Summary
Xbox has never won Game of the Year atThe Game Awards, and in the event’s 10-year history, only one game published by Xbox Game Studios has ever even been nominated.The Game Awards 2023nominees were recently announced by Geoff Keighley, and while Xbox has representation in some of the event’s other categories, none of the games it published in 2023 have been nominated for the coveted Game of the Year prize.
The Game Awards 2023 GOTY nomineesareAlan Wake 2,Baldur’s Gate 3,The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,Marvel’s Spider-Man 2,Resident Evil 4, andSuper Mario Bros. Wonder. This means one game published by Xbox rival PlayStation has been nominated (Spider-Man 2) and two games from Xbox rival Nintendo have been nominatedTears of the KingdomandSuper Mario Bros. Wonder). To make matters worse, only two of the nominated games are even playable on Xbox at the time of this writing (Alan Wake 2andResident Evil 4), thoughBaldur’s Gate 3is coming to Xbox by the end of the year.
RELATED:Why Starfield is Already Out of the Picture for the Game of the Year Award
In any case, this means that The Game Awards 2023 solidifies a 10-year streak of Xbox not winning aGame of the Year award. At the time of this writing, EA, CD Projekt Red, Blizzard, Nintendo, PlayStation, Activision, and Bandai Namco have all published games that have earned GOTY awards, with EA, Nintendo, and PlayStation having multiple GOTY awards under their belts. Both Nintendo and PlayStation have the chance to win GOTY again this year, but Xbox doesn’t have a game nominated at all.
PUBLISHERS
2014
Dragon Age: Inquisition, Bayonetta 2, Dark Souls 2, Hearthstone, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
EA, Nintendo, Bandai Namco, Blizzard, WB
2015
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, Super Mario Maker
2016
Blizzard, Bethesda, Playdead, EA, PlayStation
2017
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn, Persona 5, PUBG, Super Mario Odyssey
Nintendo (x2), PlayStation, Atlus, Krafton
2018
God of War, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Celeste, Spider-Man, Monster Hunter World, Red Dead Redemption 2
PlayStation (x2), Ubisoft, Maddy Makes Games, Capcom, Rockstar
2019
Sekiro, Control, Death Stranding, The Outer Worlds, Resident Evil 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Activision, 505 Games, PlayStation, Private Division, Capcom, Nintendo
2020
The Last of Us 2, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Doom Eternal, FF7 Remake, Ghost of Tsushima, Hades
PlayStation (x2), Nintendo, Bethesda, Square Enix, Supergiant Games
2021
It Takes Two, Deathloop, Metroid Dread, Psychonauts 2, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Resident Evil Village
EA, Bethesda, Nintendo, Xbox, PlayStation, Capcom
2022
Elden Ring, A Plague Tale: Requiem, God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, Stray, Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Bandai Namco, Focus Entertainment, PlayStation (x2), Annapurna, Nintendo
2023
Alan Wake 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Resident Evil 4, Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Epic Games, Larian Studios, Nintendo (x2), PlayStation, Capcom
Xbox has never won Game of the Year at The Game Awards, and in fact, it’s only even had one shot at the big prize. In 2021, Xboxpublished 3D platformerPsychonauts 2to rave reviews. The game was nominated for Game of the Year alongsideIt Takes Two,Death Loop,Metroid Dread,Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, andResident Evil Village, ultimately losing toIt Takes Two. This marks the only time to date that an Xbox Game Studios-published has even been in contention for a Game of the Year award.
While Xbox Game Studios has only ever had 1 game nominated for GOTY at The Game Awards,Deathloopwas nominated in a year when publisher Bethesda was technically owned by Microsoft, so some might choose to count it among Xbox’s GOTY nominations. Even so, that would only bring the count up to two games. Xbox has some heavy hitters on deck for 2024, includingSenua’s Saga: Hellblade 2andObsidian Entertainment’sAvowed, both of which are expected to be published by Xbox Game Studios, and so they could potentially break Xbox’s losing streak at the big event.
Even if games published directly by Xbox Game Studios continue to fail to make the cut, Microsoft’s acquisitions should ensure that the company has a much better chance at something from a studio under its umbrella getting nominated and potentially winning. Not only does Microsoft now own Bethesda and all its studios, but it has alsoacquired Activision Blizzard Kingand all the studios associated with them as well. Needless to say, Xbox should have a much more significant presence at The Game Awards moving forward. It will take years for it to catch up to its chief competitors, though, and only time will tell if it ever takes home Game of the Year.
