The Game Awards’ mysterious desert statue takes another twist as top theories shut down

A bizarre statue in the Mojave Desert has taken over gaming social feeds this week, but leading theories about what it’s teasing have now been shot down, setting the stage for an even more unpredictable reveal at The Game Awards.

On November 28, Geoff Keighley posted a photo of a sinister-looking sculpture with the caption “regal.inspiring.thickness.” Fans quickly recognized the phrase as a What3Words location, which pointed to a remote patch of land near Joshua Tree, California.

The official Game Awards account then doubled down by sharing a satellite view of the same coordinates, confirming the site was part of an authorized promo. Within hours, people drove out to investigate and posted images of a towering, nightmarish structure filled with skeletal carvings, horns, and tangled limbs. Visitors also found the statue glowing red after dark, fueling even wilder theories.

Diablo, God of War and ES6 theories debunked

Two of the most popular guesses, a Diablo 4 expansion or a new God of War reveal, have now been dismissed by reliable voices.

Earlier in the week, insider Jez Corden replied to a fan asking if the statue was Diablo-related, saying, “Yes but also, more.” That answer briefly sent Blizzard fans into a frenzy.

However, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier quickly poured cold water on the idea.

ResetEra

“No idea where Jez is getting that, but this statue is not teasing the Diablo 4 expansion,” Schreier wrote on ResetEra. “(I don’t currently plan on reporting what it is, sorry, but it’s a good one.)”

If Blizzard did have a new Diablo expansion to unveil, it may make for sense for the developer to reveal it at BlizzCon next year as opposed to The Game Awards.

Schreier followed this up a day later, after theories spread that the tease was actually for Elder Scrolls 6.

“I’ll do this one more time because people are getting out of control: no the statue isn’t teasing Elder Scrolls 6,” he confirmed.

Another well-known leaker, Ashong, also dismissed the possibility that it’s connected to Sony Santa Monica’s next God of War project, saying he doesn’t see “how that relates to anything at SSM right now.”

The speculation shrank further when streamer Luke Stephens claimed on X that God of War director Cory Barlog dropped into his Twitch chat and “confirmed this is NOT God of War related.”

Cory Barlog was just in chat on my stream and confirmed this is NOT God of War related. https://t.co/HrurGYFpVr pic.twitter.com/pCkLcHSMJH

— Luke Stephens (@LukeStephens) December 1, 2025

So what is it?

With Diablo, Elder Scrolls 6 and God of War crossed off, the community is now back at square one.

Some fans have jumped straight to dream scenarios like Half-Life 3. But there’s zero confirmation, or even loose evidence, to support those theories. For now, the origins of the horned, skeletal desert monolith remain a mystery.

One theory gaining steam is that the statue relates to Saros.

“There are versions, that aren’t lit of this photo… and while neither directly fit with the creatures from Saros, there’s elements in both of them, like the smaller spikes (on the head) and the direction the use of the ‘limbs’ as well as a lot of dead around the second creature,” one user explained, posting numerous photos.

The only thing certain is the countdown. The Game Awards airs December 11, meaning we won’t have to wait long before the truth behind the Mojave statue finally gets revealed.