Every December, the gaming world loses its collective mind. Most of that energy goes toward the big "Game of the Year" trophy—the one decided mostly by critics in suits and journalists behind desks. But there is this other category. A chaotic, lawless, and genuinely fascinating beast called Players Voice Game Awards. It's the only category where the "experts" have zero power. No 90% jury weighting. No industry insiders. Just raw, unfiltered, and often toxic internet democracy.
If you've ever spent five minutes on a gaming subreddit during the voting rounds, you know it’s basically digital warfare. Honestly, it’s beautiful and terrifying at the same time.
Why the Players Voice Award actually matters (and why it doesn't)
People love to say the Players Voice doesn't matter. They call it a popularity contest. Well, yeah. That is literally the point. While the main Game of the Year award—which Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 just nabbed in late 2025—is about "prestige" and "artistic achievement," the Players Voice is about community muscle.
It’s the one time a year where a massive, dedicated fanbase can look the entire industry in the eye and say, "We don't care what your reviews said; we spent 400 hours in this world."
Take the 2025 results. Wuthering Waves took the win. It was a massive moment for Kuro Games. But if you look at the discourse, you'd think a crime had been committed. Fans of Expedition 33 (which was already sweeping the main show) and the long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong were absolutely reeling. How could a gacha game beat out some of the most anticipated titles in history?
The answer is simple: Numbers.
The Gacha Factor: Numbers don't lie, but they do sting
There is a huge misconception that these awards are "bribed." It's a common refrain every time a miHoYo or Kuro Games title enters the ring. In 2022, when Genshin Impact won, the Sonic Frontiers fanbase practically imploded. They claimed HoYoverse was "buying" votes with Primogems.
Here’s the reality. Most of these companies don't promise rewards to get the vote. They give rewards because they were nominated or won. It's a "thank you," not a "please do this." But to a Sonic fan who hasn't seen a win in a decade, that distinction feels pretty thin.
The scale of these player bases is just hard to wrap your head around.
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- Wuthering Waves and Genshin Impact have millions of daily active users.
- These players are already logged in.
- They are already part of a massive, global social ecosystem.
When a game like Hollow Knight: Silksong or Dispatch enters the final round of the Players Voice Game Awards, they are fighting an uphill battle against a literal sea of humans. It’s not a level playing field. It never has been.
The Great Sonic vs. Genshin War of 2022
We have to talk about the 2022 drama because it changed how Geoff Keighley handles the voting. It was peak "internet." You had Sonic fans accusing the Chinese community of botting. Then you had actual evidence of botting on the Sonic side to "even the score." It got ugly. Fast.
There was racism. There were insults. It was the kind of cringe that makes you want to close your laptop and move to a forest.
But what actually happened? The Chinese gaming community saw the insults, took it personally, and "activated." When a community that large decides they want to win a popular vote, they win. Period. It wasn’t a glitch. It was just the sheer weight of a global audience versus a localized one.
Because of that mess, the Game Awards now hides the live voting percentages in the final round. They realized that showing the lead in real-time just fuels the fire. Now, we all just sit in the dark until the envelope opens. It’s probably better for everyone’s blood pressure, honestly.
How the voting actually works (it's a gauntlet)
The Players Voice Game Awards isn't just a one-click deal. It’s a three-round bracket system that usually kicks off in early December.
- Round 1: Thirty games. You get to pick ten. This is where the "cult hits" usually die.
- Round 2: The top ten move on. You pick five. This is where the tension starts to build.
- Round 3: The Final Five. One vote. This is where the "vote-shaming" and social media campaigns go into overdrive.
In 2025, the final five were a wild mix: Wuthering Waves, Genshin Impact, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Dispatch.
You can see the divide. On one side, you have the mobile/live-service titans. On the other, the "prestige" indies and single-player epics. When the votes are split between three or four "gamer-fied" titles, the single largest, most unified fanbase is always going to slide right through the middle for the win.
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Is the system "broken"?
Depends on who you ask.
If you think an award should reflect "quality," then a popular vote is always going to disappoint you. Quality is subjective. Popularity is measurable.
Critics often point to 2020, where Ghost of Tsushima won Players Voice while The Last of Us Part II swept the jury awards. Some saw that as a "corrective" to the critics' bias. Others saw it as a "spite vote" against Naughty Dog. Both things can be true at once.
The beauty of the Players Voice is that it captures the vibe of the community in that specific year. In 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3 won both the jury GOTY and the Players Voice. That almost never happens. It only happens when a game is so undeniably good that even the most cynical "core" gamers and the critics agree.
But in "normal" years? Expect a fight.
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Actionable insights for the next voting season
If you actually want your favorite game to win the Players Voice Game Awards next year, you have to stop shouting into the void and start organizing.
- Don't split the vote. If two games in the same genre are in the final five, the community needs to pick a horse.
- International reach is king. Games that are massive in China and Japan have a mathematical advantage. If your favorite game is a Western-centric indie, you need to reach out to global communities.
- Ignore the bot accusations. People always cry "bots" when they're losing. It’s almost always just a more organized Discord server or a bigger subreddit.
- Vote early. Round 1 matters more than people think for building momentum.
At the end of the day, the Players Voice is a snapshot of who showed up. It’s a reminder that the "gaming community" isn't a monolith. It’s a collection of factions. Sometimes those factions play nice, and sometimes they start a digital riot.
If you want to stay ahead of the curve for the 2026 awards, start looking at which games are building "ride or die" communities right now. Keep an eye on the titles that bridge the gap between mobile and PC—that’s where the real power lies. Check the official Game Awards site around November for the cutoff dates so you aren't surprised when the nominations drop.