reached out to The Game Awards for comment on the matter.

Stevivor, it should also be noted, was an active Game Awards voting jury member during the time of the Future Class program; our involvement focused on nominating and voting for game awards categories and did not include the Future Class program, nor its members.

The Game Awards 2025 livestreams from 12.00 pm AEDT on 12 December here in Australia. Information on this year’s jury and award nominees is expected later in November.