The Golden Joysticks in 2024: How to vote for games of the year

There are 20 categories to vote for – 19 available until 1st November and 'Ultimate Game of the Year' between 4th-8th November. As usual, you can head online to GamesRadar+ to vote for your favourite games.

Read on to find out everything there is to know about The Golden Joysticks 2024, including when the live event is and how to vote. Scroll to the end of the page for the full list of nominees.

When is The Golden Joysticks 2024?

The Golden Joysticks 2024 awards ceremony is taking place on 21st November 2024.

As per the official website, the event start time is scheduled for 3pm (UK time) and "full timings will be updated soon".

How to watch The Golden Joysticks 2024

You should be able to watch The Golden Joysticks 2024 awards ceremony on the GamesRadar YouTube channel on 21st November 2024.

As of writing, the live stream isn’t up yet, so we’ll update this page if and when new information about how to watch The Golden Joysticks 2024 is revealed by Future.

How to vote for The Golden Joysticks 2024

To vote for your favourite games in The Golden Joysticks 2024, you need to head over to GamesRadar+ and select the games you would like to win in each category.

There are 19 categories to vote in between now and Friday 1st November 2024. Between 4th November and 8th November, too, you will be able to vote in the 20th and final category – Ultimate Game of the Year.

The later voting date of the Ultimate Game of the Year is to give everyone a little more time to play the big releases that are launching in late 2024.

What’s more, for voting, you can also claim a free ebook from Future Publishing. The free ebooks on offer are as follows:

• 100 Retro Games to Play Before You Die
• 100 PlayStation Games To Play Before You Die
• The History of Videogames
• Ultimate Fan's Guide to Pokémon
• Ultimate Guide to Roblox

Enter your email address and choose to 'Register my Votes' when you finalise your votes and you can claim one of the ebooks above for free.

Full list of The Golden Joysticks nominees 2024

The full list of The Golden Joysticks 2024 nominees is as follows:

Best Storytelling

• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
• Tactical Breach Wizards
• Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• 1000xResist
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Best Multiplayer Game

• Abiotic Factor
• The Finals
• Sons of the Forest
• EA Sports College Football 25
• Tekken 8
• Helldivers 2

Best Visual Design

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

Best Indie Game

• Animal Well
• Beyond Galaxyland
• Ultros
• Indika
• The Plucky Squire
• Balatro
• Thank Goodness You're Here!
• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
• Acro
• Conscript

Best Indie Game - Self-published

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

Still Playing - PC and Console

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

Still Playing - Mobile

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

Studio of the Year

• Digital Eclipse
• 11 Bit Studios
• Team ASOBI
• Capcom
• Visual Concepts
• Arrowhead Game Studios

Best Game Expansion

• God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla
• World of Warcraft: The War Within
• Destiny 2: The Final Shape
• Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
• Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred
• Alan Wake 2 Expansion Pass

Best Audio Design

• Still Wakes the Deep
• Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2
• Robobeat
• Astro Bot
• Balatro
• Star Wars Outlaws

Best Soundtrack

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

Best Lead Performer

• Humberly Gonzalez – Kay Vess, Star Wars Outlaws
• Luke Roberts – James Sunderland, Silent Hill 2
• Cody Christian – Cloud Strife, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
• Sonequa Martin-Green – Alvilda, Asgard’s Wrath 2
• Kaiji Tang – Ichiban Kasuga, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Melina Juergens – Senua, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2

Best Supporting Performer

• Neve McIntosh – Suze, Still Wakes the Deep
• Debra Wilson – Amanda Waller, Suicide Squad
• Matt Berry – Herbert, Thank Goodness You're Here!
• Dawn M Bennett – Aigis, Persona 3 Reload
• Briana White – Aerith Gainsborough, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
• Abbi Greenland and Helen Goalen – The Furies, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2

PC Game of the Year

• Satisfactory
• Frostpunk 2
• Tactical Breach Wizards
• UFO 50
• Animal Well
• Balatro

Console Game of the Year

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

Best Early Access Game

• Enshrouded
• Lethal Company
• Manor Lords
• Palworld
• Hades 2
• Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor

Best Gaming Hardware

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

Best Game Trailer

• Helldivers 2 The Fight for Freedom Begins Launch Trailer
• Death Stranding 2 On The Beach State of Play Announce Trailer
• Caravan Sandwitch Launch Trailer
• Kingmakers Official Announcement Trailer
• The Plucky Squire Launch Trailer
• Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Narrator Reveal Trailer

Most Wanted Game

• Monster Hunter Wilds
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Slay The Spire 2
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Skate.
• Doom: The Dark Ages
• Atomfall
• Deadlock
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
• Grand Theft Auto 6
• South of Midnight
• Fable
• Exodus
• Mafia: The Old Country
• Light No Fire
• Sid Meier's Civilization VII
• Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
• Assassin's Creed Shadows

The Golden Joysticks 2024 also has the following additional awards:

• Streamers' Choice Award
• Best Game Adaptation
• Breakthrough Award
• Critics' Choice Award
• Lifetime Achievement

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