Starfield Fails To Make Shortlist For 'Game Of The Year' At The Game Awards 2023

Still my game of the year!

Probably my favourite game ever and I'm nowhere near finished with it! Absolutely love it!

There were so many good games this year so some were always going to be left out. Out of the nominated games, I'd have to give it to Tears of the Kingdom. It is one of the best open-worlds to explore and the changes from BotW still make the game feel unique and fun.

I knew Xbox would get screwed

It's definitely one of my favorite games this year, but this year was so packed with fantastic games. I'm not really surprised it will miss some goty lists.

I haven't played it but that does seem legitimacy sus... 🤔

Tears of the Kingdom is my pick, but I think BG3 will win it.

well xbox will just buy everything then what the game awards will do?

my game of the year is goldeneye on xbox. 2nd is starfield, then redfall.

I'm seeing people upset that Starfield only got one nomination and was snubbed for GOTY. I would have liked to have seen it on the list but, honestly, there was a lot of competition this year. I guess people will argue over RE4 being on there as it's a remake, but I saw it coming as the reviews were quite good - better than Starfield's overall.

Perhaps Xbox Game Studios should try harder next time, just a thought 😉. Anyway the nominated games are seriously cracking titles....at least the latest Devil May Fantasy (FF16) didn't make the cut either, 😀 so there's that 🤣.

LOL Resident Evil 4? Zelda has always been ridiculously overhyped (even The Wind Waker, 96 on Metacritic for the original... I mean, come on!) and of course a PS5 exclusive has to be on the list (Spider-Man 2), they ALWAYS are.

Never mind, I don't recognize these so called "awards". It's a show that focuses more on commercials and marketing, than actually celebrating the people.

It was never going to happen. The fact is Starfield just underwhelmed, and this year was far too competitive - I probably could have picked another 10 games to get nominated ahead of Starfield (Lies of P, Armored Core, Pikmin and Sea of Stars off the top of my head). That said, I think it would have been nice if Hi-Fi Rush snuck in over RE4.

That because it doesn't deserve be in that list it's a broken mess of a game it's still good though but not anything special

the winner is already known so..

I've said all along that Baldur's Gate 3 will win every single GotY Award during the next year. Indeed, I was saying it prior to its full release, but having played it to completion for 300 hours, I have absolutely no doubts now.

I did have one person really get on my case about this saying that I was completely mistaken, and that Starfield would sweep the board. That individual had not played BG3 (whereas I had) and Starfield had not even released at the time of our conversations. However, I did not expect to see Starfield fail to even make the nominations, and I feel kind of sad about that. I think Starfield, if it had been kept in the developmental oven for another year, would not only have been an improved game, but also would not have faced the stiff competition that this year has provided.

Regardless, I think 2023 will be looked upon as the pinnacle of gaming for many a year to come. It is difficult to believe that it can be topped in terms of quality...

It's my game of the year and ultimately that is the only list that matters to me. Pikmin 4 is my second favorite this year but that is a pretty niche game.

From the 6 nominated, I guess my 3rd overall game, RE4, would be my choice (haven't played Alan Wake 2 yet).

Starfield
Pikmin 4
RE4
Diablo 4
Spider man 2
Mario wonder

Unsurprising. Just not in the level of some of the others in a number of ways.

@LostInBlue0 I didn’t expect Starfield in the GOTY category, but was honestly shocked to not see it in Best Score and Music.

And no Forza for best Audio, really?

Not surprised starfield isn’t nominated tbh. It’s pretty underwhelming and half baked. Definitely not the same calibre as everything else on the list.

@EVIL-C not really ,it doesn't deserve a nomination

It was hyped to be goty, but in reality what was delivered was just a good game. This year, it simply wasnt good enough to make nominations, and thats a shame. I had some fun with it, but I'll never go back and its simply not a patch on the great bethusda games of the past.

@redd214 I agree. It's a good game and at times it's really good, but just not on the same level as the goty nominees.

