Winners of the Golden Joystick Awards announced

The year is drawing to a close, which means it's time for the industry to sum up 2025 — to find out which developers have handled their tasks better than others and what to focus on in the future. For this, there are special awards in the industry that are presented every year. The vote counting has recently concluded for the Golden Joystick Awards — the largest event that all game creators in the world dream of attending. The Grand Prix was predictably awarded to the French turn-based RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, but there were other nominations for multiplayer projects. We'll talk about them.

Although the nominees included hits from major publishers and the wonderful ARC Raiders, the main prizes were taken by cooperative games, so 2025 can safely be called the year of victorious co-op. Users recognized PEAK from publisher Landfall as the main multiplayer entertainment. This is a simply designed joint adventure where you need to assemble a team and conquer one of the peaks on the map. Along the way, comrades await trials of four natural zones, traps, and areas where ingenuity must be applied. At the disposal of a friendly company are ropes, hooks, makeshift items, and simply a timely helping hand. And the slightest mistake can lead to failure.

Also among cooperative entertainments, the creators of R.E.P.O. received a statuette — according to the jury, this is the best product in Steam Early Access. Here too, one must act together: six participants must hide from monsters and use interactive items that can be both dangerous and useful. Voice communication plays a huge role here: on the one hand, it helps coordinate actions, and on the other, it affects the behavior of AI-controlled opponents, as they are able to hear your voices. Also, the leader of the «Still Playing» category once again became Minecraft.