From November 2022 until today, gamers have been voting on their favorite titles of the year across 11 categories for the annual Steam Awards, and the winners have now been revealed. Although a number of winners may not come as a surprise to anyone that paid attention to major releases last year, a few interesting choices bring attention to some noteworthy titles onSteam.
Since the event was introduced in 2016,the Steam Awardshave given players the opportunity to vote for games across a range of categories on the popular sales platform. Along with the coveted Game of the Year award, 10 other categories celebrate aspects of gaming like soundtracks, visual style, innovation, and developer commitment. Millions of gamers participate in the entire process from the initial nominations to the final winners, which provides valuable insight into the thoughts of regular consumers instead of leaving the choice up to a small committee of critics.
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Unsurprisingly, Steam users decided that FromSoftware’sElden Ringwas the Game of the Year, beating out other nomineesDying Light 2,God of War,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and the viral hit indie gameStray.Elden Ringalso claimed victory in the category Best Game You Suck At, also not surprising to anyone that spent many hours last year getting stomped by the game’s challenging bosses. Another notable selection wasCyberpunk 2077as the winner for the Labor of Love category, with players impressed by CD Projekt Red’s continued support of the game with major updates and bug fixes post-release.Cyberpunk 2077was also the winner of the Outstanding Story-Rich Game category in 2021’s Steam Awards.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga’s gameplayearned it a win for the Sit Back And Relax category as it provided many gamers with some relaxing, low-pressure puzzle solving in a galaxy far, far away. The category saw some stiff competition, with games likeSlime Rancher 2andDisney Dreamlight Valleyappealing to players for much the same reason. Despite the games originally being released prior to 2022, the PC ports ofDeath StrandingandGod of Wartook home the awards for Best Game On The Go and Outstanding Story-Rich Game, respectively.
Many of these award-winning games includingElden RingandDeath Strandingalong with thousands of others are still available at impressive discounts thanks to theSteam Winter Salewhich will continue until January 5, so there’s still some time to see what all the fuss is about.
VR Game of the Year:Hitman 3
Labor of Love:Cyberpunk 2077
Sit Back and Relax:LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
