Golden Joystick Awards 2025 Live Coverage - All the news as it happens

After millions of votes and 12 months of waiting since the last time around, the Golden Joystick Awards are here once again. While there are plenty of ways to watch and follow along, GamesRadar+ will be covering the event live, as it happens, with all the award winners, reveals, announcements, and news right here. It's by far the best way to experience the event if you can't physically attend, but I'm perhaps a bit biased.

How to watch the Golden Joystick Awards 2025

In total, there are 26 categories of winners to announce, so know that you'll be here for a couple of hours if you're in the thick of it with me. Additionally, while the show is hosted by Maggie Robertson (Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village), there will be plenty of well-known presenters as well like Ben Starr (Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33), Doug Cockle (Geralt in The Witcher games), Samantha Béart (Karlach in Baldur's Gate 3), Adriyan Rae (Hazel in South of Midnight), and Alix Wilton Regan (Honestly? Too many notable roles to pick only one), just to name a few.

Keep reading to follow along as the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 kick off!

What time is the Golden Joystick Awards 2025?

It all begins at the following times:
- 8AM PT
- 11AM ET
- 4PM UK

Welcome, one and all! The actual Golden Joystick Awards are set to kick off about an hour from now, assuming everything goes according to plan, and should last a couple of hours max. While there are over two dozen awards being given out tonight, alongside other announcements and reveals, the biggest award is clearly Ultimate Game of the Year.

As a reminder, the nominees this year are:

• Blue Prince
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Ghost of Yotei
• Hades 2
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
• Peak
• Silent Hill f
• Split Fiction

What do you think will win Ultimate Game of the Year? The competition is fierce this year, and while there are some obvious standouts it does (subjectively) feel as if there's a world where several of these could potentially come away with it. It all comes down to the voting, after all!

We're just 30 minutes out, and the official broadcast placeholder has begun! If you've been waiting for the digital lobby to open, so to speak, it's... well, open. Typically there's a bit of a preamble before things get going at the Golden Joysticks, so don't worry too much if you're a minute or two late at top of the hour.

Just 15 minutes to go! Still plenty of time to grab a snack or drink (or both) and hit the restroom.

Personally, I've a small stock of LaCroix Sunshine at hand. Love me a sparkling water. Just don't ask me to explain what "Sunshine" tastes like. (Honey, I think?)

Given that GamesRadar+, you know, presents the Golden Joystick Awards, I'm not going to make any predictions about winners here. That said, you're more than welcome to do so.

My only real prediction is that Ben Starr, who we know is presenting at the event, will once again call GamesRadar+ Editor-in-Chief Josh West "John West" on stage like last year. I am certain of it happening. My only quibble is whether Ben will do it as an intentional callback or because Josh just really looks like a John. Either seems possible.

And here we go! Beginning with a bit of a classic montage featuring 2025 games. Nice.

Maggie Robertson, Lady Dimitrescu herself, is here to host. Notes that 21 million votes have been cast. That's a lot of clicking.

If you're familiar with me and my previous live blogs, you'll know I'm anti skits and sketches and so on. Events like this inevitably have jokes, unfortunately. There's an extended one happening right now about making burgers.

Thankfully, that's concluded and now we're getting some music. Specifically, a live cover of "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters set to a montage of games. Why that's relevant is hard to say, but it's definitely happening. I'm just reporting the news. But Maggie Robertson's back out to also sing as part of it, so.

The cover is because this is the Golden Joystick Awards, per Robertson. Sure.

Robertson is giving some advice on how to approach the stage, which is good. I've seen enough of these to know that people often have trouble with that.

Best Storytelling is up first with Geralt and Ciri from The Witcher games to present. 2025 marks 10 years of The Witcher 3!

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 takes the award for Best Storytelling 🏆

Congratulations to Sandfall Interactive!

After a brief acceptance speech from Sandfall Interactive. Best Audio Design up next! Devora Wilde up to present.

Ghost of Yotei wins The Golden Joystick Award for Best Audio Design 🏆

Congratulations to Sucker Punch Productions

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