The 31st Golden Joystick Awards have opened up ballots. Are you ready to vote for your favorite games of the year?
This year the categories have been moved around to incorporate 15 different awards ranging from Best Online Game to Best Newcomer. Of course, every developer is after the coveted Game of the Year trophy, though. 18 games have made the final list of GOTY contenders ranging in genre and style.
Due to the awards being given out on October 26th (live on YouTube), only games released between August 25th, 2012 and September 2013 are included. While that means Grand Theft Auto 5 gets a spot, Call of Duty: Ghosts and several other of this year’s holiday blockbusters don’t.
Below you can see all the categories and nominees. Head over to CVG to vote.
Game of the Year
- Borderlands 2 (2K Games)
- Dishonored (Bethesda)
- Forza Horizon (Microsoft)
- Halo 4 (Microsoft)
- The Last of Us (Sony)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- Tomb Raider (Square Enix)
- BioShock Infinite (2K Games)
- The Walking Dead (TellTale)
- Pikmin 3 (Nintendo)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Activision)
- Guild Wars 2 (NCsoft)
- Fire Emblem Awakening (Nintendo)
- Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)
- Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Namco Bandai)
- Saints Row IV (Deep Silver)
- Splinter Cell Blacklist (Ubisoft)
Most Wanted
- Xbox One (Microsoft)
- PlayStation 4 (Sony)
- The Elder Scrolls Online (Bethesda)
- Thief (Square Enix)
- Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Konami)
- Destiny (Activision)
- Battlefield 4 (EA)
- Call of Duty: Ghosts (Activision)
- Super Smash Bros. Wii U (Nintendo)
- Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Namco Bandai)
- The Division (Ubisoft)
- Titanfall (EA)
- Dark Souls II (Namco Bandai)
- Need for Speed: Rivals (EA)
- Batman: Arkham Origins (Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc)
Best Indie Game
- Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)
- Gunpoint (Suspicious Developments)
- Mark of the Ninja (Klei)
- State of Decay (Undead Labs)
- Guacamelee! (Drinkbox Studios)
- The Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow)
- Ridiculous Fishing (Vlambeer)
- FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games)
- Super Hexagon (Terry Cavanagh)
Best Newcomer
- The Last of Us (Sony)
- The Walking Dead (TellTale)
- Dishonored (Bethesda)
- Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)
- DUST 514 (CCP)
- Forza Horizon (Microsoft)
- ZombiU (Ubisoft)
- Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Namco Bandai)
- Remember Me (Capcom)
- State of Decay (Microsoft)
- Injustice: Gods Among Us (Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc)
- DayZ (Dean ‘Rocket’ Hall/Bohemia Interactive)
Best Handheld Game
- Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo)
- Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (Nintendo)
- Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Capcom)
- LittleBigPlanet PSVita (Sony)
- Fire Emblem: Awakening (Nintendo)
- Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate (Nintendo)
- Assassin’s Creed III Liberation (Ubisoft)
- Soul Sacrifice (Sony)
- Persona 4 Golden (Square Enix)
- Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)
Best Gaming Platform in association with Digital Spy
- Steam (Valve)
- Wii U (Nintendo)
- Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo)
- Xbox 360 (Microsoft)
- PlayStation 3 (Sony)
- PS Vita (Sony)
- Gog.com (CD Projekt RED)
- Google Play (Google)
- iOS App Store (Apple)
Best Storytelling
- The Last of Us (Sony)
- BioShock Infinite (2K Games)
- Metro: Last Light (Deep Silver)
- The Walking Dead (TellTale)
- Halo 4 (Microsoft)
