We Should Never Settle on What 'Game of the Year' Signifies

The difficulty of uncovering innovative releases remains the video game industry's greatest ongoing concern. Despite the anxiety-inducing era of business acquisitions, escalating financial demands, employee issues, the widespread use of AI, storefront instability, shifting audience preferences, progress often returns to the mysterious power of "breaking through."

This explains why I'm increasingly focused in "honors" than ever.

With only a few weeks remaining in the year, we're deeply in Game of the Year time, a period where the minority of gamers not experiencing the same multiple free-to-play action games every week complete their backlogs, discuss the craft, and recognize that even they won't experience all releases. Expect exhaustive annual selections, and there will be "you overlooked!" comments to such selections. A player general agreement voted on by press, content creators, and enthusiasts will be issued at industry event. (Developers weigh in next year at the interactive achievements ceremony and GDC Awards.)

This entire celebration serves as good fun — no such thing as correct or incorrect answers when it comes to the best titles of this year — but the stakes seem more substantial. Any vote made for a "game of the year", whether for the prestigious top honor or "Top Puzzle Title" in fan-chosen honors, opens a door for wider discovery. A mid-sized game that received little attention at release may surprisingly gain popularity by rubbing shoulders with higher-profile (i.e. extensively advertised) blockbuster games. When 2024's Neva was included in consideration for recognition, It's certain definitely that many people immediately wanted to check a review of Neva.

Traditionally, award shows has made minimal opportunity for the variety of games launched annually. The challenge to address to consider all appears like a monumental effort; approximately 19,000 releases came out on PC storefront in last year, while only 74 games — from latest titles and ongoing games to mobile and VR exclusives — were represented across The Game Awards nominees. As mainstream appeal, discourse, and digital availability influence what players choose annually, there's simply impossible for the scaffolding of honors to adequately recognize a year's worth of releases. Still, there exists opportunity for improvement, provided we recognize it matters.

The Familiar Pattern of Industry Recognition

Earlier this month, prominent gaming honors, among interactive entertainment's longest-running recognition events, revealed its nominees. Although the decision for top honor itself happens soon, you can already notice where it's going: 2025's nominations allowed opportunity for rightful contenders — massive titles that garnered acclaim for quality and ambition, hit indies received with AAA-scale excitement — but in multiple of award types, exists a noticeable concentration of repeat names. Across the vast sea of creative expression and play styles, excellent graphics category allows inclusion for several exploration-focused titles located in historical Japan: Ghost of Yōtei and Assassin's Creed Shadows.

"Were I constructing a future GOTY in a lab," a journalist noted in digital observation continuing to amused by, "it should include a PlayStation open world RPG with turn-based hybrid combat, character interactions, and randomized procedural advancement that incorporates gambling mechanics and has light city sim construction mechanics."

Award selections, in all of its formal and unofficial iterations, has grown expected. Several cycles of nominees and honorees has established a template for which kind of refined lengthy title can earn a Game of the Year nominee. Exist games that never achieve top honors or even "important" creative honors like Creative Vision or Narrative, frequently because to creative approaches and unusual systems. Most games launched in annually are destined to be limited into specific classifications.

Case Studies

Imagine: Will Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, a game with review aggregate just a few points less than Death Stranding 2 and Ghosts of Yōtei, reach highest rankings of annual GOTY category? Or even a nomination for best soundtrack (as the audio is exceptional and merits recognition)? Unlikely. Excellent Driving Experience? Certainly.

How exceptional should Street Fighter 6 have to be to receive GOTY appreciation? Can voters consider unique performances in Baby Steps, The Alters, or The Drifter and acknowledge the greatest voice work of this year lacking AAA production values? Can Despelote's short length have "enough" plot to warrant a (deserved) Excellent Writing award? (Also, does industry ceremony need Excellent Non-Fiction category?)

Repetition in choices over recent cycles — within press, within communities — demonstrates a system more biased toward a particular time-consuming game type, or smaller titles that generated sufficient impact to check the box. Not great for an industry where discovery is paramount.

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