Resident Evil Requiem has won Ultimate Game of the Year at the 44th Golden Joystick Awards, held in London on Tuesday, 11 November, taking four awards in total on a night when its publisher, Capcom, was named Studio of the Year.
Requiem, the latest entry in Capcom’s long-running survival horror series, also won Console Game of the Year, Best Game Trailer and Best Lead Performer, for Angela Sant’Albano’s performance as Grace Ashcroft, the game’s protagonist.
The awards, the longest-running in gaming, are voted for largely by the public, with 22 of the 25 categories decided by players and three by critics. This year’s ceremony celebrated a strong year for the industry, with winners spanning big-budget blockbusters and independent games.
Crimson Desert, the open-world action game from Pearl Abyss, won PC Game of the Year, while The Witcher 4, the next entry in CD Projekt Red’s fantasy series, was named Most Wanted Game, the award for the most anticipated upcoming release.
The indie hit MECCHA CHAMELEON also won four awards, taking Best Multiplayer, Best Indie Self-Published, Streamers’ Choice and Developers’ Choice, a remarkable haul for a small independent title.
Dispatch, the superhero workplace comedy from AdHoc Studio, won Best Storytelling and Best Soundtrack, while the Critics’ Choice award went to Big Walk, the co-operative walking game, amid a controversy over the use of artificial intelligence in its development.
Valheim was named Best Indie Game, and Subnautica 2 took Best Early Access, recognising two games that have built large audiences through long periods of open development.
Grand Theft Auto VI, the most anticipated game of the decade, was ineligible for this year’s awards because it does not release until 19 November. It is expected to dominate next year’s ceremony, and its absence left the field open for this year’s winners.
The Golden Joysticks have been running since 1983, making them older than most of the games they honour, and they remain one of the few major awards where the public, rather than a jury, decides most of the winners.
For Capcom, the night was a vindication of its run of acclaimed releases, and for Requiem it was confirmation that survival horror, a genre the company helped to define, is as popular as it has ever been.
