It’s that time of year again! No, not Christmas (put that mistletoe down!), it is award season! While both the Game Awards and the Indie Game Awards announced their nominees earlier this week, it is the Golden Joystick Awards that have handed out the first accolades.

The 42nd Annual edition of the Golden Joystick Awards was an evening of celebration, with dozens of games nominated across 24 featured categories. With only four awards decided by a panel of judges (Lifetime Achievement, Critics’ Choice, Breakthrough, and Streamers’ Choice), the other 20 were voted on by the public.

Watch the entire event HERE.

See the full list of nominees and winners from the 2024 Golden Joystick Awards below.

The 2024 Golden Joystick Awards

Ultimate Game of the Year

Animal Well
Astro Bot
Balatro
Black Myth: Wukong (WINNER)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Helldivers 2
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Satisfactory
Silent Hill 2
Tekken 8

Studio of the Year

11 Bit Studios
Arrowhead Game Studios
Capcom
Digital Eclipse
Team ASOBI (WINNER)
Visual Concepts

Console Game of the Year

Astro Bot
Dragon's Dogma 2
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Helldivers 2 (WINNER)
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

PC Game of the Year

Animal Well
Balatro
Frostpunk 2
Satisfactory (WINNER)
Tactical Breach Wizards
UFO 50

Most Wanted

Atomfall
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Sid Meier's Civilization VII
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Deadlock
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
Doom: The Dark Ages
Exodus
Fable
Ghost of Yotei
Grand Theft Auto VI (WINNER)
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Light No Fire
Mafia: The Old Country
Monster Hunter Wilds
Skate
Slay the Spire 2
South of Midnight

Best Storytelling

1000xResist
Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (WINNER)
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Tactical Breach Wizards

Best Visual Design

Astro Bot
Black Myth: Wukong (WINNER)
Harold Halibut
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

Best Audio Design

Astro Bot (WINNER)
Balatro
Robobeat
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
Star Wars Outlaws
Still Wakes the Deep

Best Multiplayer Game

Abiotic Factor
EA Sports College Football 25
Helldivers 2 (WINNER)
Sons Of The Forest
Tekken 8
The Finals

Best Game Expansion

Alan Wake 2 Expansion Pass
Destiny 2: The Final Shape
Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (WINNER)
God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla
World of Warcraft: The War Within

Best Indie Game

Animal Well
Arco
Balatro (WINNER)
Beyond Galaxyland
Conscript
Indika
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Thank Goodness You're Here!
The Plucky Squire
Ultros

Best Self Published Indie Game

Arctic Eggs
Another Crab's Treasure (WINNER)
Crow Country
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami
I Am Your Beast
Little Kitty, Big City
Riven
Tactical Breach Wizards
Tiny Glade
UFO 50

Best Soundtrack

A Highland Song
Astro Bot
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (WINNER)
Hauntii
Silent Hill 2
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

Best Lead Performer

Cody Christian as Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (WINNER)
Kaiji Tang as Ichiban Kasuga in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Humberly Gonzalez as Kay Vess in Star Wars Outlaws
Luke Roberts as James Sunderland in Silent Hill 2
Melina Juergens as Senua in Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
Sonequa Martin-Green as Alvilda in Asgard's Wrath 2

Best Supporting Performer

Abbi Greenland & Helen Goalen as The Furies in Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
Briana White as Aerith Gainsborough in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (WINNER)
Dawn M. Bennett as Aigis in Persona 3 Reload
Debra Wilson as Amanda Waller in Suicide Squad
Matt Berry as Herbert in Thank Goodness You're Here!
Neve McIntosh as Suze in Still Wakes the Deep

Best Early Access Game

Enshrouded
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
Hades 2
Manor Lords
Lethal Company (WINNER)
Palworld

Still Playing Award – Console & PC

Apex Legends
Counter-Strike 2
EA Sports FC
Dota 2
Fortnite
GTA Online
Minecraft (WINNER)
Naraka: Bladepoint
Roblox
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
Valorant
Warframe

Still Playing Award – Mobile

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile
Free Fire
Honkai: Star Rail (WINNER)
Roblox
Marvel Snap
Monopoly Go!
Mini Motorways
PUBG: Battlegrounds
Squad Busters
Star Wars: Hunters
Subway Surfers
The Sims Mobile

Best Game Trailer

Caravan Sandwitch - Launch Trailer
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach - State of Play Announce Trailer
Helldivers 2 - "The Fight for Freedom Begins" Launch Trailer (WINNER)
Kingmakers - Official Announcement Trailer
Sid Meier's Civilization VII - Narrator Reveal Trailer
The Plucky Squire - Launch Trailer

Best Game Adaption

Borderlands
Fallout (WINNER)
Halo Season 2
Knuckles
Like a Dragon: Yakuza
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

Best Gaming Hardware

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024)
Backbone One (2nd Gen)
LG UltraGear 32GS95UE
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super
Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra
Steam Deck OLED (WINNER)

Breakthrough Award

Balatro

Critics’ Choice Award

Helldivers 2

Streamers’ Choice Award

Chained Together

So there are the winners from this year’s Golden Joystick Awards! What do you think of the winners? Which games do you think got snubbed? Let us know in the comments below.