The Golden Joystick Awards has revealed 12 nominees for its highest honor, 'Ultimate Game of the Year' (UGOTY), and opened voting. Pearl Abyss's 'Crimson Desert' was the only Korean game to be nominated.
Organizer Future revealed the UGOTY nominees on the 26th local time and launched voting on the official website.
The nominees for the vote, which runs through the 30th, are '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', and 'The Blood of Dawnwalker'.
Future's content director for games explained that works from small indie teams and major franchises made the list side by side. Indeed, alongside AAA blockbusters, indie game 'Big Walk' and the critically acclaimed AA title 'Dispatch' earned nominations. Games that either released less than a month ago or are upcoming, such as Star Wars: Galactic Racer and Phantom Blade Zero, were also included.
Meanwhile, Crimson Desert was previously nominated in two categories—'PC Game of the Year' and 'Best Soundtrack'—during the initial nominee announcement. Now, it has also secured a spot as a UGOTY nominee. Titles from Korean game developers were also included in the initial voting categories. Nexon Mintrocket's expansion content for 'Dave the Diver' was nominated for 'Best Game Expansion', Krafton's 'NO LAW' for 'Most Wanted Game', and Krafton subsidiary Unknown Worlds' 'Subnautica 2' for 'Best Early Access Game'.
During the first nominee reveal, the titles with the most nominations were '007 First Light' and 'Big Walk', with five nominations each. Both titles are also nominated for this year's top award.
The previously conducted first round of voting closed on the 23rd, and the organizers stated that millions of votes were cast. The awards ceremony will take place on November 11 in London. The winners in each category will be announced on that day, and the event will be broadcast live on YouTube, Twitch, and X.
