The Game Award for Game of the Year facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Game Award for Game of the Year
Larian Studios won Game of the Year for Baldur's Gate 3 in 2023.
Presented by	The Game Awards
Country	United States
First awarded	December 5, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-12-05)
Currently held by	Astro Bot (2024)

The Game Award for Game of the Year is an award presented annually by the Game Awards. It is given to a video game judged to deliver the best experience across creative and technical fields. The award is traditionally accepted by the game's directors or studio executives. The process begins with over 100 video game publications and websites, which collectively name six games as nominees. After the nominees are selected, the winner is chosen by a combined vote between the jury (90%) and public voting (10%).

Since its inception, the award has been given to eleven video games. Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment has won the award three times and been nominated a record thirteen times, while FromSoftware is the only developer with more than one win. Bethesda Softworks and Capcom are the most nominated companies without a win at four. The most recent winner is Astro Bot by Team Asobi.

Process and history

The Game Awards has a voting jury consisting of over 100 video game media and influencer outlets, which have been specifically selected for their work in critically evaluating video games. Each outlet completes an unranked ballot listing its top five choices; games with the most appearances across the ballots are selected as the nominees. The winners are determined between the jury (90%) and public voting (10%). The public vote is held via the official website and social media platforms such as Discord, Facebook, and Twitter; in China, fan voting is held via Bilibili.

Any game released before a certain date in November prior to the ceremony is eligible for award consideration. As a result, any game released after the cutoff date is eligible in the following year's ceremony, such as 2018's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate nominations at the Game Awards 2019; similarly, games released between the ballot due date in early November and the cutoff date in mid-to-late November are often overlooked, such as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in both 2019 and 2020 and Demon's Souls and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales in 2020. Early access games available before the cutoff date are eligible, as are live service games regardless of their release year: 2018's Among Us received several nominations in 2020.

Josef Fares presenting Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2022

The Game Award for Game of the Year is given to a video game judged to deliver the best experience across creative and technical fields. It is presented as the final award of the ceremony and is widely considered its most prestigious honor. Since 2017, the announcement of the winner has been preceded by a medley performance of the scores of each nominee by the Game Awards Orchestra, conducted by Lorne Balfe. The category was expanded from five to six nominees in 2018.

The award is traditionally accepted by the director of the winning game or an executive from the studio; the first award in 2014 was accepted by Dragon Age: Inquisition executive producer Mark Darrah and BioWare general manager Aaryn Flynn. The Game Awards host and producer Geoff Keighley presented the award for the first four ceremonies. Other presenters include directors of past winners—such as 2016 winner Overwatch's lead director Jeff Kaplan in 2018, 2020 winner The Last of Us Part II's creative director Neil Druckmann in 2021, 2021 winner It Takes Two's director Josef Fares in 2022, and 2023 winner Baldur's Gate 3's director Swen Vincke in 2024—and celebrity guests like Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez in 2019, Christopher Nolan in 2020, and Timothée Chalamet in 2023.

Winners and nominees

Acceptees of the award

Mark Darrah for Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014)

Marcin Iwiński for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)

Eiji Aonuma and Hidemaro Fujibayashi for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)

Cory Barlog for God of War (2018)

Hidetaka Miyazaki for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019) and Elden Ring (2022)

Neil Druckmann for The Last of Us Part II (2020)

Josef Fares for It Takes Two (2021)

Swen Vincke for Baldur's Gate 3 (2023)

Nicolas Doucet for Astro Bot (2024)

Winners are listed first, highlighted in yellow and boldface, and indicated with a double dagger ().

Winners and nominees

Event	Game	Developer	Publisher
2014	Dragon Age: Inquisition	BioWare	Electronic Arts
	Bayonetta 2	PlatinumGames	Nintendo
	Dark Souls II	FromSoftware	Bandai Namco Games
	Hearthstone	Blizzard Entertainment
	Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor	Monolith Productions	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
2015	The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	CD Projekt Red	CD Projekt
	Bloodborne	FromSoftware	Sony Computer Entertainment
	Fallout 4	Bethesda Game Studios	Bethesda Softworks
	Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain	Kojima Productions	Konami
	Super Mario Maker	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo
2016	Overwatch	Blizzard Entertainment
	Doom	id Software	Bethesda Softworks
	Inside	Playdead
	Titanfall 2	Respawn Entertainment	Electronic Arts
	Uncharted 4: A Thief's End	Naughty Dog	Sony Computer Entertainment
2017	The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild	Nintendo EPD	Nintendo
	Horizon Zero Dawn	Guerrilla Games	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Persona 5	P-Studio	Atlus
	PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds	PUBG Corporation
	Super Mario Odyssey	Nintendo EPD	Nintendo
2018	God of War	Santa Monica Studio	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Assassin's Creed Odyssey	Ubisoft Quebec	Ubisoft
	Celeste	Maddy Makes Games
	Marvel's Spider-Man	Insomniac Games	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Monster Hunter: World	Capcom
	Red Dead Redemption 2	Rockstar Games
2019	Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice	FromSoftware	Activision
	Control	Remedy Entertainment	505 Games
	Death Stranding	Kojima Productions	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Resident Evil 2	Capcom
	Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	Bandai Namco Studios	Nintendo
		Sora Ltd.
	The Outer Worlds	Obsidian Entertainment	Private Division
2020	The Last of Us Part II	Naughty Dog	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Animal Crossing: New Horizons	Nintendo EPD	Nintendo
	Doom Eternal	id Software	Bethesda Softworks
	Final Fantasy VII Remake	Square Enix
	Ghost of Tsushima	Sucker Punch Productions	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Hades	Supergiant Games
2021	It Takes Two	Hazelight Studios	Electronic Arts
	Deathloop	Arkane Studios	Bethesda Softworks
	Metroid Dread	MercurySteam	Nintendo
	Psychonauts 2	Double Fine	Xbox Game Studios
	Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart	Insomniac Games	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Resident Evil Village	Capcom
2022	Elden Ring	FromSoftware	Bandai Namco Entertainment
	A Plague Tale: Requiem	Asobo Studio	Focus Entertainment
	God of War Ragnarök	Santa Monica Studio	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Horizon Forbidden West	Guerrilla Games
	Stray	BlueTwelve Studio	Annapurna Interactive
	Xenoblade Chronicles 3	Monolith Soft	Nintendo
2023	Baldur's Gate 3	Larian Studios
	Alan Wake 2	Remedy Entertainment	Epic Games Publishing
	The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom	Nintendo EPD	Nintendo
	Marvel's Spider-Man 2	Insomniac Games	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Resident Evil 4	Capcom
	Super Mario Bros. Wonder	Nintendo EPD	Nintendo
2024	Astro Bot	Team Asobi	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Balatro	LocalThunk	Playstack
	Black Myth: Wukong	Game Science
	Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree	FromSoftware	Bandai Namco Entertainment
	Final Fantasy VII Rebirth	Square Enix
	Metaphor: ReFantazio	Studio Zero	Sega

Multiple nominations and awards

Developers

Publishers

Franchises

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:The Game Award a videojuego del año para niños