Official details below.
Austin, TX – January 25, 2017 (Embargoed 10am CT/11am ET) – SXSW® Gaming Conference and Festival has announced WWE Superstar Xavier Woods and popular gaming broadcaster OMGitsfirefoxx as hosts for the fourth annual 2017 SXSW Gaming Awards sponsored by IGN and Imaginary Forces, which will take place Saturday, March 18, at 8pm at the Hilton in downtown Austin.
OMGitsfirefoxx aka Sonja Reid, the self-proclaimed “full-time dragon slayer, part-time sniper,” holds the Guinness World Record as the most popular female broadcaster, boasting just under 800,000 followers on Twitch.
WWE Superstar Xavier Woods is a two-time WWE Tag Team Champion alongside fellow New Day members Big E and Kofi Kingston. An avid gamer, Woods is also the host of his own YouTube gaming channel, UpUpDownDown, where he’s known by his gamer tag Austin Creed. The channel, which has secured nearly 1 million subscribers since launching last June, is the home to popular shows like Gamer Gauntlet and Superstar Savepoint, and continues to be a must-watch channel for gamers around the world.
The 2017 SXSW Gaming Awards will celebrate 100 nominees in 23 different categories.
In addition to old favorites Video Game of the Year, Tabletop Game of the Year, and Mobile Game of the Year, new categories this year include Trending Game of the Year, Fan Creation of the Year, and Esports Game of the Year.
The Gamer’s Voice award categories are dedicated to independent video, mobile, and tabletop games. With 44 nominees in total, these categories are voted on exclusively by SXSW Gaming Expo attendees, with the winners revealed during the Gaming Awards ceremony.
The SXSW Gaming Awards are open to 3-day and Saturday SXSW Gaming wristbands, with complimentary access extended to all SXSW badgeholders. Voting results will be broadcast on IGN and livestreamed on Twitch, where over 135,000 gaming fans watched last year. Video entertainment during the show includes content from SMOSH Games, Corridor Digital, and Brotherhood Workshop.
The SXSW Gaming Conference & Festival is a unique combination of geek and gaming culture featuring Expos, Awards, and Programming over three days. New for 2017 we are pleased to present the Pitch Competition, which pairs new game ideas with industry veterans; the Student Showcase, with 10 innovative student projects on show; and the Nintendo Switch exhibition featuring the latest launch titles and accessories for Nintendo’s next generation console.
Online voting takes place from Wednesday, Jan. 25 through Friday, Feb. 10. To vote, please visit studios.ign.com/sxswgamingawards/. Winners are determined by an equal combination of public vote and the SXSW Gaming Advisory Board.
For the full list of 2017 SXSW Gaming Award Nominees, visit gaming.sxsw.com/awards/.
About SXSW Gaming
The SXSW Gaming Conference & Festival is a gaming and geek culture experience. With three days of industry-leading programming, exhibitions, and evening events, SXSW Gaming is a must-visit destination for gamers from around the world. SXSW Gaming provides an opportunity for unexpected discoveries and unique interactions between industries with its unrivalled positioning at the heart of the SXSW Conference & Festivals. Taking place from March 16 – 18, 2017 at the Austin Convention Center, experience what the next generation of gaming conferences has to offer.
