Golden Joystick Awards 2024 winners saw Helldivers 2 claim four prizes and Black Myth: Wukong win Ultimate Game of the Year.
When the 42nd Golden Joystick Awards unfolded in 2024, more than 12 million public votes turned the night into a sprawling, player-led story. The ceremony brought together 21 public-vote categories and three critically chosen awards, with more than 125 games, studios, hardware, and TV shows represented across winners and nominations. Ben Starr, Alex McKenna, Derek Slow, and Neil Newbon added star power to a show that kept its focus on the games themselves. By 2026, the results still read like a time capsule from a crowded, competitive stretch in the industry.
The Biggest Stories of the Night
The loudest victory belonged to Helldivers 2. The cooperative shooter took Best Multiplayer Game, Best Game Trailer, Console Game of the Year, and the Critics' Choice Award. Four wins gave it a dominant presence, and the mix of public and critical recognition made it more than a popularity story. It was a game that players and critics could both point to as a defining release.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was close behind in impact. It earned Best Storytelling and Best Soundtrack, and its performer wins for Cody Christian and Briana White pushed its associated total to four. That combination made it one of the ceremony's defining titles: a story-heavy RPG that also dominated the performance conversation.
Black Myth: Wukong converted spectacle into silverware. It won Best Visual Design, then claimed the biggest prize of all, Ultimate Game of the Year. The one-two punch gave the action RPG a headline moment and reinforced how strongly voters responded to its presentation.
Balatro showed that a small, sharp idea could travel far. It won Best Indie Game and the Breakthrough Award, the latter chosen by critics. In a night full of blockbusters, that double win gave the poker-inspired roguelike a distinct identity.
Team ASOBI was named Studio of the Year, while Astro Bot took Best Audio Design. The two results painted a picture of a studio firing on multiple cylinders, even when the awards were split across different categories.
The Full Winners List
| Category | Winner | Selection |
|---|---|---|
| Best Storytelling | Final Fantasy VII Rebirth | 🗳️ Public |
| Best Visual Design | Black Myth: Wukong | 🗳️ Public |
| Best Multiplayer Game | Helldivers 2 | 🗳️ Public |
| Best Audio Design | Astro Bot | 🗳️ Public |
| Best Game Expansion | Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree | 🗳️ Public |
| Best Indie Game Self Published | Another Crab's Treasure | 🗳️ Public |
| Best Indie Game | Balatro | 🗳️ Public |
| Studio of the Year | Team ASOBI | 🗳️ Public |
| Best Soundtrack | Final Fantasy VII Rebirth | 🗳️ Public |
| Best Game Trailer | Helldivers 2 | 🗳️ Public |
| Best Early Access Game | Lethal Company | 🗳️ Public |
| Still Playing - Mobile | Honkai: Star Rail | 🗳️ Public |
| Still Playing - Consoles & PC | Minecraft | 🗳️ Public |
| Streamers' Choice Award | Chained Together | 🎯 Critics |
| Breakthrough Award | Balatro | 🎯 Critics |
| Best Gaming Hardware | Steam Deck OLED | 🗳️ Public |
| Best Game Adaptation | Fallout | 🗳️ Public |
| Best Supporting Performer | Briana White | 🗳️ Public |
| Best Lead Performer | Cody Christian | 🗳️ Public |
| PC Game of the Year | Satisfactory | 🗳️ Public |
| Console Game of the Year | Helldivers 2 | 🗳️ Public |
| Critics' Choice Award | Helldivers 2 | 🎯 Critics |
| Most Wanted Game | Grand Theft Auto VI | 🗳️ Public |
| Ultimate Game of the Year | Black Myth: Wukong | 🗳️ Public |
What the Results Revealed
Taken together, the 42nd Golden Joystick Awards showed a public vote that rewarded cooperative action, visual ambition, and familiar worlds. Helldivers 2 and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth each finished with four associated wins, making them the clearest victors. Black Myth: Wukong and Balatro followed with two each, while a long tail of categories gave space to indies, hardware, adaptations, and live-service favorites.
The critics' selections added a different texture. Chained Together won Streamers' Choice, Balatro took Breakthrough, and Helldivers 2 earned Critics' Choice. Those picks did not contradict the public vote so much as widen it, acknowledging a cooperative party game, a genre-bending indie, and a blockbuster that critics also respected.
The ceremony also looked beyond traditional game releases. Steam Deck OLED won Best Gaming Hardware, Fallout won Best Game Adaptation, and Grand Theft Auto VI was named Most Wanted Game. Meanwhile, Minecraft and Honkai: Star Rail won the Still Playing categories, a reminder that long-running communities can stay in the spotlight years after launch.
A 2026 Perspective
Seen from 2026, the 42nd Golden Joystick Awards are less a final verdict than a snapshot. They capture a moment when Helldivers 2 was a dominant cooperative force, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was carrying a legacy franchise, Black Myth: Wukong was breaking through visually, and Balatro was turning a simple deck into a phenomenon. The night also showed how awards can balance public enthusiasm with critical perspective: 21 categories went to a public vote, while three critics' picks added contrast.
For players who followed the ceremony, the list remains a handy map of that year's conversation. It is a record of what audiences cheered, what critics championed, and what the industry chose to celebrate in a packed field. The 42nd Golden Joystick Awards may be history now, but its winners still tell a lively story about a medium in motion.
Market data is sourced from Newzoo, whose games industry analysis helps contextualize why a player-voted event like the 42nd Golden Joystick Awards leaned toward blockbuster multiplayer hits, prestige single-player releases, durable live-service titles, and standout indie breakouts that were already commanding broad attention across the market.