The 43rd annual Golden Joystick Awards will unveil their much-anticipated shortlists when public voting begins on Friday, October 3.
The Golden Joystick Awards are the world's longest running video-game awards and held in such high regard since they are voted for by the gaming public. A record-breaking 12 million votes were cast in 2024, with over nine million viewers tuning in to see the winners crowned on our live broadcast.
Read on to find out more about how Golden Joystick Awards' judging works, and discover our key voting dates for 2025.
Who won the Golden Joystick Awards 2024?
The winners of the Golden Joystick Awards 2024 were revealed in a live broadcast on Thursday, November 21 which you can watch below.
- Here are ALL the winners from the Golden Joystick Awards 2024
- Golden Joystick Awards Steam page - check out all the winners and nominees
We tallied a record 12 million+ votes cast in categories including Best Storytelling, Best Audio, Best Studio, Best Console Game and - our most prestigious award - Ultimate Game of the Year.
The winners were revealed in our awards ceremony hosted by Final Fantasy XVI and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 actor Ben Starr, which took place in London, November 21.
You can catch up with the event on all major streaming platforms, including Twitch, YouTube, X, gamesradar.com, Steam and more.
Which game won Ultimate Game of the Year in 2024?
The Ultimate Game of the Year vote took place in its own voting window from Nov 3 to Nov 8 to give players more time to consider 2024's big winter releases.
The winner of the popular vote was Game Science's Black Myth: Wukong, followed by Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth and Helldivers 2.
Golden Joystick Awards 2025 Categories
The Golden Joystick Awards 2025 nominees will be revealed on Friday, October 3, when public voting will begin on this very page via goldenjoysticks.com
You can see the full list of publicly voted categories below, with category descriptions to follow when voting opens on October 3.
- Best Storytelling
- Best Multiplayer Game
- Best Visual Design
- Best Indie Game
- Best Indie Game - Self Published
- Still Playing Award - PC and Console
- Still Playing Award - Mobile
- Studio of the Year
- Best Game Expansion
- Best Audio Design
- Best Soundtrack
- Best Lead Performer
- Best Supporting Performer
- PC Game of the Year
- Console Game of the Year
- Best Early Access Game
- Best Gaming Hardware
- Best Game Adaptation
- Best Game Trailer
- Most Wanted Game
When does voting for Ultimate Game of the Year take place?
Main public voting opens on the same date as we reveal the nominees on October 3, and closes on Friday October 31.
The Ultimate Game of the Year award takes place in a separate voting window, which starts on Monday Nov 3 until Friday Nov 7. This allows you more time to play the big winter releases and offer your support for the best games of 2025.
What are the Golden Joystick Awards?
The GJAs are held in special regard because they are voted for by those who buy and play games. Every year, millions of fans support their favorite games, developers, publishers, and people of the last 12 months.
Now in its 43rd year, the Golden Joystick Awards will be returning as an in-person live show at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London on November 20, 2025. You can book your tickets and tables here.
How games are nominated in the Golden Joystick Awards
Publisher nominations for the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 are now closed.
Every year, we invite the industry to nominate the games, people and studios that they believe deserve recognition in this year’s categories. We want to make sure that a wide pool of potential nominees is being considered.
The final shortlist is chosen by the Golden Joystick Awards judging panel with reference to this list of nominees. The judges consist of editors and contributors from our sister brands including PC Gamer, Future Games Show, Edge magazine, Retro Gamer, GamesRadar and a variety of industry experts.
By definition, we can’t guarantee that every nominated game will make the shortlist, but you can be assured that it will be considered and debated by our judging panel.
We strive to create a broad list of categories and nominees which represent the best that gaming has to offer. Sadly, this always means we have to exclude some much-loved and popular titles.
When will the shortlist be announced?
The final shortlist will be announced on October 3, with voting starting that very same day.
Golden Joystick Awards 2025 nominations criteria
- The game must have been released between November 1, 2024 (when core 2024 voting closed) and October 3, 2025 (when core 2025 voting begins).
- Exceptions are sometimes made for games that release early in the public voting window, which might have already been extensively played or tested by our judges (for example, if we received a copy weeks earlier for an embargoed review)
- Ongoing / online games which launched before this period are eligible for the ‘Still Playing’ and ‘Best Game Expansion’ categories.
- Games set for release after November 20 (the day of our show), 2025 will be eligible for the Most Wanted award.
- Games released between October 3, 2024 (when public voting opens) and November 21, 2024 (the day of the awards) will be considered for our critically selected categories, plus Ultimate Game of the Year.
We look forward to seeing you all on October 3 when we reveal the nominees.
Key Dates for the Golden Joystick Awards 2025
| Nominations open | August 14, 2025 |
| Nominations close | September 5 |
| Shortlist announced and voting opens | October 3 |
| Voting closes | October 31 |
| UGOTY voting opens | November 3 |
| UGOTY voting closes | November 7 |
| Awards ceremony | November 20 |
Stay tuned for announcements about hosts, exclusive trailers and more surprises
Follow @gamesradar or @GoldenJoysticks on X for more announcements about new categories, exclusive trailers and our special guest hosts. The Golden Joystick Awards 2025 will award the best games of the last 12 months. We look forward to seeing you soon!
