Shortlist voting for the 26th Annual Golden Joystick Awards is now open, giving game fans worldwide the chance to make their choices for the best games of the past year.
More than 100,000 votes have been cast over the past month as part of the shortlisting process, narrowing down potential candidates across 15 separate categories covering publishers, developers, retailers, best game categories for each major platform and more. With final nominees for each category now selected, gamers can vote directly for the games they think represented the best of the bunch over the past year.
Future, the company behind the awards, is encouraging developers and publishers with shortlisted games to “get out the vote” by rallying their communities to support their nominations. “We invited the industry to get behind the Golden Joystick Awards and so far we haven’t been disappointed,” said Future’s Emma Parkinson, organizer of the awards. “At longlist stage, literally thousands of games were battling it out to make the shortlists, and many online communities were successfully mobilized to make sure their favorite game made it onto the list.”
“Future is working hard with sponsors and media partners to ensure that the 26 Annual Golden Joystick Awards are the biggest and best yet, celebrating a year of success and achievements in the games industry,” she continued. “We’ve got some great new deals and announcements coming soon for both the industry and gamers themselves as we continue to grow the event.”
Voting for the Golden Joystick Awards will be open until October 20. Gamers who want to make their voices heard can do so at www.goldenjoystick.com.