The 42nd Golden Joystick Awards Return on November 21

Future :

New York / London: The world’s longest-running public-voted games awards, the Golden Joystick Awards, will return for its 42nd year on Thursday, November 21, 2024. Winners will be revealed in a celebration of games in London and live-streamed globally on all major streaming platforms. 


The Golden Joystick Awards attract millions of votes every year, with players from all over the world deciding who takes home the coveted gongs. This year’s shortlist will be announced here on Friday, October 4, 2024, with public voting opening on the same day. An additional selection of critically selected winners will be unveiled at the awards ceremony. 


Known as the ‘People’s Gaming Awards’, last year’s show saw a record number of votes cast across more than 20 categories. Larian Studios' Baldur's Gate 3 took home the most awards, picking up a record-breaking seven Golden Joysticks in total including Ultimate Game of the Year. This year’s awards will feature four new categories including Best Soundtrack, Still Playing Award (Mobile), Best Indie Game (Small Studio) and Best Game Adaptation to reflect the changing way games are played, and the industry’s growing influence on the world of entertainment.

  Daniel Dawkins, Content Director of Games Video & Events at Future said: “As we enter our 42nd year, the GJAs is proud to adapt to the changing landscape of video games. To that end, we’ve reintroduced the Best Early Access Game award, split the Best Audio category into Best Soundtrack and Best Audio Design, and launched the Best Game Adaptation award, which celebrates the best movies, TV, comics and more inspired by our industry. Oh, and we’ve redefined the Still Playing award into Still Playing (Mobile) and Still Playing (Console and PC).

We’ve also reviewed our Best Indie Game category. Defining an indie game is hard. Wherever you draw the line, 2024 forged a new path between indie titles and AAA games. Balatro, the poker-inspired deck builder from a solo developer, sold over a million copies. Helldivers 2 hit a AA, mid-price, sweet spot that outperformed a number of blockbuster ‘sure bets’. However you define indie games, the Golden Joystick Awards needed to adapt. The new Best Indie Game - Small Team award recognises developers with less than 10 people, while Best Indie Game covers titles from larger independent teams, operating with more flexible budgets.

The world’s longest-running games awards are ever evolving, but our mission remains the same: to celebrate excellence, unite the industry, and invite players worldwide to show their thanks for the games we love so much.”

The full list of public voted categories are:

 

Additional categories are critically chosen including:

Follow the awards on Twitter and Facebook #GoldenJoystickAwards.

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Notes to Editors:

Key dates
Friday October 4 - Shortlist announced and voting opens
Friday November 1 - Voting closes
Monday November 11 - Voting opens for Ultimate Game of the Year
Monday November 18 - Voting closes for Ultimate Game of the Year
Thursday November 21 - Winners are revealed


About The Golden Joystick Awards

The Golden Joystick Awards honour the people and products that have transformed the games industry in 2024. The event features over 20 categories, the majority of which are voted for by the global gaming public. The event was first held in 1983 and is now the world’s oldest publicly voted gaming awards brand. For more information visit goldenjoysticks.com or follow us on twitter.com/goldenjoysticks and facebook.com/goldenjoysticks.


About Future

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