Voting is now live for the 36th Golden Joystick Awards presented with AMD. From 1 pm today the public can cast their vote in sixteen different categories including ‘Most Wanted Game’, ‘PlayStation’, ‘Xbox’, ‘Nintendo’ and ‘Esports Game of the Year’ and new categories ‘Best Competitive Game’ and ‘Best Cooperative Game’. Votes are cast at www.goldenjoysticks.com, with voting closing on Thursday 25th October.
New for 2018 is a dedicated one-week voting window for ‘Ultimate Game of the Year’ held at the end of the voting period. The voting for this category will now open on Friday 26th October and close on Friday 2nd November.
Dan Dawkins, editor in chief GamesRadar+ said: “We’re opening the vote later for ‘Ultimate Game of the Year’ this year to give people more time to play the year’s biggest games before making their final decision. With so many big titles coming out in Autumn including Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Red Dead Redemption 2 it is important to make sure these games can be considered fully by gamers.”
Other category updates include ‘Best Competitive Game’ and ‘Best Cooperative Game’ which replace the ‘Best Multiplayer Game Award’ of previous years to better reflect how people play. Gaming phenomena, Fortnite: Battle Royale sits alongside well-established titles such as PES 2019 and FIFA 19 in ‘Best Competitive Game’. While the ‘Best Cooperative Game’ category includes titles such as Sea of Thieves, No Man’s Sky NEXT and Overcooked 2. This new category celebrates the cooperative side of gaming – a field that grows ever more diverse every year.
Leading the shortlist this year is God of War, a reinvention of one of the PlayStation’s most enduring flagship titles, and Gorogoa, a wordless hand-drawn puzzle game, each with four nominations. Subnautica, an undersea survival game and Monster Hunter: World, a deep online RPG co-op game, follow with three nods apiece.
Dan Dawkins, continued: “Over 100 different games have made the shortlist this year. The variety of games nominated reflects the diversity of modern gaming and the awards themselves. The shortlisted games are a true mix of single player, online multiplayer, online competitive, F2P, indie, VR and classic console AAA titles.”
The critics choice award winners will be revealed on the night for ‘Critics Choice Award’, ‘Breakthrough’ award, ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award and new for 2018, ‘Outstanding Contribution’ award to celebrate the games, people or technology that has changed our industry for the better in 2018.
Categories open to voting:
- Best Storytelling
- Best Visual Design
- Best Audio
- Best Indie Game
- Best Competitive Game
- Best Cooperative Game
- Still Playing
- Esports Game of the Year
- Best VR Game
- Studio of the Year
- Mobile Game of the Year
- Nintendo Game of the Year
- PlayStation Game of the Year
- PC Game of the Year
- Xbox Game of the Year
- Most Wanted Game
Viewers can tune into the Golden Joystick Awards Livestream on Friday 16th November when the awards will return to London’s Bloomsbury Big Top for a spectacular ceremony hosted by comedian Danny Wallace.
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