@MattT3142 best score ? Its one of the most underwhelming bethesda rpgs with regards to music ,its kinda boring ,also the in game music just sounds like remixed versions of skyrim and oblivion.

FF16 not being there is an actual snub

@Rmg0731 Naw. FFXVI def sucks hard.

That’s a joke. Definitely my game of the year. 200 hours in and still on my first runthrough.

The day that i would let some "journalists" decide what's a good game for me and what's not...that would be the day!

These game awards were always a travesty anyway. At least we'll get to see some new announcements.

@rustyduck That's a very good question. I think that if all games were Microsoft's, they would start awarding Android games.

While Starfield is definitely my most played game, I understand why neither it nor any Microsoft game was nominated.

Starfield for example, is plagued with issues, particularly on the underwhelming Series S. Outside of the major cities, the game is largely empty.

Additionally, with this being their first use of procedural generation since Elder Scrolls 2 in 1996, there's aot to be desired. For example, I have went through the exact same facility no less than 4 or 5 times on different planets due to the procedural system reusing it.

@Syndrome I guess it is a good thing that's not what this is about then? Just because something was t nominated doesn't mean it isn't bad. It. Just means it isn't the best.

People need to chill with getting upset that their game isn't a 100 across the board. I'd say Starfield is a solid 85. But even then, there are plenty of great games I'd put in the 50 or 60s. People seem to have forgotten you have a whole scale to use. Not just the upper half.

I can understand Starfield because they released it half-finished but no love for Hi-Fi Rush?

Congratulations to all the nominees! I have not played BG3 or AW2 yet, so my vote has to go to TOTK.

Come on guys GOTY should be a celebration of our favourite hobbie, what a year of gaming it has been, not another dunking contest

@Rmg0731 lol finally fantasy 16 is so boring....I tried so hard to like it seen as my mum bought it me for my birthday...but my god it's dull

No hi fi rush at least?

To people asking why Hi-Fi Rush is not on the list, the answer is because it's not a Sony or Nintendo game.

@EVIL-C it's not good enough thats why same as other games not on the list

Can't really argue with that list. It's solid. RE4 added a fair bit to the new version.

Starfield was great for a lot of folks. I didn't really vibe with it myself. Feels like a weird snub though. Geff what you playing at?

It’s simply not good enough for a GOTY nomination. A good game overall but that’s it being fair.

Starfield is a good game for sure, but I haven't played it enough to have a formed opinion about it being GOTY material.

Nevertheless, In a year of great games, I think Hi-Fi Rush deserved some more love. Glad to see the game nominated in some categories, though.

It's not a surprise at all that it wasn't nominated so why bring it up and give the haters one more chance to dunk on the game?

@StylesT eh to each their own. Couldnt play more than 2 hours of starfield before dropping that.

it was nominated only on the rpg category? c'mon, its behind baldurs gate and final fantasy in this one, maybe put it on action and soundtrack

I have played three games a ton this year Starfield, Hogwarts, and Sandrock.

None are on that list. Starfield not being on there though is an insult. Hogwarts I figure the political leaning of the people making the list would not allow it.

I'm not 100% surprised by this, but it probably should have been on there in lieu of Resi 4.

I think that's fair though considering the other nominees.

I wasn't impressed at all with Starfield, just my opinion. It's well made and you can see the devs put a lot of time into it but I personally felt it was Fallout 3 in Space.

@Banjo-
To people asking why is not Hi-Fi Rush on the list, the answer is because it's not a Sony or Nintendo game

No freaking way mate, the gaming media will never do such a thing😉

BG3 will win but Alan Wake 2 deserves to IMO. Such an incredible game with by far the most originality and big swings on the technical side of things that were knocked out of the park.

Starfield is a beautiful game that has wonderful role play freedom. The internet is trying so hard to hate it.

I don’t care about the GOTY or this bait-y article title but I hope BGS isn’t discouraged from making the types of games they do.

