Voting Is Now Open in the 43rd Golden Joystick Awards

The 43rd Golden Joystick Awards are delighted to reveal the shortlist for this year’s awards. Voting is now LIVE HERE, powered by our voting partner MSI, and will remain open until 5pm PDT / 8pm EDT / midnight GMT on Friday, October 31, 2025.


The Golden Joystick Awards attract millions of votes every year, with players from all over the world deciding the winners. Known as the ‘People’s Gaming Awards’, last year’s show saw over 12 million votes cast across more than 20 categories. The winners will be revealed in a star studded award ceremony in central London and live-streamed globally on Thursday, November 20, 2025.


Voting is now live in 21 categories including ‘Console Game of the Year’, ‘PC Game of the Year’, ‘Most Wanted Game’ and more. Leading the nominations are Kepler Interactive and Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with six nominations including Studio of the Year, followed by Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Ghost of Yōtei and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II with four nominations each. Popular indie titles such as Hollow Knight: Silksong, Sword of the Sea and PEAK are also represented with multiple nominations each.
 

Fans should note that the ‘Ultimate Game of the Year’ shortlist will not be announced until Monday, November 3, with voting in that category opening the same day. An additional selection of critically selected winners will also be unveiled at the awards ceremony.


Daniel Dawkins, Content Director of Golden Joystick Awards at Future said:


“Last year the Golden Joystick Awards recorded over 12 million public votes, our biggest year yet. Black Myth: Wukong was crowned as Ultimate Game of the Year, watched by over nine million viewers on our live broadcast.

2025 is our most hotly-contested, and unpredictable awards yet. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, Ghost of Yōtei and Hollow Knight: Silksong, lead our nominations, but the shortlist’s breadth and quality reflects a fast-evolving industry, where indies, AAs or IIIs - whatever you’d like to call them - frequently dominate play time and social discourse.

Blue Prince, PEAK, Sword of the Sea, despelote… these are just a few games that have illuminated 2025, yet may not have been on many players’ radars less than a year ago.

As gaming evolves, so do our categories, with the creation of a new award for Best Remake / Remaster. As the past becomes the present, the Golden Joystick Awards’ mission remains the same - to celebrate the very best in gaming, and give players the chance to reward the hardware, people and amazing virtual worlds that command our affections.”


The Nominations are:

Best Storytelling

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• SILENT HILL f
• Blue Prince
• Mafia: The Old Country
• Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
• The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy -

Best Multiplayer Game

• Battlefield 6
• PEAK
• ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN
• Split Fiction
• Mario Kart World
• REMATCH

Best Visual Design

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• The Midnight Walk
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Sword of the Sea
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Best Indie Game

• Blue Prince
• Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
• Wanderstop
• Skin Deep
• despelote
• Herdling
• Abiotic Factor
• Baby Steps
• Caves of Qud
• Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor

Best Indie Game - Self Published

• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Hades II
• Sword of the Sea
• PEAK
• Keep Driving
• Spilled!
• Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders
• DELTARUNE
• Promise Mascot Agency
• Consume Me

Still Playing Award - PC and Console

• Minecraft
• Dead by Daylight
• HELLDIVERS 2
• NARAKA: BLADEPOINT
• Satisfactory
• Call of Duty: Warzone
• Marvel Rivals
• Fortnite
• Apex Legends
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege X
• GTA Online
• Warframe

Still Playing Award - Mobile

• Call of Duty: Mobile
• Pokémon GO
• Subway Surfers
• Clash Royale
• Honkai: Star Rail
• Genshin Impact
• Zenless Zone Zero
• Roblox
• Free Fire
• PUBG MOBILE

Best Remake / Remaster

• METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
• Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
• The Talos Principle: Reawakened
• Gears of War: Reloaded
• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4

Studio of the Year

• Team Cherry
• Sandfall Interactive
• Aggro Crab and Landfall
• Bloober Team
• Sloclap
• Rebellion

