We Should Never Agree on the Meaning of 'Game of the Year' Signifies
The difficulty of discovering fresh titles persists as the gaming sector's greatest existential threat. Even in stressful age of business acquisitions, growing financial demands, workforce challenges, broad adoption of artificial intelligence, platform turmoil, shifting audience preferences, progress somehow comes back to the mysterious power of "breaking through."
Which is why I'm more invested in "awards" more than before.
Having just a few weeks left in the year, we're deeply in Game of the Year period, a time when the minority of gamers not playing identical several F2P shooters each week tackle their unplayed games, debate development quality, and recognize that even they won't experience every title. Expect detailed best-of lists, and anticipate "you missed!" responses to those lists. A gamer general agreement chosen by press, influencers, and fans will be announced at The Game Awards. (Creators vote the following year at the DICE Awards and GDC Awards.)
This entire sanctification is in good fun — there are no right or wrong answers when discussing the top games of 2025 — but the stakes seem more substantial. Any vote selected for a "game of the year", whether for the major top honor or "Excellent Puzzle Experience" in forum-voted honors, creates opportunity for a breakthrough moment. A mid-sized experience that received little attention at release may surprisingly attract attention by rubbing shoulders with more recognizable (i.e. heavily marketed) big boys. After last year's Neva appeared in the running for a Game Award, I know definitely that numerous gamers suddenly sought to read analysis of Neva.
Traditionally, the GOTY machine has created minimal opportunity for the breadth of titles published every year. The hurdle to clear to evaluate all appears like an impossible task; about numerous games launched on Steam in 2024, while merely a limited number releases — from recent games and live service titles to smartphone and virtual reality exclusives — were represented across The Game Awards finalists. When mainstream appeal, conversation, and platform discoverability determine what gamers choose annually, there's simply impossible for the scaffolding of honors to do justice a year's worth of titles. Nevertheless, there's room for enhancement, assuming we recognize its significance.
The Expected Nature of Annual Honors
In early December, the Golden Joystick Awards, among video games' longest-running recognition events, announced its finalists. While the decision for GOTY main category occurs early next month, you can already notice the trend: 2025's nominations created space for rightful contenders — major releases that have earned acclaim for refinement and scope, popular smaller titles received with blockbuster-level attention — but across a wide range of honor classifications, there's a noticeable predominance of recurring games. In the vast sea of art and mechanical design, the "Best Visual Design" makes room for several open-world games located in ancient Japan: Ghost of Yōtei and Assassin's Creed Shadows.
"Were I creating a future GOTY ideally," a journalist wrote in online commentary that I am chuckling over, "it should include a PlayStation sandbox adventure with strategic battle systems, companion relationships, and randomized procedural advancement that embraces gambling mechanics and features basic building development systems."
Industry recognition, across its formal and community versions, has turned expected. Multiple seasons of finalists and victors has established a template for the sort of polished lengthy experience can earn award consideration. There are games that never achieve top honors or including "important" creative honors like Direction or Story, frequently because to innovative design and unique gameplay. The majority of titles released in any given year are destined to be relegated into specific classifications.
Specific Examples
Hypothetical: Could Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, a game with review aggregate just a few points below Death Stranding 2 and Ghosts of Yōtei, crack the top 10 of The Game Awards' Game of the Year category? Or even a nomination for excellent music (since the soundtrack absolutely rips and deserves it)? Doubtful. Excellent Driving Experience? Certainly.
How good does Street Fighter 6 require being to achieve Game of the Year consideration? Can voters evaluate unique performances in Baby Steps, The Alters, or The Drifter and acknowledge the best performances of this year lacking major publisher polish? Can Despelote's two-hour play time have "enough" story to deserve a (justified) Top Story honor? (Furthermore, does annual event require a Best Documentary category?)
Similarity in preferences throughout multiple seasons — within press, among enthusiasts — shows a system more skewed toward a particular extended style of game, or indies that landed with adequate impact to check the box. Problematic for an industry where discovery is paramount.
