The winners of the 42nd Golden Joystick Awards have been announced. Celebrating the best games over the past 12 months, this year’s event was hosted by Ben Starr – last year’s winner for Best Lead Performance in Final Fantasy XVI – and broadcast live across social media and streaming platforms.
Helldivers 2 and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth were tied for top honours, each taking home four awards. But neither game could clinch the night’s top award of Ultimate Game of the Year, which went to mythical action RPG epic Black Myth Wukong, which also won Best Visual Design.
Also among the winners was Balatro, which won Best Indie Game and Breakthrough Game, with Fallout winning the prize for Best Game Adaptation. In the performance categories, Cody Christian was named Best Lead Performer for his role as Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, while his co-star Briana White was named Best Supporting Performance for her turn as Aerith Gainsborough.
Looking forward to the future, Lethal Company was voted as the Best Early Access Game and Grand Theft Auto VI was named as the Most Wanted Game by voters. Helldivers 2 was named Critics’ Choice and Streamer’s Choice was awarded to Chained Together.
See the full list of winners below:
Ultimate Game of the Year – Black Myth: Wukong
Best Storytelling: – Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Best Multiplayer Game – Helldivers 2
Best Visual Design – Black Myth: Wukong
Best Indie Game – Balatro
Best Indie Game – Self-Published – Another Crab’s Treasure
Still Playing Award – PC & Console – Minecraft
Still Playing Award – Mobile – Honkai: Star Rail
Studio of The Year – Team ASOBI
Best Game Expansion – Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Best Audio Design – Astro Bot
Best Soundtrack – Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Best Lead Performer – Cody Christian as Cloud Strife, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Best Supporting Performer – Briana White as Aerith Gainsborough, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Breakthrough Award – Balatro
PC Game of the Year – Satisfactory
Console Game of the Year – Helldivers 2
Streamer’s Choice – Chained Together
Best Early Access Game – Lethal Company
Best Gaming Hardware – Steam Deck OLED
Best Game Trailer – Helldivers 2 – “The Fight for Freedom Begins” Launch Trailer
Best Game Adaptation – Fallout
Critics’ Choice – Helldivers 2
Most Wanted Game – Grand Theft Auto VI
More information about the Golden Joystick Awards can be found on their website. Watch the awards show in full below.
Words by Megan Roxburgh
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