Not Larian’s “hardcore RPG,” but Baldur’s Gate 3 swept the Golden Joysticks Awards
Baldur’s Gate 3 completely dominated this year’s Golden Joystick Awards, taking home a record-breaking seven awards in categories such as Best Storytelling, Best Studio, and Ultimate Game of the Year. Despite the game’s enormous success, Larian Studios’ CEO wasn’t expecting quite so much trophy love.
Swen Vincke, reacting to the awards, said the team “didn’t plan on anything” and had even joked about walking home empty-handed: “How are we going to get rid of the depression?” Vincke admits that while he expected to win PC Game of the Year, he “didn’t expect” the other six awards to follow.
Larian’s reaction to Baldur’s Gate 3 being named Ultimate GOTY is so wholesome.
Vincke had expected the grand prize (Ultimate Game of the Year) to go to another five-star powerhouse.
“Honestly I thought it was gonna be Alan Wake 2. I haven’t played it yet but I saw all the chatter about it. I saw people being ecstatic about it. So I figured it was gonna be Alan Wake 2, and if it wasn’t Alan Wake 2 I thought it was gonna be [The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom].”
Another factor that surprised Vincke was that games like Baldur’s Gate 3 don’t often win awards, which sometimes favor ‘cinematic’ blockbusters. “I didn’t think a PC-focused game like BG3 with hardcore RPG mechanics in there would be able to do this.”