I was simply so honored to have been invited by the team at The Gayming Awards to attend The 2026 Gayming Awards live in Los Angeles on June 8th. At this event, not only did we celebrate the amazing games, streamers, and community members that make gaming great, we also celebrated queer culture and art of many sorts!
Kerri Colby, Joey Jay, Farrah Moan, Trinity the Tuck, and Shontelle Sparkles at The Gayming Awards!
As I entered the event, there was fashion everywhere. From highly elevated gowns with jewels and headpieces to multicolored tracksuits and everything in between, it was amazing to see all of the different ways to present oneself in one place. The red carpet was stunning as community members from all corners of the queer landscape showed up and answered questions and saw friends.
I found my way into the seating area and met celebrities, drag queens, streamers, and more who were all amazingly friendly and welcoming to me. I sat down and prepared for the awards to start, drink in hand, taking in the pristine vibes along the way. If people bumped into one another, everyone was extremely sweet and supportive and the entire crowd seemed to work hard to make sure people felt comfortable starting with the staff and continued through the crowd itself.
Erika Ishii and Dawn on the Red Carpet at The Gayming Awards!
While The Gayming Awards were hosted by Erika Ishii and Dawn, the in-person portion was MC’d by Lawrie Bird, a hilarious queen who did a great job with the crowd-work and keeping things running smoothly. The show was full of fun gags, creator spotlights, and more!
Some of the highlights of the winners were:
- The Game of the Year Award given to South of Midnight
- Jennifer English winning the LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year Award
- Date Everything winning Best LGBTQ+ Indie Game Award (sponsored by Dead by Daylight)
- Dimension 20: Dungeons & Drag Queens Season 2 winning LGBTQ+ Geek Entertainment of the Year Award (sponsored by Q Care Plus)
We also had some big time awards for community including;
- Trixie Mattel being presented with the LGBTQ+ Content Creator Superstar Award (sponsored by Logitech G)
- Darion Lowenstein winning the newly renamed Rebecca Heineman Gayming Icon Award
- We also had streamers GhCoffee, WillJinkies, AceoftheDeadx, Artirie, CYREELism & YouWorshipAngel all win awards for their work representing queer culture through their streaming
It was absolutely amazing to hear the reception for almost (IYKYK) every nominee announced throughout the night. It was truly a night of celebration!
After the awards were over, that wasn’t the end of the night as Dawn, Rock M Sakura, Joey Jay, Kerri Colby, and many more performed live on stage! We also had an amazing performance of Escape from the City from Sonic Adventure 2 by The Whorror Show (LINK VIDEO). These were so fun to attend alongside so many actors, designers, streamers, and more!
Red Carpet moments at The Gayming Awards!
I feel so honored to have been to this event! It was truly a one of a kind experience full of celebration of gaming and queer art. I cannot wait to see what 2027 has in store for us! Check out the full award show on WOW Presents Plus!
Stay tuned to GamingTrend.com for all the news, reviews, and interviews you could want: By humans, for humans!
