Xbox Game Studios Titles Up For Several Awards At Golden Joysticks 2025

Voting for this year’s Golden Joystick Awards has gone live today, and while Xbox misses out on any Game of the Year nominations this time around, several of its titles are up for various other awards at the 2025 edition of the show.

Xbox’s Deep South-inspired adventure South of Midnight is up for two awards — ‘Best Soundtrack and ‘Best Lead Performer’ — while Indiana Jones: The Order of Giants is also up for ‘Best Lead Performer’ alongside ‘Best Supporting Performer’ and ‘Best Game Expansion’. Other Xbox Game Studios highlights include Gears: Reloaded, Oblivion Remastered and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 in the ‘Best Remake / Remaster’ category, Call of Duty: Warzone and Minecraft in the ‘Still Playing Award’ and more.

We think South of Midnight is worth some special recognition here as its April release feels like a long way away now (it’s my personal GOTY pick at this stage), while it’s good to see Xbox/Bethesda/Activision games also fill out some of these award categories. It’s a shame there’s no Golden Joystick GOTY shout, but maybe next year, eh?

Down below is the full list of nominations in each category, and we’ve bolded all of the Xbox-developed entries as well. To cast your votes, check out the voting link right at the bottom of the article.

Best Storytelling

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• SILENT HILL f
• Blue Prince
• Mafia: The Old Country
• Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
• The Hundred Line – Last Defense Academy –

Best Multiplayer Game

• Battlefield 6
• PEAK
• ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN
• Split Fiction
• Mario Kart World
• REMATCH

Best Visual Design

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• The Midnight Walk
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Sword of the Sea
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Best Indie Game

• Blue Prince
• Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
• Wanderstop
• Skin Deep
• despelote
• Herdling
• Abiotic Factor
• Baby Steps
• Caves of Qud
• Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor

Best Indie Game – Self Published

• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Hades II
• Sword of the Sea
• PEAK
• Keep Driving
• Spilled!
• Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders
• DELTARUNE
• Promise Mascot Agency
• Consume Me

Still Playing Award – PC and Console

• Minecraft
• Dead by Daylight
• HELLDIVERS 2
• NARAKA: BLADEPOINT
• Satisfactory
• Call of Duty: Warzone
• Marvel Rivals
• Fortnite
• Apex Legends
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X
• GTA Online
• Warframe

Still Playing Award – Mobile

• Call of Duty: Mobile
• Pokémon GO
• Subway Surfers
• Clash Royale
• Honkai: Star Rail
• Genshin Impact
• Zenless Zone Zero
• Roblox
• Free Fire
• PUBG MOBILE

Best Remake / Remaster

• METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
• Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
• The Talos Principle: Reawakened
• Gears of War: Reloaded
• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4

Studio of the Year

• Team Cherry
• Sandfall Interactive
• Aggro Crab and Landfall
• Bloober Team
• Sloclap
• Rebellion

Best Game Expansion

• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants
• Lies of P: Overture
• No Man’s Sky: Voyagers
• Atomfall Story Expansion Pack: The Red Strain
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows – Claws of Awaji
• Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest

Best Audio Design

• Ghost of Yōtei
• Battlefield 6
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Two Point Museum
• Cronos: The New Dawn

Best Soundtrack

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• South of Midnight
• SILENT HILL f
• Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream
• DELTARUNE
• Sword of the Sea

Best Lead Performer

• Jennifer English – Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Troy Baker – Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Tom McKay – Henry in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• Alex Jordan – Jan Dolski in The Alters
• Erika Ishii – Atsu in Ghost of Yōtei
• Adriyan Rae – Hazel in South of Midnight

Best Supporting Performer

• Troy Baker – Higgs Monaghan in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Jim High – Erik in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• Ben Starr – Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Lucy Griffiths – Alva in Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream
• Logan Cunningham – Hades II
• Marios Gavrilis – Emmerich Voss in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

PC Game of the Year

• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• The Alters
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• PEAK
• Abiotic Factor
• Dune: Awakening

Console Game of the Year

• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
• Mario Kart World

Best Early Access Game

• Grounded 2
• Schedule I
• 9 Kings
• R.E.P.O.
• skate.
• White Knuckle

Best Gaming Hardware

• Nintendo Switch 2
• Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller
• WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe SSD
• Elgato Facecam 4K
• Razer Blade 16
• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D

Best Game Adaptation

• Devil May Cry (Netflix)
• Arcane Season 2 (Netflix)
• The Last of Us Season 2 (HBO)
• A Minecraft Movie (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• Secret Level (Prime Video)
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Paramount Pictures)

Best Game Trailer

• Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2
• Battlefield 6: Official Launch Live Action Trailer
• Rhythm Doctor – Official Release Date Trailer
• The Expanse: Osiris Reborn – Announcement Trailer
• ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN – Announcement Trailer
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Official CGI Trailer – Live a Life Medieval

Most Wanted Game

• Grand Theft Auto VI
• Resident Evil Requiem
• The Witcher 4
• Black Myth: Zhong Kui
• LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Night
• 007 First Light
• EXODUS
• Subnautica 2
• Light No Fire
• The Expanse: Osiris Reborn
• Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
• SAROS
• The Blood of Dawnwalker
• Crimson Desert
• KINGDOM HEARTS IV
• Marvel’s Wolverine
• Hell Let Loose: Vietnam
• OD – KNOCK
• Onimusha: Way of the Sword
• Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy