The Golden Joystick Awards returned for another lively celebration of video games in November 2023, with titles like Baldur’s Gate 3, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Starfield nabbing awards across a range of community-voted categories.
The full list of nominees was stellar, with strong competition between them. Baldur’s Gate 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom both had nominations in five unique categories, with Alan Wake 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Starfield, Resident Evil 4, Diablo IV, and Final Fantasy XVI also being nominated amongst the pack.
This year heralded the arrival of a number of incredible games worthy of accolades, and while it’s also been a difficult year for the games industry – as many have faced layoffs, and around 6,000 jobs have seemingly been cut worldwide – The Golden Joystick Awards was still an opportunity to reflect on the hard work and talent of developers, and the overall importance of video games.
Read: What will it take for video games to be considered legitimate art?
The Golden Joystick Awards 2023: Winners
Here’s the full list of winners from the show, courtesy of GamesRadar.
BEST AUDIO
- Stray Gods
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
- Starfield
- The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
- Final Fantasy XVI [WINNER]
BEST STORYTELLING
- Baldur’s Gate 3 [WINNER]
- 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 [WINNER]
- Deep Rock Galactic
- Dreams
- The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
BEST GAME EXPANSION
- Power Wash Simulator DLC
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty [WINNER]
- 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 [WINNER]
- 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 [WINNER]
BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME
- Exoprimal
- Diablo IV
- Street Fighter 6
- Remnant II
- Mortal Kombat 1 [WINNER]
- We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip
BEST VISUAL DESIGN
- Baldur’s Gate 3 [WINNER]
- 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 [WINNER]
- Fire Emblem Engage
- Metroid Prime Remastered
- Octopath Traveller II
- Fae Farm
PC GAME OF THE YEAR
- Baldur’s Gate 3 [WINNER]
- Diablo IV
- Dave the Diver
- Tchia
- System Shock
- Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew
PLAYSTATION GAME OF THE YEAR
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Resident Evil 4 [WINNER]
- Street Fighter 6
- Humanity
- Armored Core VI: Fires Of Rubicon
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
XBOX GAME OF THE YEAR
- Starfield [WINNER]
- Chants of Sennaar
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Planet of Lana
- Dead Space
- Pentiment
STILL PLAYING AWARD
- No Man’s Sky [WINNER]
- 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 [WINNER]
- Digital Eclipse
- Nintendo EPD
- Mimimi Games
- Remedy Entertainment
- CD Projekt Red
BEST GAME TRAILER
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty – Official Cinematic Trailer [WINNER]
- 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 [WINNER]
- 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
BEST VR GAME
- C-Smash VRS
- Horizon Call of the Mountain VR [WINNER]
- Synapse
- Vertigo 2 VR
- F1 23 VR
- The Light Brigade
BEST LEAD PERFORMER
- Ben Starr – Clive Rosfield, Final Fantasy XVI [WINNER]
- Yuri Lowenthal – Peter Parker, Marvel’s Spiderman
- Cal Kestis – Cameron Monaghan, Star Wars Jed Survivor
- Ilkka Villi / Matthew Porretta, Alan Wake, Alan Wake 2
- Nadi Jeter – Miles Morales, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Ellise Chappell – Kathy Johanson, Deliver Us Mars
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER
- Laura Bailey – Mary Jane, Marvel’s Spiderman 2
- Neil Newborn – Astarion, Baldur’s Gate 3 [WINNER]
- Cissy Jones – Andreja, Starfield
- Amelia Tyler – The Narrator, Baldur’s Gate 3
- Ralph Ineson – Cid, FFXVI
- Patricia Summersett – Princess Zelda, Tears of the Kingdom
ULTIMATE GAME OF THE YEAR
- Alan Wake 2
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Resident Evil 4
- Starfield
- Baldur’s Gate 3 [WINNER]
- Cocoon
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Diablo IV
- Forza Motorsport
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
- Assassin’s Creed Mirage
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Street Fighter VI
- Metroid Prime: Remastered
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Dead Space
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Lords of the Fallen
- Sea of Stars
CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARD
Alan Wake 2
BREAKTHROUGH AWARD
Cocoon / Geometric Interactive
BEST STREAMING GAME
Valorant
