YouTuber and streamer PrestigeIsKey, aka Ryan B., is a big fan of The Game Awards, and watches the ceremony every year. He thought it would be cool to own a replica Game Award, something he could put on the shelf Gamer Tat all streamers are required to have behind them in videos by law. So he looked on a few sites including eBay, and was surprised to find not a replica, but an actual Game Award award listed for $500.
The seller’s other listings included car parts and key fobs, so Ryan was admittedly a little suspicious. They said the award, “Came from one of our liquidation sources, other than that we don’t have any other information on the origin of this item.” Ryan ended up taking a gamble, paying $375 plus shipping. When the award arrived it turned out to be legit: it was the 2018 Award for Best Independent Game, won by Celeste.
Ryan got in touch with Celeste’s developers via operations manager Heidy Motta to ask “did the trophy itself get given away or lost?” and that’s how he found out the developers never received it. Presumably, after it was handed over on stage by Ninja during the ceremony, it was taken back to be mailed to them and then somehow went missing? It’s a mystery.
Finally, four years later, Celeste’s developers Extremely OK Games are getting their award. Ryan offered to mail the trophy to them, and the developers generously said they’ll reimburse him for the cost as well as send him some signed copies of Celeste. Guess he’ll have something to put on his shelf after all.