The Golden Joystick Awards took place late last week, with Remedy taking home the trophy for the Critics' Choice Award awarded for Alan Wake 2.
Thomas Puha (Communications Director at Remedy) took to the stage to receive the reward on behalf of the studio.
Accepting the reward, he stepped forward to the microphone for his speech, stating, "Thank you very much. It's lovely to be back here." He took a moment to ask for the room to be quiet, the words followed by cheering and the comment, "We'll take that." He continued, "Thank you very much. It took us thirteen years to get this game done. Making games is hard, as we say at Remedy. We prove it with every game we make. It's very painful, but it's pretty awesome when you get these awards. So, shoutout to the team back home in Espoo, and of course, a big thank you to Epic Games, who published the game and really let us and Sam Lake make exactly the game he wanted to make. Which is pretty rare! So, thank you very much. Enjoy the rest of your evening. Thank you."
Remedy and Alan Wake II had been collectively shortlisted in four categories: Studio of the Year (Remedy Entertainment) Best Game Trailer for Alan Wake 2 (The Dark Place Gameplay Trailer), and Ultimate Game of the Year. Melanie Liburd as well as Ilkka Villi with Matthew Porretta (a combined vote for the character), were all nominated for Best Performer. While it was tough competition this year, particularly with Larian Studios' Baldur's Gate 3 dominating the start of award season, the Critics Choice Award provided a fifth surprise category for the Remedy team to shine.
The Judging Process. Publishers and developers are invited to nominate their games and studios in early September. The list is then sent and analysed by "Future PLC editors, trusted freelancers and external experts". Later that same month, the final shortlist is decided between the Future editors and a trusted network of journalists, with the final voting put in the hands of players for the majority of categories, with certain exceptions.