Not surprised - Starfield is by far the biggest and most ambitious, as well as probably the most 'bug free' launch of any Bethesda game - but its still a 'Bethesda' game with some typical Bethesda Jank.

Visually its 'impressive' when compared to Fallout 76 or 4 for example, but it still looks 'dated' - not modern with much better lighting/character models/animations etc. Yes its a good 'Bethesda' game, but its not Game of the Year worthy in my opinion.

Not that there is anything wrong with iterative advancements that enabled them to make what feels more like Fallout on a different scale - but nothing that feels 'new' or fresh...

Its a good game but not GotY Awesome...

@Banjo- which game would you drop from list of nominee for Hifi Rush?? Hifi Rush not bad but not same level as Baldurs Gate, Spiderman 2 and TOTK.

Feel bad for Xbox but it’s been a stacked year for great games and these 6 are probably the best ones.

@Pimpernel Baldur's Gate 3, yes. Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild are ridiculously overhyped and overrated and I say that as a massive The Legend of Zelda fan. They are the most boring games in the series, at least among the 3D entries. Spider-Man 2 is yet another okay cinematic Sony adventure, so I don't agree with you about deserving it more, either. But hey, we can agree to disagree. You'll love the awards this year, but awards and reviews are either somebody's opinion or vested interests. In any case, if Hi-Fi Rush was a Nintendo or Sony game, we all know that it would be on that list.

I thought Starfield was a massive disappointment so I'm not surprised it didn't make the cut and for the people crying about Hi-Fi Rush just look at the metacritic scores.
If you use them as a reference point then it would be between Alan Wake 2 and Hi-Fi Rush on who gets the final spot on the list but obviously they thought Alan Wake 2 was more deserving.

I’m not surprised Starfield isn’t included, it got a pretty mixed reaction among fans and reviewers. I honestly can’t choose a GOTY this year, I’ve been underwhelmed by most of the big hitters or not played them.

@Rmg0731 FF16 is the worst game I’ve played this year, absolute garbage.

@Banjo- No its because its a good 7/10 game and nothing more.

Don't get me wrong: I think these are superb entries, but my own favorite is not there: HiFi RUSH. Every other title it's a clear 'reuse' of a previous game:
Alan Wake
Divinity: Original Sin
Marvel's Spider-Man
Resident Evil 4 (!)
New Super Mario Bros.
Breath of the Wild

Even Starfield, it's Skyrim/Fallout in space.

But HiFi RUSH, man, it's the TRUE 2023 OG: fresh, new IP, somewhat innovative, cool girls, smooth music, a cat AI!, it moved its own genre to a new standard.

C'mon!

Anyway, this show (TGA) is like those free newspapers full of ads. Bad quality, biased, and crafted for controversy.

@MattT3142 Geoff is a Sony fanboy, so no surprises here. Starfield would probably not have won GOTY, but at least it should be a nominee. RE4, a remake GOTY? And Spiderman had to be there of course... lol

@DennisReynolds 7/10 for you, for others 10/10.

@fbnaulin Exactly!

@InterceptorAlpha You assume two things:

1. That i'm only talking about Starfield.

2. That i care about review scores at all.

You're wrong in both cases.

Not surprised that Starfield didn't make the list. It's a sub-par game. Spider Man 2 should not be on the list. And Diablo 4 should have made the list. Alan Wake 2 or RE4 are amazing games.

@Syndrome

My comment assumes neither of those. And strange you even got that from my comment to begin with.

Just because I mention Starfield after what I said do you does not, in any way, indicate I stated you were talking about Starfield.

I have well over 200 hours into Starfield. I continue to enjoy it.

That being said, it is not GOTY material IMO.

It is both magical and tragically flawed.

For everything it does well there are two more which are implemented poorly or just plain broken.

When I first started playing I found the number of bugs were under control, however, the more you play it, the more bugs you find. Many of them are painfully obvious and really should have been fixed before release.

