After millions of votes and 12 months of waiting since the last time around, the Golden Joystick Awards are here once again. While there are plenty of ways to watch and follow along, GamesRadar+ will be covering the event live, as it happens, with all the award winners, reveals, announcements, and news right here. It's by far the best way to experience the event if you can't physically attend, but I'm perhaps a bit biased.
How to watch the Golden Joystick Awards 2025
In total, there are 26 categories of winners to announce, so know that you'll be here for a couple of hours if you're in the thick of it with me. Additionally, while the show is hosted by Maggie Robertson (Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village), there will be plenty of well-known presenters as well like Ben Starr (Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33), Doug Cockle (Geralt in The Witcher games), Samantha Béart (Karlach in Baldur's Gate 3), Adriyan Rae (Hazel in South of Midnight), and Alix Wilton Regan (Honestly? Too many notable roles to pick only one), just to name a few.
Keep reading to follow along as the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 kick off!
What time is the Golden Joystick Awards 2025?
It all begins at the following times:
- 8AM PT
- 11AM ET
- 4PM UK
Welcome, one and all! The actual Golden Joystick Awards are set to kick off about an hour from now, assuming everything goes according to plan, and should last a couple of hours max. While there are over two dozen awards being given out tonight, alongside other announcements and reveals, the biggest award is clearly Ultimate Game of the Year.
As a reminder, the nominees this year are:
- Blue Prince
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Ghost of Yotei
- Hades 2
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
- Peak
- Silent Hill f
- Split Fiction
What do you think will win Ultimate Game of the Year? The competition is fierce this year, and while there are some obvious standouts it does (subjectively) feel as if there's a world where several of these could potentially come away with it. It all comes down to the voting, after all!
We're just 30 minutes out, and the official broadcast placeholder has begun! If you've been waiting for the digital lobby to open, so to speak, it's... well, open. Typically there's a bit of a preamble before things get going at the Golden Joysticks, so don't worry too much if you're a minute or two late at top of the hour.
Just 15 minutes to go! Still plenty of time to grab a snack or drink (or both) and hit the restroom.
Personally, I've a small stock of LaCroix Sunshine at hand. Love me a sparkling water. Just don't ask me to explain what "Sunshine" tastes like. (Honey, I think?)
Given that GamesRadar+, you know, presents the Golden Joystick Awards, I'm not going to make any predictions about winners here. That said, you're more than welcome to do so.
My only real prediction is that Ben Starr, who we know is presenting at the event, will once again call GamesRadar+ Editor-in-Chief Josh West "John West" on stage like last year. I am certain of it happening. My only quibble is whether Ben will do it as an intentional callback or because Josh just really looks like a John. Either seems possible.
And here we go! Beginning with a bit of a classic montage featuring 2025 games. Nice.
Maggie Robertson, Lady Dimitrescu herself, is here to host. Notes that 21 million votes have been cast. That's a lot of clicking.
If you're familiar with me and my previous live blogs, you'll know I'm anti skits and sketches and so on. Events like this inevitably have jokes, unfortunately. There's an extended one happening right now about making burgers.
Thankfully, that's concluded and now we're getting some music. Specifically, a live cover of "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters set to a montage of games. Why that's relevant is hard to say, but it's definitely happening. I'm just reporting the news. But Maggie Robertson's back out to also sing as part of it, so.
The cover is because this is the Golden Joystick Awards, per Robertson. Sure.
Robertson is giving some advice on how to approach the stage, which is good. I've seen enough of these to know that people often have trouble with that.
Best Storytelling is up first with Geralt and Ciri from The Witcher games to present. 2025 marks 10 years of The Witcher 3!
After a brief acceptance speech from Sandfall Interactive. Best Audio Design up next! Devora Wilde up to present.
PlayStation accepts with a brief speech acknowledging the other games, and Maggie Robertson is back! Best Multiplayer up next from presenter Alix Wilton Regan.
Aggro Crab accepting, thanking Landfall team. Notes the team's aversion to task-tracking software. Listen, I get it. "Thanks to them, we're better developers, better leaders. We don't have to declare bankruptcy." All good things!
Jokes in acceptance speeches are acceptable, by the way. Robertson back up to make her own. Rolling right into: Best Visual Design.
Acceptance speech number two for Sandfall! "Pretty surreal!" You're telling me. Thanks his wife, thanks the team, thanks everyone. You're welcome. Break from the awards for a world premiere trailer now, though.
Dark, spooky trailer about exploring together to waken the light wherever you go... Brighter, the better. I bet. These weird shadow monsters look gnarly. Brightfall, coming 2026.
Robertson back for: Best Game Expansion.
Acceptance speech in Korean, translated after. Jokes about everyone understanding the Korean version – again, acceptable. Thanks the team and everyone that voted or played Lies of P: Overture while teasing a bit that folks should keep an eye out for its next thing.
Robertson back for Best Indie Game - Self-published. IO Interactive is presenting.
Team Cherry not actually there to accept, so immediately moving onto: Best Indie Game. Ben Starr takes the stage to accept in what... looks like a custom Joystick Joker Balatro-style card costume.
