Golden Joystick Awards 2025 shortlists nominees for 43rd ceremony, opens public voting

The shortlist of nominees for the Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People’s Gaming Awards, was revealed on Oct. 3, 2025, along with the opening of global public voting.

The Golden Joystick Awards 2025 will be the 43rd ceremony and will be hosted in London on November 20, 2025.

Opened on Oct. 3, 2025, public voting across 20 categories will close on Oct. 31, 2025, with separate voting for Ultimate Game of the Year planned to run from Nov. 3, 2025, until Nov. 7, 2025. The shortlist for the Ultimate Game of the Year will be revealed simultaneously with the start of voting.

Additional category winners, including Breakthrough Award and Critics’ Choice Award will be selected by a panel of journalists from brands including gamesradar.com, pcgamer.com, FGS, Edge magazine, and Retro Gamer, plus Future’s trusted network of freelance writers.

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

Best Remake / Remaster

Studio of the Year

• Team Cherry
• Sandfall Interactive
• Aggro Crab and Landfall
• Bloober Team
• Sloclap
• Rebellion

Best Game Expansion

Best Audio Design

Best Soundtrack

Best Lead Performer

• Jennifer English – Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Troy Baker – Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Tom McKay – Henry in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• Alex Jordan – Jan Dolski in The Alters
• Erika Ishii – Atsu in Ghost of Yōtei
• Adriyan Rae – Hazel in South of Midnight

Best Supporting Performer

• Troy Baker – Higgs Monaghan in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Jim High – Erik in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• Ben Starr – Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Lucy Griffiths – Alva in Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream
• Logan Cunningham – Hades II
• Marios Gavrilis – Emmerich Voss in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

PC Game of the Year

Console Game of the Year

Best Early Access Game

Best Gaming Hardware

• Nintendo Switch 2
• Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller
• WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe SSD
• Elgato Facecam 4K
• Razer Blade 16
• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU

Best Game Adaptation

• Devil May Cry (Netflix)
• Arcane Season 2 (Netflix)
• The Last of Us Season 2 (HBO)
• A Minecraft Movie (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• Secret Level (Prime Video)
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Paramount Pictures)

Best Game Trailer

Most Wanted Game

Launched in 1983, the Golden Joystick Awards is the longest-running video game award ceremony and the second-oldest after the Arcade Awards, which were launched in 1981 but closed in 1997.