The Golden Joystick Awards Powered by Intel is the world's longest-running public-voted games awards show, attracting millions of votes every year. Players from all over the world will decide who takes home this year’s awards. Winners will be revealed in a celebration of games in London and live-streamed globally on all major streaming platforms on Friday, November 10, 2023.
Highlights:
- 100 games, studios and hardware are represented in 17 categories to be voted for by the public.
- Baldur’s Gate 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom lead the nominations with four nods each. Plus developers Larian Studios and Nintendo EPD are also shortlisted in Studio of the Year.
- Street Fighter 6, Hi-Fi Rush, Dave the Diver and Starfield all receive three nominations.
- A number of indie games appear across the board including Viewfinder with two nominations, plus Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, Cocoon, Dredge, Pizza Tower, Sea of Stars, Golden Idol Mysteries: The Lemurian Vampire and The Spider of Lanka, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Deep Rock Galactic and Chants of Sennaar all with a nomination each.
- This year’s awards include returning category Best VR Game celebrating a big year for VR with PSVR 2 launching in February this year and Meta Quest 3 coming soon.
- The shortlist has been chosen by a panel of expert critics from GamesRadar+, Edge Magazine, PC Gamer, Play Magazine, TechRadar Gaming, FGS and more.
- The shortlist and voting for Ultimate Game of the Year, Best Performer and Best Supporting Performer will go live in a separate voting window on Monday, October 23, 2023.
- Every voter will receive a free gaming ebook worth up to £9.99 / $9.99*.
Daniel Dawkins, Content Director - Games, Video and Digital Events explains:
“What. A. Year. It’s testament to the astonishing quality of 2023’s game releases that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - an exceptional sequel to one of the best games of all-time - isn’t the only game to claim the most nominations. Larian’s critically-adored Baldur’s Gate 3 shares that accolade, earning a coveted 10/10 in Edge Magazine, and hailed by PC Gamer’s reviewer as the ‘greatest RPG I’ve played’.
Bethesda’s epic Starfield achieved lift-off despite the gravity of expectations, while big sequels such as Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 hit the mark. Add a slew of superb AAA remakes, plus indie gems including Dave the Diver, Dredge and Cocoon, and 2023 has a legitimate claim to the best in gaming history.
The Golden Joystick Awards are held in such high regard, since only the public’s votes will decide the winners. We’re thrilled to share this intensely-debated shortlist and - this year, more than ever - are a touch relieved at not casting the deciding vote.”
The nominations are:
Best Audio
- Stray Gods
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
- Starfield
- The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
- Final Fantasy XVI
Best Storytelling
- Baldur's Gate 3
- The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood
- Armored Core VI: Fires Of Rubicon
- Oxenfree II: Lost Signals
- PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Best Game Community
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Warframe
- Baldur's Gate 3
- Deep Rock Galactic
- Dreams
- The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
Best Game Expansion
- Power Wash Simulator DLC
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
- The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom
- The Case of the Golden Idol Mysteries: The Lemurian Vampire and Spider of Lanka
- Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania
- A Little to the Left: Cupboards & Drawers
Best Gaming Hardware
- PlayStation VR2
- Turtle Beach Stealth Pro Headset
- Alienware 34 AW3423DWF
- Nitro Deck
- ASUS ROG Strix Scope II 96
- Samsung 990 PRO
Best Indie Game
- Dave the Diver
- Pizza Tower
- Dredge
- Cocoon
- Viewfinder
- Sea of Stars
Best Multiplayer Game
- Exoprimal
- Diablo IV
- Street Fighter 6
- Remnant II
- Mortal Kombat 1
- We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip
Best Visual Design
- Baldur's Gate 3
- Starfield
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Viewfinder
- Lies Of P
- Street Fighter 6
Nintendo Game of the Year
- Pikmin 4
- The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
- Fire Emblem Engage
- Metroid Prime Remastered
- Octopath Traveller II
- Fae Farm
PC Game of the Year
- Baldur's Gate 3
- Diablo IV
- Dave the Diver
- Tchia
- System Shock
- Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew
PlayStation Game of the Year
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Resident Evil 4
- Street Fighter 6
- Humanity
- Armored Core VI: Fires Of Rubicon
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Xbox Game of the Year
- Starfield
- Chants of Sennaar
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Planet of Lana
- Dead Space
- Pentiment
Still Playing Award
- No Man's Sky
- Genshin Impact
- The Sims 4
- Fortnite
- Naraka: Bladepoint
- GTA Online
- Warframe
- Valorant
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive / Counter-Strike 2
- Apex Legends
- Dota 2
- Call of Duty
Studio of the Year
- Larian Studios
- Digital Eclipse
- Nintendo EPD
- Mimimi Games
- Remedy Entertainment
- CD Projekt Red
Best Game Trailer
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Official Cinematic Trailer
- Alan Wake 2 - The Dark Place Gameplay Trailer
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Official Trailer #3
- Baby Steps Reveal Trailer
- Mortal Kombat 1 - Official It's In Our Blood Trailer
- Dave the Diver - Official Release Month And Accolades Trailer
Most Wanted Game
- Death Stranding 2
- Star Wars Outlaws
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Tekken 8
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
- Hades II
- Fable
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- EVERYWHERE
- Frostpunk 2
- ARK 2
- METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER
- Persona 3 Reload
- Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles
- Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
- Pacific Drive
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
- Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin
Returning in 2023 Best VR Game
- C-Smash VRS
- Horizon Call of the Mountain VR
- Synapse
- Vertigo 2 VR
- F1 23 VR
- The Light Brigade
Voting opens today and closes at 3pm PT / 6pm ET / 11pm BST on Friday, October 20, 2023.
Additional category winners will be selected by a panel of journalists from brands including gamesradar.com, pcgamer.com, FGS, Edge magazine, Retro Gamer and Play magazine, plus Future’s trusted network of freelance writers. These winners will be revealed on the night.
- Breakthrough Award
- Critics’ Choice Award
- Lifetime Achievement
Don’t forget Ultimate Game of the Year, Best Performer and Best Supporting Performer have a separate voting window that opens on Monday, October 23 2023 for one week only.
For more information visit Golden Joystick Awards 2023 Powered by Intel or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. #GoldenJoystickAwards
- Ends -
*Once your votes have been cast, you will receive instructions for claiming the free ebook via email. The available ebooks are 100 Retro Games to Play Before You Die; Ultimate Guide To Fantasy Gaming; The Story of Zelda; Retro Gamer Presents: The Handheld Gaming Collection and Minecraft Secrets & Cheats Vol 3.
Press Kit
Contact
For press queries: Helen Jones / Eva Field
T: +44 (0) 7789 226 939 / +44 (0) 7814 039 983
E: hels@noisycommunications.com or eva@noisycommunications.com
For ticket sales and sponsorship enquiries: Kate Smith
T: +44 (0)330 390 6683
E: kate.smith@futurenet.com
Notes to Editors
About The Golden Joystick Awards
The Golden Joystick Awards Powered by Intel honor the people and products that have transformed the games industry in 2023. The event features over 20 categories, the majority of which are voted for by the global gaming public. The event was first held in 1983 and is now the world’s oldest publicly voted gaming awards brand. For more information visit goldenjoysticks.com or follow us on twitter.com/goldenjoysticks and facebook.com/goldenjoysticks.
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