The 40th Golden Joystick Awards has revealed this year’s shortlisted games, and voting is now open worldwide (opens in new tab) until Friday, November 4 2022. The event is the longest-running public-voted game awards show around, with millions of votes cast every year, and is run by PC Gamer’s parent company Future.
Winners will be revealed in an all-digital awards show broadcast on all major streaming platforms on Tuesday, November 22, 2022. The 18 categories include over 70 games, so you’ll surely find something worth your own precious vote.
Among the hot favourites is Elden Ring, which has a whopping four nominations including ‘Best Multiplayer Game’, ‘Best Visual Design’, ‘PlayStation Game of the Year’, with developer FromSoftware Inc. being nominated for ‘Studio of the Year’. Other biggies with multiple nominations include Horizon Forbidden West, Splatoon 3, Final Fantasy XIV and Teardown.
There’s even a spot for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, which warms this old shellhead’s heart.
“With a few glorious exceptions, many of 2022’s hotly-anticipated blockbuster releases have shifted into 2023 […] making this one of the most eclectic, unpredictable and hard-to-spell-check Golden Joystick Awards shortlists in recent memory,” writes Daniel Dawkins, content director of games and film. “Indies, AAs and even a few solo devs diversify the field, with titles such as Immortality, Cult of the Lamb, Tunic, Vampire Survivors, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist and Neon White (to name but a few) leading the ever-contentious debate among our shortlist judges.
“Of course, some of 2022’s biggest games are 2021’s biggest games. Or even 2013’s biggest games. This shift to always-on ‘service’ gaming is reflected in our ‘Still Playing’ award, where franchise titans jostle to claim the Golden Joystick trophy. Equally, some of 2022’s best games won’t be officially released until 2023, and we recognise the importance of Early Access titles in our new award, ‘Best Early Access Launch’.”
The Nominations are:
Best Audio
We Are OFK
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Metal: Hellsinger
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Gran Turismo 7
OlliOlli World
Best Storytelling
IMMORTALITY
Return to Monkey Island
Horizon Forbidden West
NORCO
I Was A Teenage Exocolonist
Wayward Strand
Dreams
Final Fantasy XIV
GRID Legends
No Man’s Sky
Splatoon 3
Warframe
Best Game Expansion
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
GTA Online: The Contract
Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons
Total War: Warhammer III – Immortal Empires
Best Gaming Hardware
Playdate
Steam Deck
Analogue Pocket
Backbone One: PlayStation Edition
Roccat Kone XP
WD_Black SN850 NVMe SSD for PS5
Best Indie Game
Cult of the Lamb
Tunic
Rollerdrome
Dorfromantik
Neon White
Teardown
Best Multiplayer Game
Elden Ring
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenue
MultiVersus
Splatoon 3
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Best Visual Design
Elden Ring
Horizon Forbidden West
Cult of the Lamb
Ghostwire: Tokyo
A Plague Tale: Requiem
Lost in Play
Most Wanted Game
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
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
The Day Before
Mass Effect
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Kerbal Space Program 2
Dead Space
Nintendo Game of the Year
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Live A Live
Splatoon 3
Nintendo Switch Sports
PC Game of the Year
Neon White
Return to Monkey Island
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
Elden Ring
The Last Of Us Part I
Sifu
Xbox Game of the Year
Halo Infinite
Scorn
Grounded
As Dusk Falls
Sniper Elite 5
Dying Light 2: Stay Human
Still Playing
Genshin Impact
The Sims 4
Destiny 2
Final Fantasy XIV
Minecraft
Fortnite
Pokémon GO
Apex Legends
Lost Ark
The Elder Scrolls Online
Studio of the Year
Roll7
Terrible Toybox
Half Mermaid
FromSoftware Inc.
Interior / Night
Tribute Games
Best Early Access Launch
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Slime Rancher 2
Dune: Spice Wars
Core Keeper
Vampire Survivors
Gloomwood
Best Game Trailer
The Callisto Protocol The Truth of Black Iron Trailer
Goat Simulator 3 Announcement Trailer
skate. Still Working On It Trailer
Bloody Hell Hotel Reveal Trailer
Time Flies Announcement Trailer
Alan Wake 2 Reveal Trailer
The one category not included above is Ultimate Game of the Year, which has a separate voting window opening on Monday, November 7. There are also three categories decided by a panel of journalists from across Future’s various gaming titles, including GamesRadar, PC Gamer, Edge magazine, Retro Gamer and Play magazine. The winners of the ‘Best Performer’, ‘Breakthrough Award’ and ‘Critics’ Choice Award’ will all be revealed on the night.
You can vote here (opens in new tab) , but make sure to cast that ballot before November 4.
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