You know what Ben Starr? I'm here for this cry for help.
I mean, just look at this, courtesy of GR+ Brand Director Sam Loveridge.
Raw Fury accepts on behalf of Blue Prince's developer. Robertson back to say Ben can just come to her to say no in the future. New trailer from Death Howl up next!
And now, moving right along to Studio of the Year – presented by Robertson!
Acceptance speech for a third time from Sandfall! Thanks the entire team, and I believe he suggests they might already be really drunk. Thanks the Q&A, animators, and Kepler Interactive. "We are humbled, thank you."
And now: Best Early Access! Deep Rock Galactic head honcho is presenting. Notes how magical and nerve-wracking it can be to release in Early Access.
"Thanks to the amazing team for being so good at making good games." Pretty much the ideal acceptance speech, to be honest.
And now: a new trailer for Vaultbreakers! Sure looks like some vaults will be broken.
Robertson back to introduce Best Soundtrack presenters The Flight. What do we think? Who is winning?
Sandfall surely has to be getting tired of making acceptance speeches, right? Also, Robertson remembered to immediately come back on the stage. Next up: Best Game Trailer, presented by James Jarvis. He works at Future!
Rockstar's not there to accept, so Robertson immediately back to present Still Playing awards. Mobile's up first.
Scopely accepts and then immediately Robertson is on to Still Playing for PC and console.
Mojang accepts! Robertson back to introduce a new trailer for Canyons, I think? Robertson got cut off a bit as the trailer started playing too fast. Looks to be a pretty gnarly dieselpunk-ish desert-based vehicle fighter/co-op shooter? Neat.
Up next: Streamers' Choice! Elz the Witch here to present...
Entire acceptance speech is: "Thanks!" Best Remake / Remaster up next. This one's a new award this year.
Bethesda accepts. Thanks the OG team for making the original, all the fans and players, developers at Virtuous, Q&A, Xbox, everyone. Nice.
Robertson back! Breakthrough Award up next. Robertson notes that this one's chosen by a panel of industry experts rather than by open voting. And so...
Schedule 1 developer has forgotten what he intended to say, so instead thanks everyone. Thanks mom. Thanks the musician responsible for "the best part": its soundtrack.
Best Gaming Hardware up next! Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter up to present. Shout outs to the new DF website.
Best Game Adaptation up next! Robertson tells everyone physically attending to be quiet. (Good for her.)
Fortiche appears to be accepting the award via video rather than in person, but I cannot make out what they're saying at all as the audio mix was picking up all the background chatter instead. Robertson back up, asks whether everyone's playing a drinking game she suggested about when she makes a goof.
There's now a detailed look at the creation of a ship in The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. Looks neat!
Best Supporting Performer up next! Presenter gives it up for Maggie Robertson. I will also give it up for Maggie Robertson.
Starr's acceptance speech includes the fact that he found out he was cast during the Golden Joystick Awards 2023! Says the industry does great at presented flawed characters because life is "fucking hard." Acknowledges the massive amount of layoffs; notes that Sandfall respects the people that work there as well as players.
Robertson back for Best Lead Performer! Samantha Beart here to present.
English notes that she, like her character, chose to do something that was not expected of her. Explicitly thanks "queer joy," Kepler, her wonderful girlfriend, "everyone who likes me! Thank you!" Good for her.
Robertson back to induct The Sims into the Golden Joysticks Hall of Fame. You know what? Fair.
Robertson back once again after The Sims induction to introduce presenters for PC Game of the Year, Coffee Stain Studios.
Team Cherry not there, again, so Coffee Stain says: come to Sweden to pick it up. Next up: a trailer for some kind of... racing game? "DriversMustDie" or something.... well, OK. Apparently this will be revealed at the PC Gaming Show on December 4.
Console Game of the Year up next! Helldivers 2 man here to present.
Nate Fox accepts on behalf of Sucker Punch Productions. Good for him. (Ghost of Yotei's quite good, if I do say so myself.)
Critics' Choice up next! No preamble here or windup to revealing the game chosen internally by Future games journalists...
We're coming to the end of things here with just a couple of awards remaining. Robertson starts vamping because the prompter apparently went out. Sorry to hear it, Maggie. "Have we had fun?" Maggie, no.
Up next, and penultimately, Most Wanted Game! The crowd is feeling it as the presenter from South of Midnight takes the stage. Hopefully they all get some food soon.
Rockstar, of course, isn't there! So. We move on.
And so, the final award of the night: Ultimate Game of the Year. They're doing a music medley during the nominee video montage. All right.
Medley is still going. Congratulations to all of you that have stuck it out this far. We had fun, didn't we, us together? Remember when those games won those awards? What a time.
Sandfall back to accept! They've brought the full team with on a Discord call as well. "What the fuck is happening right now?" Fair. "We still don't really fathom everything that's going on." Also fair.
Says they see all the cosplay, all the fan arts – yes, even the weird fan arts. Says it's been the most wonderful year of their lives. Good for them. "Tomorrow has come, and it was a beautiful day."
That's it! That's every one of them! Maggie Robertson is signing off, and so will I. Quotes Eminem. I won't do that. See you next year!
