Here’s your Golden Joystick award winners for 2022

Presented by gamesradar, the Golden Joystick awards are a respected mainstay of the end-of-year award season. Now in its 40th year, the ceremony is the biggest consumer-voted gaming award show, allowing the public to have their say in what are the best games to have released throughout the year.

Being consumer-voted, the Golden Joystick awards are admittedly a little surprising sometimes. Elden Ring winning Best Multiplayer game, Pokémon Legends: Arceus winning best Nintendo game, and a complete lack of God of War Ragnarök may raise an eyebrow or two. Though you can’t deny some pretty incredible choices were made along the way. A largely wide-spread year for winners, it’s Elden Ring that takes the ultimate gong for Game of the Year, alongside Best Visual Design and the aforementioned Best Multiplayer Game. Elden Ring developer FromSoftare also took home Studio of the Year. For a full rundown of the winners, check the video or list below.

• Best Storytelling – Horizon Forbidden West
• Still Playing Award – Genshin Impact
• Best Visual Design – Elden Ring
• Studio of the Year – FromSoftware
• Best Game Expansion – Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
• Best Early Access Launch – Slime Rancher 2
• Best Indie Game – Cult of the Lamb
• Best Multiplayer Game – Elden Ring
• Best Audio – Metal: Hellsinger
• Best Game Trailer – Goat Simulator 3 Announcement Trailer
• Best Game Community – Final Fantasy 14
• Best Gaming Hardware – Steam Deck
• Breakthrough Award – Vampire Survivors
• Critics’ Choice Award – Elden Ring
• Best Performer – Manon Gage (Marissa Marcel, Immortality)
• Nintendo Game of the Year – Pokemon Legends Arceus
• PC Game of the Year – Return to Monkey Island
• PlayStation Game of the Year – Stray
• Xbox Game of the Year – Grounded
• Most Wanted Game – Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Ultimate Game of the Year – Elden Ring