Best Game Expansion

• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants
• Lies of P: Overture
• No Man's Sky: Voyagers
• Atomfall Story Expansion Pack: The Red Strain
• Assassin's Creed Shadows - Claws of Awaji
• Still Wakes the Deep: Siren's Rest

Best Audio Design

• Ghost of Yōtei
• Battlefield 6
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Two Point Museum
• Cronos: The New Dawn

Best Soundtrack

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• South of Midnight
• SILENT HILL f
• Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream
• DELTARUNE
• Sword of the Sea

Best Lead Performer

• Jennifer English - Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Troy Baker - Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Tom McKay - Henry in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• Alex Jordan - Jan Dolski in The Alters
• Erika Ishii - Atsu in Ghost of Yōtei
• Adriyan Rae - Hazel in South of Midnight

Best Supporting Performer

• Troy Baker - Higgs Monaghan in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Jim High - Erik in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• Ben Starr - Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Lucy Griffiths - Alva in Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream
• Logan Cunningham - Hades II
• Marios Gavrilis - Emmerich Voss in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

PC Game of the Year

• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• The Alters
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• PEAK
• Abiotic Factor
• Dune: Awakening

Console Game of the Year

• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
• Mario Kart World

Best Early Access Game

• Grounded 2
• Schedule I
• 9 Kings
• R.E.P.O.
• skate.
• White Knuckle

Best Gaming Hardware

• Nintendo Switch 2
• Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller
• WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe SSD
• Elgato Facecam 4K
• Razer Blade 16
• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D

Best Game Adaptation

• Devil May Cry (Netflix)
• Arcane Season 2 (Netflix)
• The Last of Us Season 2 (HBO)
• A Minecraft Movie (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• Secret Level (Prime Video)
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Paramount Pictures)

Best Game Trailer

• Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2
• Battlefield 6: Official Launch Live Action Trailer
• Rhythm Doctor - Official Release Date Trailer
• The Expanse: Osiris Reborn - Announcement Trailer
• ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN - Announcement Trailer
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Official CGI Trailer – Live a Life Medieval

Most Wanted Game

• Grand Theft Auto VI
• Resident Evil Requiem
• The Witcher 4
• Black Myth: Zhong Kui
• LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Night
• 007 First Light
• EXODUS
• Subnautica 2
• Light No Fire
• The Expanse: Osiris Reborn
• Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
• SAROS
• The Blood of Dawnwalker
• Crimson Desert
• KINGDOM HEARTS IV
• Marvel's Wolverine
• Hell Let Loose: Vietnam
• OD - KNOCK
• Onimusha: Way of the Sword
• Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy

Additional category winners will be selected by a panel of journalists from brands including gamesradar.com, pcgamer.com, FGS, Edge magazine and Retro Gamer, plus Future’s trusted network of freelance writers and creators. These winners will be revealed on the night.

 

• Streamers’ Choice Award
• Breakthrough Award
• Critics’ Choice Award

For more information visit Golden Joystick Awards 2025 or follow us on Instagram, X and Facebook. #GoldenJoystickAwards
- Ends -

Notes to Editors

About The Golden Joystick Awards
The Golden Joystick Awards honor the people and products that have transformed the games industry in 2025. 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 x.com/goldenjoysticks and facebook.com/goldenjoysticks.

About Future
Future is a leading global specialist media company offering trusted, expert content that builds engaged and valuable communities. Future is a prime destination for passionate people worldwide through its specialist websites, magazines, events, newsletters and social spaces, all underpinned by data-driven insights and innovative proprietary technology that put the user experience first.

Future's diverse portfolio spans technology, games, fashion, beauty, home interest, finance, news, sports, music, entertainment and B2B. The company’s roster of market-leading brands includes Marie Claire, Who What Wear, Livingetc, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, PC Gamer, The Week, Go.Compare, Homes & Gardens and the Future Games Show.