November 22, 2022, London 21:30 GMT / New York 16:30 EST:

The winners were revealed tonight at the 40th Golden Joystick Awards presented by GamesRadar. Over three million public votes were cast in 18 categories, with three Critics’ Awards also given out. The show was hosted by Hollywood stars Laura Bailey and Troy Baker, known for working together as Joel and Abby in The Last of Us Part II, and also featured guest presenters such as Hazelight’s Josef Fares, Double Fine’s Tim Schafer, actor Maggie Robertson, Remedy Entertainment’s Sam Lake, BBC Radio 3 Sound of Gaming presenter Louise Blain and screenwriter and author Gary Whitta.

The 2022 Golden Joystick Awards winners are:

• Best Storytelling: Horizon Forbidden West (public vote)

• Still Playing Award: Genshin Impact (public vote)

• Best Visual Design: Elden Ring (public vote)

• Studio of the Year: FromSoftware Inc. (public vote)

• Best Game Expansion: Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course (public vote)

• Best Early Access Launch: Slime Rancher 2 (public vote)

• Best Indie Game: Cult of the Lamb (public vote)

• Best Multiplayer Game: Elden Ring (public vote)

• Best Audio: Metal: Hellsinger (public vote)

• Best Game Trailer: Goat Simulator 3 Announcement Trailer (public vote)

• Best Game Community: Final Fantasy XIV (public vote)

• Best Gaming Hardware: Steam Deck (public vote)

• Breakthrough Award: Vampire Survivors (critically chosen)

• Critics’ Choice Award: Elden Ring (critically chosen)

• Best Performer: Mahon Gage (Marissa Marcel, IMMORTALITY) (critically chosen)

• Nintendo Game of the Year: Pokemon Legends: Arceus (public vote)

• PC Game of the Year: Return to Monkey Island (public vote)

• PlayStation Game of the Year: Stray (public vote)

• Xbox Game of the Year: Grounded (public vote)

• Most Wanted Game: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (public vote)

• Ultimate Game of the Year: Elden Ring (public vote)

Daniel Dawkins, Content Director, Games at GamesRadar+ said:

“Elden Ring steals the headlines with an amazing and utterly-deserved haul of five awards, including Best Studio for FromSoftware Inc. A feat made all the more remarkable when you consider the game’s uncompromising difficulty, high fantasy setting and deep mechanics; a gamer’s game straddling mainstream resonance.

“Elsewhere, there is an incredible spread of winners, with 16 games in total claiming Golden Joystick Awards, from one-person-dev-breakthroughs such as Vampire Survivors – the unofficial system-seller for Valve’s Steam Deck, winner of our Best Gaming Hardware trophy – and acclaimed indies such as Cult of the Lamb.

“The Golden Joystick Awards is proud to represent a wide variety of genres, creators and fans, with 2022’s new award categories Best Early Access Game and Best Game Trailer reflecting an industry in perpetual evolution. As the GJAs celebrate their 40th anniversary, we can’t wait to join the voting public in celebrating the unmapped future of interactive entertainment, as we have been proud to champion since 1983.”

You can watch individual clips of each award now on:

• YouTube – GamesRadar

You can watch the full awards show now on:

• Twitch – The Golden Joystick Awards

• YouTube – GamesRadar

• GamesRadar

For more information visit Golden Joystick Awards or follow us on Twitter and Facebook #GoldenJoystickAwards.