What just happened? The Golden Joystick Awards, the longest-running video games award ceremony in the world, saw its 24th event take place yesterday. It was a great night for Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, Helldivers 2, and Black Myth: Wukong, while there was a promise for some “absolutely mind-blowing things” arriving in Grand Theft Auto 6.
The Golden Joystick Awards drew 12 million votes this year for the 21 categories. The coveted Ultimate Game of the Year award had some strong contenders, including Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Helldivers 2, Balatro, and Metaphor: ReFantazio, but it was Black Myth: Wukong that gained the most votes. Game Science’s debut console title also won the Best Visual Design category.
Feng Ji, CEO of Game Science, said in his acceptance speech that there “might just be some surprises waiting for you later this year.”
The other big winners were the Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, which won four awards, and the excellent Helldivers 2, which took home three wins. You can see the full list of categories and winners at the bottom of the page.
One category winner that pretty much everyone correctly predicted was GTA 6, which took home the Most Wanted award. During the acceptance speech, Rockstar’s David Manley ramped up anticipation for the game.
“There’s an incredible amount of people doing amazing things on Grand Theft Auto 6, absolutely mind-blowing things,” he said. “So, it’s an honor to be able to come up here and accept this award on everyone’s behalf. I wish more of us could be here. Thank you very much everybody, and yeah, more to come.”
It’s been almost a year since the first and only trailer for GTA 6 arrived (December 4, 2023) so we’re about due for some more official reveals to salivate over. Unfortunately, we still don’t know the two most important details: the exact date that GTA 6 will launch and when (or if) it will come to PC.
Earlier this month, Take-Two wrote in its earnings report that GTA 6 is still listed as coming to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series in fall 2025. However, every one of Rockstar’s major open-world games from the last 20 years was delayed at least once before release, going all the way back to the console launch of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in 2004. So, don’t be too surprised if GTA 6 is pushed back to 2026.
As for a PC version of the game, that still hasn’t been confirmed. It took seven months for GTA 3 to arrive on PC following its console launch, eight months for San Andreas, eight months for GTA IV, and then there was GTA V, which took almost two years to hit the platform. Even Red Dead Redemption 2 took over a year.
It’s hard to imagine Rockstar never releasing a PC version of GTA 6, but it could be a long wait. A former developer from the company suggested it could be as late as 2027.
Full list of Golden Joystick 2024 categories and winners
- Best Storytelling – Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (public vote)
- Best Visual Design – Black Myth: Wukong (public vote)
- Best Multiplayer Game – Helldivers 2 (public vote)
- Best Audio Design – Astro Bot (public vote)
- Best Game Expansion – Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (public vote)
- Best Indie Game Self Published – Another Crab’s Treasure (public vote)
- Best Indie Game – Balatro (public vote)
- Studio of the Year – Team ASOBI (public vote)
- Best Soundtrack – Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (public vote)
- Best Game Trailer – Helldivers 2 (public vote)
- Best Early Access Game – Lethal Company (public vote)
- Still Playing – Mobile – Honkai: Star Rail (public vote)
- Still Playing – Consoles & PC – Minecraft (public vote)
- Streamers’ Choice Award – Chained Together (critically chosen)
- Breakthrough Award – Balatro (critically chosen)
- Best Gaming Hardware – Steam Deck OLED (public vote)
- Best Game Adaptation – Fallout (public vote)
- Best Supporting Performer – Briana White (public vote)
- Best Lead Performer – Cody Christian (public vote)
- PC Game of the Year – Satisfactory (public vote)
- Console Game of the Year – Helldivers 2 (public vote)
- Critics’ Choice Award – Helldivers 2 (critically chosen)
- Most Wanted Game – Grand Theft Auto 6 (public vote)
- Ultimate Game of the Year – Black Myth: Wukong (public vote)