Voting has now closed for Ultimate Game of the Year, Best Lead Performer and Best Supporting Performer in the world’s longest-running video game awards, the Golden Joystick Awards Powered by Intel 2023 (GJAs).
You can join us live on Friday Nov 10 on all major streaming platforms to discover the games you voted as your best of the year. Golden Joystick Awards voting was over 55% up year-on-year, in testament to 2023's outstanding release schedule.
The UGOTY and Performer voting period ended on October 30. Voting across the 17 hotly-contested core categories (including Best Indie Game, Best Storytelling, and Most Wanted Game) closed on Friday, October 20.
Millions of votes were cast, and the winners across all categories will be revealed at the Golden Joystick Awards 2023 live show on November 10.
You can read all of the Golden Joystick Awards 2023 nominations here, with Baldur’s Gate 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom leading the pack.
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 41st year, the Golden Joystick Awards Powered by Intel will be returning as an in-person live show at Royal Lancaster London on November 10, 2023. You can book your tickets and tables here.
How games are nominated in the Golden Joystick Awards:
Before the first vote is cast, the Golden Joysticks judging panel meets to compile our shortlist of nominees. The judges' initial long list is combined with publisher nominations collated through an online form. This year’s judging was more ferociously debated than ever, resulting in one of our most comprehensive and diverse shortlists yet.
We strive to create a broad list of categories and nominees which represent the best that gaming has to offer. Sadly, we've had to exclude some much-loved and popular titles. We strive to make the judging process as transparent and meritocratic as possible and are always looking for constructive feedback.
How does judging work?
We’d love you to nominate the games, people and studios that you represent which you believe deserve recognition in this year’s categories - see the full list of awards in the Nominations form. We want to make sure that a wide pool of potential nominees is being considered.
The final shortlist will then be chosen by the Golden Joystick Awards judging panel consisting of Future editors and our trusted network of journalists with reference to this list of nominees.
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.
When will the shortlist be announced?
The final shortlist was announced on September 29, with voting starting that very same day.
Golden Joystick Awards 2023 nominations criteria
- The game must have been released between November 23, 2022 and September 29, 2023 (when core 2023 voting begins).
- 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 10 (the day of our show), 2023 will be eligible for the Most Wanted award.
- Games released between September 29, 2023 (when public voting opens) and November 10, 2023 (the day of the awards) will be considered for our critically selected categories, plus the voted categories Ultimate Game of the Year, Best Lead Performer and Best Supporting Performer.
We look forward to seeing you all on November 10 when we reveal the winners.
Key Dates for the Golden Joystick Awards 2023
| Nominations open | August 8, 2023 |
| Nominations close | August 31 |
| Shortlist announced and voting opens | September 29 |
| Voting closes | October 20 |
| UGOTY voting opens | October 23 |
| UGOTY voting closes | October 30 |
| Awards ceremony | November 10 |
Stay tuned for announcements about hosts, exclusive trailers and more surprises
Follow @gamesradar or @GoldenJoysticks on Twitter for more announcements about new categories, exclusive trailers and our special guest hosts. The Golden Joystick Awards 2023 will award the best games of the last 12 months. We look forward to seeing you on November 10!
