Here Are the 12 Golden Joystick Ultimate GOTY Nominees

Voting for the 44th annual Golden Joystick Awards closed on October 23, but the one category that wasn’t on the ballot last month is now open. The Ultimate Game of the Year shortlist went live today, October 26, with 12 games from the past 12 months, and voting for it runs until Friday, October 30, at 5:00 PM Pacific (8:00 PM Eastern). As with last year, you can pick up to three games and rank them in order of preference. Winners will be announced on November 11 at the ceremony in London, which will be livestreamed on YouTube, Twitch, and X, with Alix Wilton Regan, who plays Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis and Tomb Raider Catalyst, hosting the show.

Eight of the 12 nominees come straight from the PC and Console Game of the Year shortlists, while Dispatch, Control Resonant, Phantom Blade Zero, and Star Wars: Galactic Racer weren’t part of either list. Last year, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took Ultimate Game of the Year with 31 percent of the vote on its way to seven trophies for the night. We’ve reviewed six of this year’s 12 nominees, and those are linked below for anyone who wants a refresher before heading over to GamesRadar’s voting page.

Here are the 12 games on the Ultimate Game of the Year shortlist, listed alphabetically, with our reviews linked where we have them:

• 007 First Light
• Big Walk
• Control Resonant
• Crimson Desert
• Dispatch
• Forza Horizon 6
• Phantom Blade Zero
• Pokémon Pokopia
• Pragmata
• Resident Evil Requiem
• Star Wars: Galactic Racer
• The Blood of Dawnwalker