Al Pacino and Christopher Judge were the highest points at The Game Awards

Game Awards It was a surprising Thursday night co-anchor: Al Pacino. It culminated in a poignant – especially long – moment that was one of the highlights of the show.

Pacino presented the award for Best Performance, after he spoke for the first time about his relationship with video games. The legendary 82-year-old actor joked that people might be surprised to learn that he doesn’t play many video games himself, but he does watch his kids play and has a penchant for the immersive storytelling they can deliver (he joked) about not being able to read teleprompters. It was a catchy little preamble).

Very cool, thank you! Oh thank you. Welcome everyone! Really good to see you here. That’s uh, an experiment for me haha. One I wasn’t expecting, but here I am, as usual, doing something amazing myself.

But, uh, anyway, it may come as a shock to you, but it’s hard for me to see the teleprompter [laughs]. In fact, I don’t play a lot of video games. But I spent a lot of time watching my kids play. yes! And I continue to absolutely admire and entertain the unique and immersive ways in which video games tell their stories. Especially, of course, by performing! Who helps tell these stories.

As an actor, I’ve learned whether you’re on stage or in front of the camera, or inside the sound booth, it’s always, basically, we’re always the same. We are all trying to tell a story. On our way. With our kind of truth. I am honored to be here tonight. To celebrate the achievements of these incredibly talented actors, who, by bringing these stories to life, have helped elevate video games to a new level.

The award went to Christopher Judgefor his work on Kratos God of War: Ragnarok. The judge was visibly moved not only by receiving the award (he started his speech with “Shit!”), but by getting it from Pacino of all people. He chased Pacino onto the stage for a hug, exclaiming “And I met Al Pacino!” After a passionate speech.

Amid all the premieres and commercials, it was a great reminder of what awards shows like this can be: a celebration of artists who make the things we enjoy, no matter what they are.