The nominees for the 2025 Golden Joystick Awards have been announced. Held in London each year, the annual show highlights the best of the best in the world of video games. This year’s event features over two dozen awards, with 22 of them being voted on by the general public.
On October 3, nominees for 21 categories were announced. Through October 31, fans were able to vote on the awards for their favorite games and performers. Following that, voting for the Ultimate Game of the Year opened in early November, while three more awards—Streamers’ Choice, Breakthrough, and Critics’ Choice—will be chosen by a panel and announced at the show.
UPDATE Nov. 20: All 2025 Golden Joystick Award Winners can be found here and also highlighted in bold below.
You can check out the full list of nominees below, courtesy of Future Media. If you want to place your vote, you can do so here.
Let us know what games you feel deserve recognition down in the comments below and join the official Insider Gaming Discord server. The 2025 Golden Joystick Awards will air on November 20, and Insider Gaming will have full coverage of each winner when the time comes.
Golden Joystick Awards 2025 Nominees
Ultimate Game of the Year
- Split Fiction
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Peak
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Blue Prince
- Silent Hill f
- Ghost of Yotei
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Hades 2
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
Best Storytelling
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- SILENT HILL f
- Blue Prince
- Mafia: The Old Country
- Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
- The Hundred Line – Last Defense Academy
Best Multiplayer Game
- Battlefield 6
- PEAK
- ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN
- Split Fiction
- Mario Kart World
- REMATCH
Best Visual Design
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- The Midnight Walk
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Sword of the Sea
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Best Indie Game
- Blue Prince
- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
- Wanderstop
- Skin Deep
- despelote
- Herdling
- Abiotic Factor
- Baby Steps
- Caves of Qud
- Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
Best Indie Game – Self Published
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Hades II
- Sword of the Sea
- PEAK
- Keep Driving
- Spilled!
- Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders
- DELTARUNE
- Promise Mascot Agency
- Consume Me
Still Playing Award – PC and Console
- Minecraft
- Dead by Daylight
- HELLDIVERS 2
- NARAKA: BLADEPOINT
- Satisfactory
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Marvel Rivals
- Fortnite
- Apex Legends
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X
- GTA Online
- Warframe
Still Playing Award – Mobile
- Call of Duty: Mobile
- Pokémon GO
- Subway Surfers
- Clash Royale
- Honkai: Star Rail
- Genshin Impact
- Zenless Zone Zero
- Roblox
- Free Fire
- PUBG MOBILE
Best Remake / Remaster
- METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
- Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
- The Talos Principle: Reawakened
- Gears of War: Reloaded
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4
Studio of the Year
- Team Cherry
- Sandfall Interactive
- Aggro Crab and Landfall
- Bloober Team
- Sloclap
- Rebellion
Best Game Expansion
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants
- Lies of P: Overture
- No Man’s Sky: Voyagers
- Atomfall Story Expansion Pack: The Red Strain
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows – Claws of Awaji
- Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest
Best Audio Design
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Battlefield 6
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Two Point Museum
- Cronos: The New Dawn
Best Soundtrack
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- South of Midnight
- SILENT HILL f
- Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream
- DELTARUNE
- Sword of the Sea
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
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- The Alters
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- PEAK
- Abiotic Factor
- Dune: Awakening
Console Game of the Year
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Monster Hunter Wilds
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
- Mario Kart World
Best Early Access Game
- Grounded 2
- Schedule I
- 9 Kings
- R.E.P.O.
- skate.
- White Knuckle
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
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
- Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2
- Battlefield 6: Official Launch Live Action Trailer
- Rhythm Doctor – Official Release Date Trailer
- The Expanse: Osiris Reborn – Announcement Trailer
- ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN – Announcement Trailer
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Official CGI Trailer – Live a Life Medieval
Most Wanted Game
- Grand Theft Auto VI
- Resident Evil Requiem
- The Witcher 4
- Black Myth: Zhong Kui
- LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Night
- 007 First Light
- EXODUS
- Subnautica 2
- Light No Fire
- The Expanse: Osiris Reborn
- Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
- SAROS
- The Blood of Dawnwalker
- Crimson Desert
- KINGDOM HEARTS IV
- Marvel’s Wolverine
- Hell Let Loose: Vietnam
- OD – KNOCK
- Onimusha: Way of the Sword
- Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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Those games
The Alters
Abiotic Factor
Dune: Awakening
DO NOT deserve the GOTY nomination, for sure they paid their way in there. Wheres Expedition 33, the literal best game of the year?! We got yet another rigged nomination, great.
Clair obscur didnt get nominated for any of the GOTY games but a bunch of categories? Trash list
how is expedition 33 not up there for game of the year on console are we really serious here?
experdition 33 in either pc or console goty is an absolute travesty…
I would say that I’m not surprised by the absence of Clair Obscure expedition 33, but by the lack of nominations for Dragon Age the Failguard, at this point, does this “awards” even matter?
No Clair Obscure Expedition 33 for best game in Console and PC? Is Golden Joystick still run by Woke Activists who push LGBTSHIT Agenda?
What a fucking joke, exp33 isn’t in goty. I find this hard to believe as credible list.
Where the hell ist Expedition 33 in the GOTY cat?
You can’t be serious with these choices, right?