The Game Awards has become the video game industry‘s biggest annual celebration since its inception in 2014. Produced and hosted by gaming media veteran Geoff Keighley, the live streamed ceremony aims to recognize the best games of the year while hyping up highly anticipated upcoming releases. The 2022 show, held on December 8th at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, drew a peak of over 7.5 million concurrent viewers across 30 different digital platforms according to the event‘s official Twitter account.
But this year‘s Game Awards didn‘t quite go according to script. During the climactic Game of the Year acceptance speech by Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki, a young man in a shirt depicting far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones suddenly jumped on stage and grabbed the mic, catching the FromSoftware team and presenter Josef Fares off guard.
"I think I want to nominate this award to my reformed Orthodox rabbi Bill Clinton," the individual blurted out before Keighley cut off his mic and called for security. The baffling interruption lasted only a few seconds, but it swiftly overshadowed the rest of the ceremony as footage of the brazen stunt went viral on social media.
Who is Matan Even?
The stage invader was later identified as 21-year-old Matan Even, a Florida-based YouTuber who gained a niche following in 2019-2020 for his coverage of the Hong Kong protests. Even‘s channel, which currently sits at around 37,000 subscribers, featured 56 videos documenting clashes between protesters and police before abruptly going dark after the passage of Hong Kong‘s controversial national security law in 2020.
Even‘s on-the-ground footage often captured brutal baton beatings, pepper spray attacks, and forceful arrests of civilians by riot police. His raw, unfiltered reporting style earned praise from activists who felt the mainstream media wasn‘t sufficiently covering police misconduct. "When you see violence right in front of you, any sane person would start filming," Even told the South China Morning Post in a 2019 interview. "I had no choice but to fully commit [to documenting the protests]."
However, Even himself was not immune to violence. In an August 2019 livestream, he could be heard yelling in pain as he was apparently hit with a police baton. "They‘re beating me with sticks!" he shouted, later showing the camera his bloody head wound. The incident only seemed to embolden Even further, as he continued to plant himself on the front lines of protests, using his YouTube channel to share his experiences with the world.
But as the protest movement fizzled out in the face of the pandemic and tightening government control, Even‘s channel went quiet. His abrupt pivot to crashing the Game Awards stage over two years later caught many of his former viewers by surprise. So what was he trying to accomplish?
A History of Provocative Activism
Even‘s antics at the Microsoft Theater weren‘t entirely out of character for him. He had a history of causing public spectacles to draw attention to his pet causes, often employing trollish tactics to generate viral buzz.
In October 2019, Even made headlines for flashing a "Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong" sign while on camera at a Los Angeles Clippers NBA game. The stunt came shortly after Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey caused an international incident by tweeting support for the protests, prompting Chinese state broadcaster CCTV to pull NBA games off the air.
Just a month later, Even popped up at BlizzCon, Blizzard Entertainment‘s annual gaming convention, where he shouted "Free Hong Kong" during a World of Warcraft panel. The outburst was a dig at Blizzard for banning a Hearthstone esports player who voiced support for the protests in a post-match interview, a controversial decision that led some fans to boycott the company.
Even also made an appearance that year on InfoWars, the notorious far-right conspiracy site founded by Alex Jones, to promote his Hong Kong protest coverage. While he steered clear of discussing domestic politics, his choice to align himself with a polarizing figure like Jones hinted at a willingness to court controversy for the sake of visibility.
On TikTok, where he went by handles like Caprogg and RangoLizard, Even became known for crashing other users‘ livestreams to debate and troll them about political topics. He seemed to relish playing the role of provocateur, even as his actual ideological positions remained hazy.
Given this history of headline-grabbing stunts, Even‘s decision to rush The Game Awards stage starts to look less like a random prank and more like a deliberate attention play. But the meaning behind his "Bill Clinton" remark is still anyone‘s guess.
Chaos Agent or Activist?
In the immediate aftermath of the stage crash, social media was abuzz with attempts to decipher Even‘s cryptic shoutout to the 42nd U.S. president. Some speculated that he was trying to link the Clintons to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a common right-wing talking point. Others thought he might be alluding to conspiracy theories around the Clinton Foundation‘s finances.
However, Even himself has yet to clarify his motives. In a tweet posted shortly after the incident, he wrote "Today, there is a lot of talk and speculation. More information will be released on all fronts sooner than later." The vague statement did little to quell the rampant theorizing about his true agenda.
Those who know Even have offered some hints, but they too are short on specifics. One friend‘s brother said on Twitter that Even was "raised through Hebrew school" and has family in Israel, but didn‘t elaborate on how that background might have informed his latest stunt.
What‘s clear is that Even has a knack for commanding attention and thrives on sowing chaos, even if his end goal is murky. Whether he‘s a principled activist fighting for a just cause or a glorified troll who will do anything for clout is still up for debate.
"He definitely knows how to get eyes on him," said Joanna Strober, CEO of gaming talent agency Neonopolis. "But I worry that these kinds of antics do more harm than good for the causes he claims to care about. When your message is this inscrutable, all people take away is the spectacle."
