The prolific voice actor might've accidentally just given us one of the best memes of the year.
Sometimes you get caught on camera at something like a baseball game, and your face is forever immortalized with whatever cheese or grimace you made. Ben Starr understood that as, when the camera cut to him during a The Game Awards segment, the prolific voice actor gave a wry smile and two thumbs up. And honestly, it might just be the perfect meme to encapsulate this whole year.
Digital Extremes’ community director Megan Everett and creative director Rebecca Ford took to the stage to talk about the free-to-play shooter-RPG Warframe. While discussing how they’re not there to announce that the game is out of open beta after 12 years of development, Ford shot directly at Starr because the only thing they learned in 12 years is that he’ll “do anything for money.”
Cue to Starr, cascaded in a red hue as he gives a slight smile and a double thumbs-up in what could easily be a Call of Duty or Fortnite emote. And he held the pose for a while, too; in fact, he sat there for about four seconds. That doesn’t sound that long, but when you’ve got millions of eyes on you at once, it can feel like an eternity.
This isn’t the first time Starr was caught red-handed on camera at The Game Awards. In 2023, he was captured with a blindingly bright light in his face that absolutely washed out his complexion. There was also another year where Starr was snapped with a somewhat darker exposure that made him look dull. I guess Charlie Kelly’s rock opera from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia about the “Day Man” and the “Night Man” has come true, though I suppose you’ll have to add “Red Man” in there, too. Now, I wonder if we’ll get a Method Man from Starr.
Digression aside, Ben Starr’s face is exactly how we all probably feel as 2025 comes to a close. With the job market contracting, the AI bubble seemingly poised to burst, layoffs rocking the games industry left and right, and a never-ending flow of horrific global news, you can’t help but wryly smile and thumbs-up through it all. What’s the Pepe the Frog quote? Right: “Feels good, man.” Except it doesn’t. It actually all feels bad.
Enough dourness, though, as we’re here for the announcements and awards from The Game Awards. Larian Studios’ Divinity is coming back, the new Tomb Raider game was revealed, Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky won Best Ongoing Game, and much more. Be sure to check GameSpot regularly for all the news happening during The Game Awards 2025.
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