Winning isn't everything, but in this industry, it’s basically the only thing that keeps the lights on for some indie studios. When we talk about game of the year video games, we aren't just talking about a trophy or a shiny digital badge. We’re talking about a massive shift in market value, a legacy that lasts decades, and, honestly, a fair amount of controversy that keeps people arguing on Reddit until 3:00 AM.
Awards are weird.
Think about Elden Ring. In 2022, it felt like the entire world stopped moving just so everyone could die to Malenia a thousand times. It was a cultural monolith. But then you look at a year like 2023, where Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 were breathing down each other's necks, and suddenly the "best" game becomes a matter of whether you prefer deep CRPG mechanics or a psychological thriller that breaks the fourth wall.
The Politics of the Trophy
Does a Game of the Year (GOTY) win actually matter for the players? Not really. Your experience with The Last of Us Part II doesn't change because it has a bunch of stickers on the box. However, for the developers, it’s a different story entirely.
Take It Takes Two. Before Hazelight Studios won the big one at The Game Awards, most casual players hadn't heard of Josef Fares, despite his "F*** the Oscars" moment. After winning, the game's sales didn't just climb; they skyrocketed past 16 million copies. That is the power of the title. It turns a "good game" into a "must-play."
But the process is messy. Most major outlets like IGN, GameSpot, and Polygon have their own internal voting systems. Then you have The Game Awards (TGA), which uses a weighted jury of global media outlets. 90% of the vote comes from these critics, while the public fan vote only counts for 10%. This is where the friction starts. You’ve probably seen the "Rigged!" comments. People get heated when a fan favorite like Genshin Impact or Sonic Frontiers loses out to a critical darling.
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What Actually Makes a Game of the Year?
There isn't a secret formula. If there were, Ubisoft would have perfected it by now. Instead, we see three distinct pillars that almost every winner shares:
- Technical Mastery: Does it push the hardware? God of War Ragnarök looked like it was from the future even on a PS4.
- Cultural Impact: Is everyone talking about it? Even people who don't play games knew what Animal Crossing: New Horizons was during the pandemic.
- Innovation: Does it change how we think about a genre? Breath of the Wild basically deleted the "climb the tower to see the map" trope by making the entire world a puzzle.
The "Snub" Factor and Why We Love It
The most interesting part of game of the year video games history isn't always the winner. It's the runner-up.
Remember 2018? God of War took the top spot, but Red Dead Redemption 2 was right there. It was a heavyweight fight. People are still debating that one. Rockstar Games created arguably the most detailed open world in history—you can literally watch a building being constructed over the course of the game's chapters—and it still came in second.
Sometimes, the snub is about timing. Horizon Zero Dawn is an incredible game that had the misfortune of launching right next to Zelda. It got buried in the hype. This happens every few years. A developer spends five years on a masterpiece, only for a literal industry-shifter to drop two weeks later.
Indie Winners vs. AAA Titans
For a long time, the "Game of the Year" was reserved for the giants. You needed a $100 million budget and 500 people in the credits to even be considered. That changed.
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When Hades started picking up GOTY wins from major outlets in 2020, it was a sea change. Supergiant Games proved that a tight, loop-based roguelike with incredible writing could stand toe-to-toe with Ghost of Tsushima. It’s about the "soul" of the game. Players are getting better at spotting corporate checklists. We want something that feels like it was made by people, not a committee.
The Impact of the "GOTY Edition"
Business-wise, the title is a second life.
Publishers love it. Once the awards season ends, they can re-release the game with all the DLC included, slap "Game of the Year Edition" on the cover, and sell it for another two years at full price. It’s a brilliant strategy for games that had a rocky launch. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the gold standard here. Its DLCs, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, were so good they arguably deserved their own awards.
Don't Let the Hype Blind You
Here is the truth: some of the best games ever made never won a single GOTY award.
Bloodborne lost to The Witcher 3. Doom Eternal lost to The Last of Us Part II. These games are still legendary. The "Game of the Year" label is a snapshot of what the industry valued in a specific twelve-month window. It doesn't dictate what you should enjoy.
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If you're looking to dive into the world of game of the year video games, don't just look at the winners. Look at the nominees. Look at the "Best Indie" category. That’s usually where the real innovation is hiding while the big boys fight over who has the best reflections on their puddles.
Your Next Moves in the GOTY Space
If you want to stay ahead of the curve and actually understand why certain games get the nod while others fall flat, stop looking at just the graphics.
- Follow the Composers and Narrative Leads: Often, a game wins because of its score or writing. If you see Sarah Schachner or Gustavo Santaolalla attached to a project, pay attention.
- Watch the Mid-Year Slump: The "big" games usually drop in the Fall to stay fresh in voters' minds for December. However, some of the most unique winners drop in February or March (like Elden Ring) and have enough staying power to last the whole year.
- Check the "Critics vs. Users" Gap: Go to Metacritic. If the critics gave it a 95 but the user score is a 4.0, there’s a disconnect. Usually, that means the game is technically brilliant but has some "anti-player" mechanics like aggressive microtransactions or a story that feels like a lecture.
- Play the "Losers": Go back and play the games that were nominated but didn't win. You’ll often find that the "runner-up" is actually more fun to play five years later because it wasn't trying so hard to be "important."
The best way to experience the peak of gaming is to ignore the tribalism. Whether a game wins a trophy or not, the only thing that matters is if it kept you up until 2:00 AM because you just had to see what was around the next corner. Go play Outer Wilds. It didn't win the TGA Game of the Year, but for many, it's the game of a lifetime. That’s the real metric.
Actionable Insight: Start a "Backlog of the Nominees." Instead of buying the winner at full price, look at the games that were nominated three years ago. They are usually 70% off during Steam or PlayStation sales, they’ve been fully patched, and you’ll get the "Game of the Year" experience for the price of a sandwich.