It's that time of year again. The Golden Joystick Awards have rolled around to highlight the best bits of gaming from the past 365 days. Over 12 million votes (a new record) have been cast across 21 categories, and with Final Fantasy XVI's Ben Starr taking the stage to share the winners, there's a lot to get excited about. Potential new Ben Starr memes, most of all.
The Golden Joystick Awards will air on November 21 at 8am PST / 11am EST / 4pm GMT / 5pm CEST on any livestream hosting platform you can think of. The show will go out across YouTube, Twitch, Steam, Facebook, and X, alongside Future Games Show, GamesRadar, and right here on PC Gamer, so there's no excuse to not tune in really.
It's been an interesting year for games, which makes an award show like this all the more exciting. Knowing who's going to take home the title of Ultimate Game of the Year is anyone's guess, especially given the tough competition across all the nominations. Over 125 games have been nominated across 21 categories, so there's been plenty to vote for.
Throughout the show, Ben Starr will be joined by multiple guests such as Alex McKenna, Alix Wilton Regan, Derek Siow, Neil Newbon, Patricia Summersett, and Samantha Béart. So, an abundance of beloved characters to spend the evening with. That's not even the full list of special guests, either. The awards show will also feature a live musical performance of both classic video game scores and music from the nominated games from video game composers Mark Choi and Lucia La Rezza.
A number of new categories have been added to the Golden Joystick Awards this year too. The debut of Best Indie Game - Self Published, Still Playing - PC & Console and Still Playing - Mobile will take place during the showcase, alongside the more traditional categories like Best Storytelling, Best Multiplayer Game, and Best Visual Design. In addition, a category for Best Game Adaptation will present its first award, and we've definitely seen some great contenders this year with Fallout and Halo's second season.
So if you do want to spend a while celebrating the last year of gaming then tune in on November 21 at 8am PST / 11am EST / 4pm GMT / 5pm CEST to see if your top pick brings home any prizes. We'll see you there!