The industry has some real hate for Microsoft. These awards are always scammy anyways and to be honest I would never use these lists as any input on deciding to buy a game.

I remember working for a record store a long time ago. When certain albums released they always put it in top albums even though not a single copy has been sold. At that point I never trusted marketing, it's all a scam.

@iplaygamesnstuff It sounds like you’re confusing popularity and sales for quality. Thing an are not popular because they’re good. They’re popular because of a combination of marketing and conforming to things that are already popular. That’s not to say popular things cannot still be good but when you make a product like that it’s nearly impossible to make something special that stands out or pushes the industry forward.

I'm surprised that Resident Evil 4 made the cut, I believe that's the first time a remake is nominated. But to be fair, RE4 is more than just a simple remake, they changed a lot in the game. I prefer Dead Space, though, I think it's a better game.

As for Starfield, well... I've played 190h of Starfield and I think it's a great game in spite of its many flaws. I always thought it was a long shot for Game of the Year shortlists and I believe Hi-Fi-Rush had a better shot at TGA.

That’s a slap in the face.

Golden Joystick Awards gave PS5 game of the year to Resident Evil 4.

That game is on Xbox, but Starfield beat it.

Here they put Spider-Man 2 above Starfield and FF16. That’s a bit of a joke imho.

Starfield is not the best game of the year. But it’s one of the most unique and daring in scope. The amount of work that went into it is impressive.

@Banjo- When i think of 10/10's of the year i think of Baldur's Gate 3, Zelda, Mario Wonder and Alan Wake 2 not a fairly decent if nothing special action game that has been forgotten by most. It was never getting nominations because again its nothing special and if not for a shadow drop and Gamepass i think the reception to it would be a tad colder.

Funny you're throwing the opinion card at me though considering your comments on Zelda. You think its overrated cool but the vast majority clearly don't just like you imply my thoughts on Hi-Fi Rush aren't the majority.

@Kienda I love Starfield but its not unique or daring, its basically Fallout 3 in space what is great but as a space game No Man's Sky, Elite, Everspace 2 and Star Citizen all do or do most of the things that Starfield does space wise but far better. Starfield's strengths are the typical Bethesda stuff you would get in ES or Fallout but the moment you start exploring those empty bland worlds or do anything in space its faults are pretty glaring.

To be clear, this doesn't mean it was a bad game, it was just a loaded year. Move along now people nothing to see here - Officer Barbrady

@RBRTMNZ Example: I'm saying before the Beetles anthology came out, it was already #1 in the chart for the store selling it. If there had been no sales, that would make it a scam just to sell more copies, not that the album needed it. I was the guy who updated the display. It had nothing to do with sales of the product. It was who paid more for the top spot. It was a scam. Not whatever you came up with as a response to my comment.

I can't believe Spider-man 2 made the list. Whilst I did enjoy it, it was the buggiest game I played this year and I got the Platinum trophy in about a week, with just a moderate amount of play each day. One and done indeed. Certainly not a GOTY contender, in my opinion, and certainly wasn't worth the £80 I paid for the deluxe edition.

I'm about a third of the way through Starfield and am starting to fall off. Not surprised it's not nominated for GOTY.

Cause it sucks a big donkey dingdong that's why

@DennisReynolds Of course it's my opinion 🤣. The difference between you and me is that you are addressing me incessantly because you don't accept somebody saying anything different, while I couldn't care less about your 7/10 or thinking that Spider-Man 2 or Tears of the Kingdom deserve more praise than Hi-Fi Rush. It's far more interesting to read honest opinions and comments from unbiased gamers that like or dislike games regardless of platform, publisher or IP. By the way, your opinion or the Metacritic score are not more important than any other opinion, and commercial success doesn't equal quality. Now let's just agree to disagree and get on with whatever you were doing.

@evan23 Very well said. Exactly what I've been thinking after 100 hours or so.

