Hosted by Troy Baker, the 41st Golden Joystick Awards Powered by Intel took place live from London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel. Nearly 5 million public votes were cast to pick the winners in 20 different categories, reflecting the remarkable volume of high-scoring games released this year.
Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian’s mega-hit, swept the awards with seven wins in every category in which the game was nominated: best game community, best storytelling, best visual design, studio of the year, PC game of the year, and the ultimate game of the year. Neil Newbon, who plays the dashing vampire rogue Astarion, also won the Best Supporting Performer award.
Other winners on the night included Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, which won Best Game Expansion and Best Game Trailer; Geometric Interactive, who won the Breakthrough Award for Cocoon; Alan Wake 2, which received the coveted Critics’ Choice Award and Sea of Stars, which took home the Best Indie Game. Meanwhile, other winners included Final Fantasy VII Rebirth in Most Wanted Game, Resident Evil 4 in PlayStation Game of the Year, Starfield in Xbox Game of the Year, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in Nintendo Game of the Year.
The 41st Golden Joystick Awards Powered by Intel winners are:
- Best Storytelling – Baldur’s Gate 3 (public vote)
- Still Playing Award – No Man’s Sky (public vote)
- Best Visual Design – Baldur’s Gate 3 (public vote)
- Studio of the Year – Larian Studios (public vote)
- Best Game Expansion – Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (public vote)
- Best VR Game – Horizon Call of the Mountain (public vote)
- Best Indie Game – Sea of Stars (public vote)
- Best Multiplayer Game – Mortal Kombat 1 (public vote)
- Best Audio – Final Fantasy XVI (public vote)
- Best Game Trailer – Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty – Official Cinematic Trailer (public vote)
- Streamers’ Choice – Valorant (critically chosen)
- Best Game Community – Baldur’s Gate 3 (public vote)
- Best Gaming Hardware – PlayStation VR2 (public vote)
- Breakthrough Award – Cocoon / Geometric Interactive (critically chosen)
- Critics’ Choice Award – Alan Wake 2 (critically chosen)
- Best Lead Performer – Ben Starr – Clive Rosfield, Final Fantasy XVI (public vote)
- Best Supporting Performer – Neil Newbon – Astarion, Baldur’s Gate 3 (public vote)
- Nintendo Game of the Year – The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (public vote)
- PC Game of the Year – Baldur’s Gate 3 (public vote)
- Xbox Game of the Year – Starfield (public vote)
- PlayStation Game of the Year – Resident Evil 4 (public vote)
- Most Wanted Game – Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (public vote)
- Ultimate Game of the Year – Baldur’s Gate 3 (public vote)
In total, over 115 games, studios, hardware, and actors were represented in 20 award categories voted for by the public. The awards also featured a special musical performance of “You Are My Sunshine,” a remarkable collaboration between the Bloober Team and the Polish artist Natalia Szroeder.
