The 2016 Golden Joystick Awards is now officially open to public votes. This year marks the 34th awards show, a gaming award show where the gamers get to decide the winners.
According to DigitalSpy, 2016 will feature 25 categories – 21 of which the voting public will get to decide the winner. The other four categories will be chosen by a panel of experts consisting of members of future PLC’s editorial teams.
Fans will be allowed to select the Handheld Game of the Year, Best Gaming Moment, Personality of the Year, as well as some other categories.
The wildly popular Overwatch is this year’s most nominated game with an outstanding 9 nominations. But Inside, No Man’s Sky, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End follow closely behind with 8 nominations each. Third in nominations is Firewatch and The Witness with seven. Dan Dawkins, Global Editor in Chief of GamesRadar+, told DigitalSpy that
It has been another incredible year for gaming. Drawing up a shortlist for Game of the Year proved to be a more contentious debate than ever, but it only demonstrates the diversity of the market and astonishing level of quality. But it’s not just AAA games – Pokémon Go sent the world’s media into a frenzy, West Ham United and Manchester City were just two professional football clubs signing gamers to represent them, and the thriving video community continues to innovate. With virtual reality crafting genuinely fresh experiences, there’s never been more ways to get into games.
For this first time in Golden Joystick Award’s history, members of the public will be allowed to attend the event, which will be held at The O2 Arena in the UK. The event will be on Friday, November 18th from 3:30-5 GMT.
You can cast your vote for the 34th Golden Joystick Awards by clicking on this link.
Below are the 21 Categories open for public voting:
Best Original Game
1. Abzu
2. Firewatch
3. Furi
4. Hyper Light Drifter
5. Inside
6. No Man’s Sky
7. Overwatch
8. Quantum Break
9. Soma
10. Tom Clancy’s The Division
11. The Witness
Best Story Telling
1. Firewatch
2. Oxenfree
3. Quantum Break
4. Rise of the Tomb Raider
5. Soma
6. Tales from the Borderlands
7. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
8. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
9. Zero Time Dilemma
Best Visual Design
1. Abzu
2. Battleborn
3. Brutal
4. Dark Souls 3
5. Doom
6. Firewatch
7. Furi
8. Hyper Light Drifter
9. Inside
10. Mirrors Edge Catalyst
11. No Man’s Sky
12. Overwatch
13. Rise of the Tomb Raider
14. Soma
15. Superhot
16. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
17. The Witness
18. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Best Audio
1. Amplitude
2. Doom
3. Fallout 4
4. Hyper Light Drifter
5. I Am Setsuna
6. Inside
7. No Man’s Sky
8. Overwatch
9. Star Wars Battlefront
10. Thumper
11. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Best Multiplayer Game
1. Broforce
2. Call of Duty Black Ops 3
3. Dark Souls 3
4. FIFA 17
5. Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns
6. Halo 5: Guardians
7. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
8. Overwatch
9. PES 2017
10. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
11. Star Wars Battlefront
12. Street Fighter 5
13. Tom Clancy’s The Division
14. World of Warships
15. Worms W.M.D
Best Indie Game
1. Banner Saga 2
2. Firewatch
3. Furi
4. Hyper Light Drifter
5. Inside
6. No Man’s Sky
7. Oxenfree
8. Pony Island
9. Starbound
10. Stardew Valley
11. Superhot
12. The Witness
13. Undertale
Innovation of the Year
1. Guitar Hero Live
2. HTC Vive
3. No Man’s Sky
4. Oculus Rift
5. Playstation VR
6. Pokémon Go
7. Quantum Break
Best Gaming Moment in association with Absolute Radio
1. Climbing the tallest building in Mirror’s Edge Catalyst
