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The Game Awards are expanding. This year, the video game industry’s biggest night will be livestreamed on Disney+ in addition to its customary platforms, including Twitch and YouTube.
Airing Thursday, Dec. 10 beginning
at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT out of the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, the 12th edition of the annual show will once again be hosted by the awards ceremony’s creator, Geoff Keighley. As is customary for the unorthodox awards event, the 2026 Game Awards will feature not only the unveiling of its prestigious honors across multiple categories, but also world premiere game announcements and musical performances.
The Game Awards will stream on Disney+ in the U.S. and in select international markets. Per the streamer, “As the evening unfolds, viewers can expect major announcements and surprises from some of Disney’s most anticipated titles in gaming.”
When The Game Awards first bowed in 2014 the ceremony drew 1.9 million livestreams. Since then, the show has exploded in popularity and continued to add more distribution platforms with last year’s event being livestreamed on Amazon’s Prime Video for the first time.
The 2025 ceremony racked up 171 million global livestreams across Prime Video, YouTube, Twitch, Steam, TikTok Live, X, Kick, Facebook and Instagram Live as well as across platforms in China and JioHotstar in India. That was up 11% from the previous record-setting 2024 tally of 154 million livestreams.
Variety has confirmed the 2026 ceremony will be livestreamed on Disney+, YouTube, Twitch, Steam, TikTok Live, X, Kick, Facebook and Instagram Live.
Disney+ is joining in this year as it looks to promote the existing and upcoming roster of Disney’s licensed and developed video games as well as the streamer’s growing slate of gaming-related programming, including “Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation” and the upcoming original anime series “Death Strand Isolations” on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.
The Game Awards are decided by a jury of more than 150 media publications and creator outlets, including Variety, in addition to voting open to fans once nominations are announced.
The Game Awards is executive produced by Geoff Keighley and Kimmie Kim and directed by Richard Preuss. LeRoy Bennett is the creative director. Lara Karchmer is co-executive producer.
Variety is a member of The Game Awards voting jury.
