The 40th Golden Joystick Awards winners have been announced, with Elden Ring coming out as the event's biggest winner. Besides Best Visual Design and Best Multiplayer Game, it also brought home the Ultimate Game of the Year and Critics' Choice awards. From Software also received the Studio of the Year award.
Elden Ring was the only game receiving more than one award in the award ceremony, showcasing its massive success over its contenders. Other GOTY nominees included God of War: Ragnarok, Bayonetta 3, Gran Turismo 7, and Horizon Forbidden West, among others.
OH ELDEN RING ❤️ Winner of Ultimate Game of the Year! The Tarnished has truly risen. Congratulations to @ELDENRING @fromsoftware_pr #GoldenJoystickAwards pic.twitter.com/SMaMXvTDSB
— Golden Joysticks (@GoldenJoysticks) November 22, 2022
The PC Game of the year was awarded to Return to Monkey Island. Surprisingly, Stray was considered the best PlayStation game of the year, while Pokémon Legends Arceus received the equivalent prize for Nintendo games. Grounded received the Xbox GOTY award, and Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom got the Most Wanted game award. In the Breakthrough award, Vampire Survivors snatched the majority of votes. Below, you can find the complete list of winners and nominees for the 40th Golden Joystick Awards:
Best Storytelling
- IMMORTALITY
- Return to Monkey Island
- Horizon Forbidden West (WINNER)
- NORCO
- I Was A Teenage Exocolonist
- Wayward Strand
Still Playing Award
- Genshin Impact (WINNER)
- The Sims 4
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Minecraft
- Fortnite
- Pokémon GO
- Apex Legends
- Lost Ark
- The Elder Scrolls Online
Best Visual Design
- Elden Ring (WINNER)
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Cult of the Lamb
- Ghostwire: Tokyo
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Lost in Play
Studio of the Year
- Roll7
- Terrible Toybox
- Half Mermaid
- FromSoftware Inc. (WINNER)
- Interior / Night
- Tribute Games
Best Game Expansion
- Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
- Destiny 2: The Witch Queen
- Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course (WINNER)
- GTA Online: The Contract
- Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons
- Total War: Warhammer III – Immortal Empires
Best Early Access Launch
- Disney Dreamlight Valley
- Slime Rancher 2 (WINNER)
- Dune: Spice Wars
- Core Keeper
- Vampire Survivors
- Gloomwood
Best Indie Game
- Cult of the Lamb (WINNER)
- Tunic
- Rollerdrome
- Dorfromantik
- Neon White
- Teardown
Best Multiplayer Game
- Elden Ring (WINNER)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenue
- MultiVersus
- Splatoon 3
- Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Best Audio
- We Are OFK
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3
- Metal: Hellsinger (WINNER)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
- Gran Turismo 7
- OlliOlli World
Best Game Trailer
- The Callisto Protocol The Truth of Black Iron Trailer
- Goat Simulator 3 Announcement Trailer (WINNER)
- skate. Still Working On It Trailer
- Bloody Hell Hotel Reveal Trailer
- Time Flies Announcement Trailer
- Alan Wake 2 Reveal Trailer
Best Game Community
- Dreams
- Final Fantasy 14 (WINNER)
- GRID Legends
- No Man's Sky
- Splatoon 3
- Warframe
Best Gaming Hardware
- Playdate
- Steam Deck (WINNER)
- Analogue Pocket
- Backbone One: PlayStation Edition
- Roccat Kone XP
- WD_Black SN850 NVMe SSD for PS5
Breakthrough Award
- Vampire Survivors
Critics' Choice Award
- Elden Ring
Best Performer
- Manon Gage (Marissa Marcel, Immortality) – WINNER
- Ted Rami (Travis, The Quarry)
- Dominic Armato (Guybrush Threepwood, Return to Monkey Island)
- Angela Bassett (Regalla, Horizon Forbidden West)
- Ashly Burch (Tiny Tina, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands)
- Christopher Judge (Kratos, God of War Ragnarok)
Nintendo Game of the Year
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus (WINNER)
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
- Live A Live
- Splatoon 3
- Nintendo Switch Sports
PC Game of the Year
- Neon White
- Return to Monkey Island (WINNER)
- Hardspace: Shipbreaker
- Teardown
- Total War: Warhammer 3
- Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters
PlayStation Game of the Year
- Gran Turismo 7
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Stray (WINNER)
- Elden Ring
- The Last Of Us Part I
- Sifu
Xbox Game of the Year
- Halo Infinite
- Scorn
- Grounded (WINNER)
- As Dusk Falls
- Sniper Elite 5
- Dying Light 2: Stay Human
Most Wanted Game
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (WINNER)
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Assassin's Creed Mirage
- Dead Island 2
- Forspoken
- Street Fighter 6
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
- Honkai: Star Rail
- Starfield
- Exoprimal
- Redfall
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Mass Effect
- Marvel's Spider-Man 2
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Kerbal Space Program 2
- Dead Space
Ultimate Game of the Year
- Elden Ring (WINNER)
- Gran Turismo 7
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Immortality
- Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
- God of War: Ragnarok
- Return to Monkey Island
- Teardown
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3
- Bayonetta 3
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Neon White
KitGuru says: In an unexpected turn of events, God of War: Ragnarok didn't receive a single award at the Golden Joystick Awards. However, that may change in The Game Awards, which will take place next month.