A Platform for Disruption
Regardless of his intentions, Even‘s stunt highlighted just how vulnerable live events like The Game Awards are to disruption in the digital age. With millions of viewers tuning in from around the globe and social media fueling instant virality, a few seconds of mischief can completely upstage months of careful planning by organizers.
"Every live broadcast is a high-wire act," said Jane Dunlop, a professor of media studies at the University of California, San Diego. "All it takes is one loose cannon to bring the whole thing crashing down. In this case, a loosely guarded stage was like a gift to an attention-hungry prankster."
Security expert Darryl Lindstrom, CEO of EventSafe Consulting, noted that high-profile gaming events have become increasingly attractive targets for clout-chasers in recent years. "As esports and gaming have exploded in popularity, we‘ve seen a rise in incidents like stage rushing, swatting, and online harassment," he said. "Many of these offenders are looking to make a name for themselves in the community, even if it‘s for all the wrong reasons."
The Game Awards did have security protocols in place, including metal detectors and bag checks, but they were still caught flat-footed by Even‘s lightning-fast breach. Keighley tweeted after the show that the perpetrator had been arrested for trespassing and that the team would be reevaluating its security measures for future events.
But in an age of digital spectacle, where success is often measured in views and engagement, some worry that beefed-up security will only make these stunts more enticing to fame-hungry disruptors.
"The more you try to control an event with heavier and heavier security, the more it becomes a challenge to be the one who breaks through," said Dunlop. "For a certain type of person, that forbidden fruit is irresistible."
Blurred Lines and Unintended Consequences
Even‘s stage rush also reignited the long-simmering debate over the role of politics in gaming spaces. While some argue that gaming should be a purely escapist hobby separate from real-world concerns, others believe the industry has a responsibility to engage with pressing social issues.
This tension has flared up in several high-profile incidents in recent years, from Blizzard‘s Hong Kong protest censorship to Ubisoft‘s fumbled Black Lives Matter solidarity statement. As gaming has grown into a $200 billion global business, it‘s become increasingly difficult for companies to stay on the sidelines of political debates.
Some developers have tried to make social consciousness core to their brand identities, like Life is Strange studio Dontnod Entertainment, which has tackled topics like racism, transphobia, and police brutality in its narrative games. But others have been more reluctant to take explicit stances for fear of alienating parts of their player base.
"There‘s this underlying assumption that being ‘political‘ is inherently divisive and hurts the bottom line," said Sarah Thompson, co-founder of the advocacy group Games for Change. "But in reality, staying silent on issues that matter to your audience can be just as damaging. Players want to see the values they care about reflected in the games they love."
Even‘s stunt, as muddled as it was, could be seen as a manifestation of this desire for gaming spaces to engage with the wider world, even if his methods left much to be desired. "I don‘t condone what he did, but I can understand the impulse to want to shake up an event like The Game Awards," said Thompson. "There‘s this sense that the industry is still too insular and divorced from the big challenges facing society."
At the same time, Even‘s history of palling around with far-right figures like Alex Jones raises troubling questions about the potential for bad faith actors to co-opt gaming events for their own ends. In recent years, extremists have increasingly used platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and Discord to recruit new followers and spread propaganda, often by exploiting the edgy, irreverent humor of gamer culture.
"The irony-poisoned world of gaming memes and shitposting has created a lot of ambiguity about what people actually believe," said Dunlop. "You have Holocaust jokes right next to earnest conspiracy theories, and it can be hard to tell where the line is between trolling and true belief. That‘s a ripe environment for radicalization."
Even if Even‘s politics remain inscrutable, his stunt could inspire copycats who see gaming events as a prime target for their own pet agendas, however extreme or noxious.
The Genie and the Bottle
As the dust settles on The Game Awards stage crash, the gaming industry is left to grapple with some thorny questions about the intersection of digital culture, politics, and celebrity. In an era where attention is the most valuable currency, how do we create spaces for genuine engagement and activism while warding off cynical clout-chasing and bad faith disruptions?
For The Game Awards, the most immediate priority is shoring up security to prevent future physical breaches. But the larger challenge may be finding ways to foster meaningful conversations around the social issues that matter to the gaming community without getting derailed by trolls and provocateurs.
This could mean creating dedicated forums and panels for activists and advocates to share their perspectives alongside industry figures, or partnering with organizations like Games for Change to highlight games that tackle real-world problems. It could also mean being more proactive about moderating online spaces to limit the spread of misinformation and hate speech.
But ultimately, the solution may lie in shifting the culture of gaming itself to be more accepting of diverse voices and experiences. "We need to create an environment where people feel like they can express themselves authentically without resorting to shock tactics," said Thompson. "That means lifting up marginalized creators, investing in innovative storytelling, and being willing to have tough conversations about representation and inclusivity."
As for Matan Even, his moment in the spotlight may have passed as quickly as it began. But his stunt serves as a reminder of the unpredictable ways that our online and offline lives intersect in the digital age. In a world where anyone can command an audience of millions with a few seconds of mischief, the only certainty is that more surprises are sure to come.
"The genie is out of the bottle," said Strober. "All we can do is try to stay one step ahead and hope that the next person who grabs the mic has something worthwhile to say."