2. Flying the Falcon in Star Wars Battlefront
3. Play of the game in Overwatch
4. Returning to Anor Londo in Dark Souls 3
5. The Brotherhood Of Steel arriving in Fallout 4
6. The Car Chase in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
7. The ending of Inside
8. Unleashing the BFG 9000 in Doom
9. Unlocking the secret of Psalm 46 in The Witness
Most Wanted Game in association with green man gaming
1. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3
2. Days Gone
3. God of War
4. Horizon Zero Dawn
5. Mass Effect Andromeda
6. Resident Evil 7
7. Scalebound
8. Sea of Thieves
9. Shenmue 3
10. Spider-Man
Star Citizen
11. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
YouTube Personality
1. CapgunTom
2. Jesse Cox
3. Amy Lee
4. TWOSYNC
5. Samgladiator
6. Ashley Mariee
7. Blitzwinger
8. JMX
9. Spencer FC
10. Mr Woofless
11. Matt HD Gamer
Studio of the Year
1. 343 Industries
2. Bethesda Game Studios
3. Blizzard
4. CD Projekt RED
5. Creative Assembly
6. Firaxis
7. FromSoftware
8. Hello Games
9. id software
10. Naughty Dog
11. Niantic
Gaming Platform
1. 3DS
2. Apple
3. iOS
4. Google Play
5. PS4
6. Steam
7. Xbox One
Game of the Year
1. Dark Souls 3
2. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
3. Doom
4. Fallout 4
5. Halo 5
6. Hitman
7. Inside
8. No Man’s Sky
9. Overwatch
10. PES 2017
11. Pokemon Go
12. Rise of the Tomb Raider
13. The Witness
14. Total War: Warhammer
15. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
16. XCOM 2
Performance of the Year
1. Doug Cockle
2. Camilla Luddington
3. Cissy Jones
4. Elias Toufexis
5. Nolan North
6. Rich Sommer
7. Shawn Ashmore
8. Victoria Atkin
Playstation Game of the Year
1. Abzu
2. Amplitude
3. Firewatch
4. Gravity Rush Remastered
5. I Am Setsuna
6. No Man’s Sky
7. Ratchet & Clank
8. Salt And Sanctuary
9. Severed
10. Street Fighter 5
11. The Last Guardian
12. The Witness
13. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
14. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection
15. Yakuza 5
Nintendo Game of the Year
1. Fire Emblem Fates
2. Kirby: Planet Robobot
3. The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
4. Monster Hunter Generations
5. Pokken Tournament
6. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
7. Xenoblade Chronicles X
8. Yo-kai Watch
9. The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD
PC Game of the Year
1. Sid Meier’s Civilization 6
2. Doom
3. Master of Orion: Conquer The Stars
4. Overwatch
5. Stardew Valley
6. Stellaris
7. Total War: Warhammer
8. Undertale
World of Warships
9. XCOM 2
Xbox Game of the Year
1. Ark: Survival Evolved
2. Elite: Dangerous
3. Forza Horizon 3
4. Forza Motorsport 6
5. Halo 5: Guardians
6. Inside
7. Killer Instinct Season 3
8. Quantum Break
9. ReCore
10. Rise of the Tomb Raider
Competitive Game of the Year
1. Call of Duty Black Ops 3
2. Counter Strike: Global Offensive
3. Dota 2
4. FIFA 17
5. Hearthstone: Heroes Of Warcraft
6. Heroes of the Storm
7. Killer Instinct Season 3
8. League of Legends
9. Overwatch
10. Smite
11. Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void
12. Street Fighter 5
Competitive Play of the Year
1. Coldzera’s jumping AWP quad kill at MLG Columbus
2. s1mple’s double AWP noscope at ESL One Cologne
3. Huni quad kill at the 2015 World Championships
4. w33’s Sunstrike, Echo Stomp cancel and Tornado snipe
5. Suma1l’s clutch Sacred Arrow at The International 2016
6. Justin Wong’s comeback against Flocker at EVO 2016
7. LI Joe’s V Trigger dodge at EVO 2016
8. Daigo’s ‘magic pixel’ comeback at the Capcom Cup Final
Best Handheld Mobile Game in association with Digital Spy
1. Alphabear
2. Clash Royale
3. Downwell
4. Fire Emblem Fates
5. Monster Hunter Generations
6. Peter Panic
7. Pokémon Go
8. Severed
9. The Room 3
10. Zero Time Dilemma