The Game Awards' stage invader has been identified - and it's not the first time he's done something like this. Matan Even, who already had a sizeable online following before interrupting the awards show, also crashed a World of Warcraft event in 2019, protesting against oppression and police brutality in Hong Kong.
He has also acknowledged The Game Awards event on his Twitter account, sharing that "more information will be released...soon". He is yet to explain why he decided to interrupt FromSoftware's acceptance speech, even amid speculation that what he said was fueled by antisemitism.
Matan Even interrupted the World of Warcraft event in 2019. In a video from the Q&A, he can be heard shouting "free Hong Kong", likely in reference to Blizzard's treatment of a professional Hearthstone player who was reprimanded for saying this in a post-match interview.
Much of Even's online activity until 2021 pertains to his support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. He even appeared on the far-right InfoWars in 2020 in relation to this, sharing that he also disrupted an NBA game with this message. During the clip, the host repeatedly shares anti-Black Live Matter sentiments and anti-leftist conspiracy theories, although it's not known if Even agrees with them.
However, as we all saw last night, his statement at The Game Awards was nothing like any of his previous messages. After simply walking on stage with the FromSoft team as they collected their Game of the Year award for Elden Ring, Even was able to grab the microphone and say, "I want to thank everyone and say that, I think I want to nominate this award to my reformed orthodox rabbi Bill Clinton."
While his latest statement was initially taken as a joke, many later theorized that it could be an antisemitic dog whistle, especially given the recent rise in antisemitism largely caused by Kanye West's repeated racism against Jewish people, and his vocal support of nazism.
At the time of writing, Even's Twitter account offers very little insight into why he said what he did. Since the event, he has been liking tweets both in his defence and attacking the antisemitic implications of his statement. It's also not clear what punishments, if any, he will face for his actions. Host Geoff Keighley said that he was arrested, but he was quickly active on social media after this, perhaps meaning that the police did not keep him in custody for long. Even is yet to comment on his arrest, or go into any detail about his actions.