Voting underway for Golden Joystick Awards 2025

Voting is underway for the 2025 Golden Joystick Awards, which is the longest-running public-voted games awards that is held in London. The nominees and voting opened up on Oct. 3 and end on Oct. 31. Below is a breakdown of each category and the nominees.

Best Storytelling

It celebrates the games that engage our emotions.

Nominees:

• Mafia: The Old Country

• Blue Prince

• SILENT HILL f

• Lost Records: Bloom and Rage

• The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy -

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Best Multiplayer Game

It celebrates the finest competition and co-op experiences.

Nominees:

• PEAK

• Mario Kart World

• REMATCH

• Battlefield 6

• Split Fiction

• Elden Ring: Nightreign

Best Visual Design

It celebrates technical brilliance and artistic flair.

Nominees:

• The Midnight Walk

• Assassin's Creed Shadows

• Ghost of Yotei

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

• Sword of the Sea

• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

Best Indie Game

It celebrates independent games from small-to-midsize developers.

Nominees:

• Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector

• Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor

• Baby Steps

• Herdling

• Abiotic Factor

• Caves of Qud

• Blue Prince

• despelote

• Skin Deep

• Wanderstop

Best Indie Game - Self Published

It celebrates games that have been developed and published by a small team or developer.

Nominees:

• Hollow Knight: Silksong

• Spilled!

• Hades II

• DELTARUNE

• PEAK

• Keep Driving

• Promise Mascot Agency

• Consume Me

• Sword of the Sea

• Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders

Still Playing Award - PC and Console

It celebrates vibrant online worlds and ongoing games that are dedicated to both newcomer and long-standing players.

Nominees:

• NARAKA: BLADEPOINT

• Call of Duty: Warzone

• Marvel Rivals

• GTA Online

• Warframe

• Minecraft

• Helldivers 2

• Fortnite

• Satisfactory

• Apex Legends

• Dead By Daylight

• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege X

Still Playing Award - Mobile

It celebrates mobile games that players just can't stop playing.

Nominees:

• Clash Royale

• Honkai Star Rail

• Call of Duty: Mobile

• Free Fire

• PUBG Mobile

• Pokémon Go

• Roblox

• Subway Surfers

• Zenless Zone Zero

• Genshin Impact

Best Remake/Remaster

It celebrates the games that recreate treasured video game experiences, balancing updated visuals and mechanics.

Nominees:

• Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4

• The Talos Principle: Reawakened

• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

• Gears of War: Reloaded

• METAL GEAR SOLID DELTA: SNAKE EATER

Studio of the Year

It celebrates the development team or studio of any scale.

Nominees:

• Team Cherry

• Bloober Team

• Rebellion Developments

• Sandfall Interactive

• Aggro Crab & Landfall

• Sloclap

Best Game Expansion

It celebrates major game updates or DLC expansions.

Nominees:

• Lies of P: Overture

• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants

• Atomfall Story Expansion Pack: The Red Strain

• Still Wakes the Deep: Siren's Rest

• Assassin's Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji

• No Man's Sky Voyagers

Best Audio Design

It celebrates games with outstanding sound design.

Nominees:

• Cronos: The New Dawn

• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

• Ghost of Yotei

• Donkey Kong Bananza

• Two Point Museum

• Battlefield 6

Best Soundtrack

It celebrates games with impeccable suite of tracks that carefully sidekick the adventure.

Nominees:

• DELTARUNE

• SILENT HILL f

• Sword of the Sea

• Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

• South of Midnight

Best Lead Performer

It celebrates talented actors who delivered standout performances.

Nominees:

• Alex Jordan (Jan Dolski, The Alters)

• Tom McKay (Henry of Skalitz, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II)

• Adriyan Rae (Hazel, South of Midnight)

• Erika Ishii (Atsu, Ghost of Yotei)

• Jennifer English (Maelle, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)

• Troy Baker (Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle)

Best Supporting Performer

It celebrates talented actors in supporting roles.

Nominees:

• Logan Cunningham (Hades 2)

• Lucy Griffiths (Alva, Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream)

• Ben Starr (Verso, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)

• Jim High (Erik, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II)

• Troy Baker (Higgs Monaghan, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach)

• Marios Gavrillis (Emmerich Voss, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle)

PC Game of the Year

It celebrates games that were released exclusively on PC.

Nominees:

• Abiotic Factor

• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

• Dune: Awakening

• PEAK

• The Alters

• Hollow Knight: Silksong

Console Game of the Year

It celebrates console games with a special focus on exclusive games from first-party and third-party studios.

Nominees:

• Donkey Kong Bananza

• Monster Hunter Wilds

• Mario Kart World

• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

• Ghost of Yotei

• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

Best Early Access Game

It celebrates games that launched into early access.

Nominees:

• 9 Kings

• Schedule 1

• White Knuckle

• R.E.P.O.

• Grounded 2

• skate.

Best Gaming Hardware

It celebrates the tech that made class-leading enhancements that created new ways to play games.

Nominees:

• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D

• Nintendo Switch 2

• Elgato Facecam 4K

• Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller

• Razer Blade 16

• WD Black SN8100 2 TB NVMe SSD

Best Game Adaptation

It celebrates the most successful and innovative adaptations of video game stories that have been adapted into cinemas or on streaming services.

Nominees:

• Arcane Season 2

• A Minecraft Movie

• Sonic the Hedgehog 3

• Secret Level

• Devil May Cry

• The Last of Us Season 2

Best Game Trailer

It celebrates impactful, technically excellent or downright surprising trailers.

Nominees:

• Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2

• ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN - Announcement Trailer

• Rhythm Doctor - Official Release Date Trailer

• The Expanse: Osiris Reborn - Announcement Trailer

• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Official CGI Trailer - Live a Life Medieval

• Battlefield 6: Official Launch Live Action Trailer

Most Wanted Game

It celebrates the games that players are looking forward to playing.

Nominees:

• Crimson Desert

• The Blood of Dawnwalker

• Marvel's Wolverine

• SAROS

• Kingdom Hearts 4

• Onimusha: Way of the Sword

• Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy

• The Witcher 4

• Hell Let Loose: Vietnam

• Black Myth: Zhong Kui

• 007 First Light

• Subnautica 2

• Resident Evil Requiem

• Light No Fire

• OD- KNOCK

• The Expanse: Osiris Reborn

• LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

• Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet

• Grand Theft Auto VI

• Exodus

The awards ceremony takes place on Thursday, Nov. 20 in London.

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