How GOTY Awards Shape Market Trends and Consumer Expectations

Awards season for 2024 is less than 2 weeks away, and everyone is on edge. Game Of The Year awards—especially heavy-hitters like The Game Awards—are more than accolades for studios. These wins ripple across the entire industry. Studios, players, and even the media turn their attention to see what made its mark on gamers this year. 

The Game Awards marks its 10th anniversary this year and Playstation its 30th, making this season a critical one. But while GOTY and other accolades bring studios bragging rights, these wins influence multiple facets of the industry. GOTY boosts sales, brand credibility, and validates creative risks. 

Risks = reward, and that can shape the next big trends in gaming and beyond.

Why GOTY Matters to Gamers and Studios Alike

For studios, wins are potential market game-changers. GOTY titles tend to get significant sales spikes and furthering media spotlight. Overnight, a title can get elevated from underrated to a must-play game. For example, FromSoftware reported a 206.4% increase in net sales for Elden Ring after its 2022 GOTY win. GOTY brings credibility to studios, affirming their creative vision as well as their decisions to take risks.

For example, check out the #GOTY tag this season. Black Myth: Wukong is high on most 2024 lists for GOTY. It also seized Ultimate Game of The Year and Best Visual Design at the Golden Joystick Awards earlier this month. 

Other GOTY nominees include Astro Bot, Balatro, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, Metaphor ReFantazio, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. They’ve all swept categories at the Golden Joystick Awards, and the race for GOTY at The Game Awards is in the final sprint. If any one of these clinches GOTY, it’s likely to see an even bigger jump in popularity and merch opportunities.

Big Titles Leading to Franchise Resurgence

For a title like God of War (2018), taking Game of the Year helped cement its legendary status for an entirely new generation. Historically, the older God of War games were beloved PlayStation exclusives that defined action-adventure gaming for older generations. They thrived during the PS2 and PS3 eras when much of Gen Z was either too young or not even gaming yet. By the time the PS4 rolled around, Playstation finally felt like it belonged to Gen Z—and God of War returned with perfect timing.

Winning GOTY at The Game Awards 2018 didn’t make the game’s success, but it undeniably amplified the buzz. From the iconic “BOY!” memes (even at the ceremony!) to its mainstream cultural presence, God of War became a phenomenon. By November 2022, just before the release of Ragnarök, it had surpassed 23 million copies sold, demonstrating its sustained appeal. 

It’s a big green light for studios considering reboots or fresh entries to classic franchises. Final Fantasy’s reboot in 2020 brought us its direct sequel and of this year’s landmarks, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. God of War’s GOTY win highlighted its achievements, but the game’s legacy lies in how it bridged generational gaps—welcoming a new audience to Kratos’ world while reigniting the passion of longtime fans.

Expectations & Standards: GOTY’s Limelight on Excellence

GOTY Awards often serve as a spotlight, showcasing titles that redefine what players come to expect from gaming. These celebrated games often resonate deeply with audiences, setting informal standards for storytelling, immersion, and gameplay. This recognitio influences players’ expectations, and also provides developers and studios with aspirational examples for their own projects.

It begs the age-old question. “What would it take to achieve that level of depth in storytelling, immersion, or gameplay?”

GOTY winners The Last of Us Part II (2020), Elden Ring (2022), and Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023) have changed the game (pun intended) for narrative rich gameplay. Great storytelling and world-building have always set the standard higher for everyone. These influence entire genres and become go-to references for developers long after awards night.

Sales Spikes and New Player Bases

A GOTY win is an obvious massive boost for visibility and sales, bringing in waves of new players. Sales spikes on platforms like Steam are common. With word-of-mouth and social media, that traction becomes exponential. This isn’t limited to AAA titles either. Indie games Hades (GOTY nominee, 2020) and It Takes Two (GOTY, 2021) broke traditional indie glass ceilings after their GOTY wins, with a whopping 8 million and a jaw dropping 20 million sales respectively, as of writing.

2024 was a phenomenal year for indie games. Zero Hour became Bangladesh’s first game ever featured on IGN. Balatro swept the Golden Joystick Awards [for the lack of a better pun], and titles like Neva, Animal Well, The Plucky Squire, and many others have seized nominations in categories usually dominated by AAAs. Balatro’s nomination for GOTY at The Game Awards also led to a massive spike in downloads the very same week, surpassing USD4.4 million in gross mobile revenue.

Franchise Longevity through “Immortalization”

Some games go from popular to iconic after winning GOTY, achieving a kind of “immortal” status. A GOTY win can help distinguish a game as a classic, solidifying its relevance for years. Take a look at The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (GOTY, 2015) or Breath of the Wild (GOTY, 2017). Geralt’s saga is the ninth best selling game of all time, despite being almost a decade old. Breath of the Wild remains in the Top 20. 

These games have become all time greats, must haves in every gamer’s library, where their GOTY wins played a small part. The fandoms live on with mods, fan content, and a strong community presence. CDPR was raking in tens of millions with Witcher 3 even in 2022, 7 years after release.

The GOTY Effect on Game Development Trends

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice‘s GOTY win in 2019 helped spark renewed interest in “Souls-like” gameplay. If you beat the main story in under 20 hours, you have our undying respect. Head on over to X, you’ll find that ‘Souls-like’ has permeated all the way to indie games as well. Budding game developers often take what works in these GOTY gems for their own future projects.

For 2025, it’ll be interesting to see what trends emerge. Just this month, CD Projekt Red met with Hideo Kojima, and began hiring for Project Orion – the next chapter of Cyberpunk 2077.

Beyond Tastemaking: GOTY’s Impact on Broader Media Consumption

GOTY winners and nominees are helping redefine broader media consumption. Gaming and other entertainment genres are feeding off each other in ways we haven’t seen before. Gaming was traditionally adapted from books, movies, or comics. Franchises like Star Wars or Harry Potter found their way into games, and vice versa.

Take Cyberpunk 2077. Even without winning GOTY, its nomination bolstered the franchise despite release day issues. It paved the way for an entire multimedia ecosystem. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners on Netflix brought in new fans. Merch sales and community engagement are still through the roof. Arcane (no S2 spoilers!), based on League of Legends, shows how gaming IPs are transforming into multi-platform experiences. It’s also one of the Best Adaptation nominees for The Game Awards. Did you snag the Valorant Arcane 2.0 skins yet?

Gaming IPs are now sources of fresh content for streaming services, anime, and beyond. Secret Level, a video game anthology series, is dropping December 10th on Prime Video. Catch their “SIFU” teaser here!

The Legend of Vox Machina, adapted from Critical Role‘s D&D livestreams, took “Best Animated Series” at the 2022 Golden Tomato Awards! Their fans now have a new format to experience a world and characters they already love. These cultural landmarks took gaming from being an “inspired” medium to a leading creative force. Looking ahead, it will continue to shape even more of what we watch, buy, and experience.

GOTY as a Mirror of Evolving Gamer Expectations

Awards season is a mirror of the community’s evolving tastes. They tend to set unmistakable trends for where gaming is headed. Studios can see what players value and build a roadmap for their future projects.

This season promises us a heated race. Who’s on your 2024 GOTY roster?

– Ameera Rahaman, Content Manager