- Dishonored (Bethesda)
- LEGO City: Undercover (Nintendo)
- Tomb Raider (Square Enix)
- Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (Ubisoft)
- Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (505)
- COD: Black Ops II (Activision)
- Virtue’s Last Reward (Rising Star Games)
Best Mobile/Tablet Game of the Year
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2K Games)
- Ridiculous Fishing (Vlambeer)
- Super Hexagon (Terry Cavanagh)
- Deus Ex: The Fall (Square Enix)
- Rayman Jungle Run (Ubisoft)
- Total War Battles: Shogun (Sega)
- Joe Danger Touch (Hello Games)
- Year Walk (Simogo)
- Punch Quest (Rocketcat)
Best Online Game
- World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (Blizzard)
- ShootMania Storm (Ubisoft)
- Firefall (Red 5)
- PlanetSide 2 (Sony Online Entertainment)
- SimCity (EA)
- DayZ (Dean ‘Rocket’ Hall/Bohemia Interactive)
- Curiosity – What’s Inside the Cube? (22Cans)
- Defiance (Trion Worlds)
- World of Tanks (Wargaming.net)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Dota 2 (Valve)
- Eve Online – Odyssey (CCP)
- Guild Wars 2 (NCsoft)
- Runescape 3 (Jagex)
- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (Square Enix)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (EA)
- Disney Infinity (Disney Interactive)
- The Secret World (EA/Funcom)
- Rift (Trion Worlds)
- Aion (Gameforge)
Best Multiplayer
- FIFA 13 (EA)
- PES 2013 (Konami)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Activision)
- Nintendo Land (Nintendo)
- Halo 4 (Microsoft)
- Borderlands 2 (2K Games)
- Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Sega)
- StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (Blizzard)
- Company of Heroes 2 (Sega)
- F1 2012 (Codemasters)
- Battlefield 3 End Game Expansion (EA)
- Payday 2 (505 Games)
Innovation of the Year in association with T3
- Ouya
- Twitch.tv
- Nintendo Direct (Nintendo)
- Miiverse (Nintendo)
- Wonderbook (Sony)
- SmartGlass (Microsoft)
- Oculus Rift (Oculus)
- Defiance (Trion Worlds)
- Curiosity – What’s Inside the Cube? (22Cans)
- Earforce XP510 headset (Turtle Beach)
Studio of the Year
- TellTale Games
- Ubisoft Montreal
- Naughty Dog
- 343 Industries
- EA Canada
- Irrational Games
- Nintendo Intelligent Systems
- Ninja Theory
- Playground Games
- Riot Games
- DICE
- Arkane Studios
- The Creative Assembly
- Sports Interactive
Best Visual Design
- BioShock Infinite (2K Games)
- Dishonored (Bethesda)
- Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Namco Bandai)
- Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)
- The Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow)
- Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (Ubisoft)
- Borderlands 2 (2K Games)
- Pikmin 3 (Nintendo)
- DMC (Capcom)
- The Last of Us (Sony
- Metro: Last Light (Deep Silver)
- Halo 4 (Microsoft)
- God of War: Ascension (Sony)
Best Gaming Moment in association with Absolute Radio
- Trying Oculus Rift for the first time. (Oculus)
- MGS Revengeance – Senator boss fight (Capcom)
- Bioshock Infinite – Hallelujah (2K)
- Mass Effect 3 – Citadel DLC party (EA)
- DMC – Bob Barbas boss fight (Capcom)
- Dishonored – Lady Boyle’s Last Party (Bethesda)
- Far Cry 3 – The Definition of Insanity (Ubisoft)
- Hotline Miami – Chapter 8 (disco) (Devolver Digital)
- The Walking Dead – The boy in the attic (Telltale)
- Assassin’s Creed III – The Templar Twist (Ubisoft)
- The Unfinished Swan – The King’s Dream (Giant Sparrow)
- The Last of Us – Joel’s loss (Sony)
- Tomb Raider – Radio Tower climb (Square Enix)
- Dead Space 3 – A surprising death (EA)
- Halo 4 – Cortana’s fate (Microsoft)
The YouTube Gamer Award
- Yogscast
- Ali A
- Smooth McGroove
- Francis
- Fitzthislewitz
- Tam McGleish (Gamewank)
- Bitsocket
