The awards return for a virtual celebration of games with the 39th Golden Joystick Awards this November. In addition to established voting categories such as ‘Best Storytelling’, ‘Best Studio’ and the coveted ‘Ultimate Game of the Year’, two new awards will be introduced for this year only to celebrate ‘50 Years of Games’ – ‘Ultimate Game of All Time’ and ‘Best Gaming Hardware of All Time’. Full details of these special categories will be revealed in the coming weeks.
In early October players from around the world will be invited to vote for their all-time favourite game and hardware alongside the games, developers, publishers and personalities who have entertained them in 2021. The winners will be revealed during a digital awards ceremony on Tuesday, 23November.
Games and Film content director Daniel Dawkins explains more: “We’re inviting players to celebrate ‘50 Years of Games’ with us in a landmark moment for the gaming industry and the Golden Joystick Awards. The world’s first commercially available video game: Computer Space, released in November 1971. As the first coin-operated arcade machine, it represented the first time a videogame was ever played in exchange for money: the birth of videogames as a commercial industry. The Golden Joystick Awards will celebrate this momentous milestone in gaming by uniting our iconic brands and experts with the gaming industry’s most beloved creators in a special show that will honour the industry’s 50th anniversary.”
Shortlist and final list of categories announced in early October when voting opens and the winners will be revealed in a digital awards ceremony on Tuesday, 23November.