Not played BG3, But Alan Wake 2 is a masterpiece.

I think as of right now SF is probably my fame of year. I just started Alan Wake 2 last night. I have Baldur's gate 3 on PS for when i get back from Europe at end of this month

@fbnaulin just to note Alan Wake 2, is nothing like the first. It's much more like control than the original wake.

Starfield has some cool spaceship creation and fighting. Outside of the spacheships, it was too boring. Quests were too repetitive, "Go there, get this, come back" with some small scaling of weapons and combat, it got boring!

Looking at my played list, no 2023 xBox games to mention, every game I play came out before.

But Baldur's Gate 3 may make it on the list, that game was fun on pc and very worthy of mention, tons of story content and film quality animations and voice acting.

@Dan1283 exactly. We’ve played this game and formula many times over already

I can’t say this is surprising to me. It’s a good game, but was not GoTY material for me. Probably like my 6/7th favorite this year. My top 5 would be:

Diablo 4
Star Wars JS
SM2
Hogwarts Legacy
Sea of Stars

@EquiinoxGII Got it. I must admit I haven't see it enough, and your comment makes all the sense.

Spiderman 2, really? Anyway, we all know Balder's Gate is going to win. I didn't think Starfield would be nominated. Too divisive. The others on the list seem fair.

@Banjo- I addressed you once you replied and then i replied and then you replied with me now replying, welcome to the concept of convensations or in this case a debate. I challenge the notion of why you think Hi-Fi is GOTY worthy when a game like Baldur's Gate 3 exists, its like thinking Barbie is Best Picture worthy when films like Killers of the Flower Moon exist. As for Spider-Man 2 i don't think its GOTY worthy i think its a solid 8.5 and nothing else though i find it interesting you're getting antsy that Zelda and Spider-Man 2 are nominated while the 1st party Xbox games aren't on this Xbox centric site.

Starfield didn’t deserve to be on the list. Neither does Spider-Man 2.

Was a stacked year in terms of ratings. So some big games were going to miss out. More surprising (well unsurprising) would be Hogwarts missing out.

Have to laugh at the usual woe Xbox everyone out to get us brigade. It was just because Starfield was divisive. You can give it 10 and look past all the bugs, or you can look at it objectively against what other games in 2023 can do, and then it makes sense it drops to 8-8.5

Hardly surprising.

@DennisReynolds I'm not getting "antsy". I couldn't care less about that absurd show. The only thing I don't understand and that kind of puzzles me is what is an Xbox hater hating Xbox games and people that enjoy a certain Xbox game on an Xbox site and at the same time expect (and demand) people to maintain a "conversation" with them. I don't have anything else to say to you and to your friendly supporters that define themselves with the arguments they use.

Kinda sad to see how the tide turned so quickly against Starfield in terms of public opinion. I literally just talked to a random dude today about video games, and when I mentioned Starfield, he had some choice criticisms lol. I guess BGS has lost a lot of their luster in today's environment.

I've only played the Ninty games on the list. Mario Wonder is okay, but not GOTY-worthy, IMO. TotK... I dunno. It's incredibly impressive and creative in so many respects, but I just sort of sat it down and lost interest after 80 hours or so. Whereas I feverishly played BotW until I hit the credits. I think the sequel complicated the formula a bit too much for me.

I guess, for me, the smaller Nintendo releases were more fun. Pikmin 4, Fire Emblem Engage, those Advance Wars remakes, etc.

@Ralizah starfield just has issues with it being made in a dated engine. It’s 2023 and some parts of it just don’t hold up. It’s not that it’s inherently bad.

It has so many good ideas/moments then 5minutes later it has 2 steps back. - some mod support will probably change people’s feelings on it in the future.

An amazing year for gaming and my backlog still contains many of the top games released thus far. My personal game of the year is Aliens Dark Descent, ticked all the boxes for this Alien Saga fan.

The great thing is that we all can have our game of the year. Obviously, we haven't played them all but this year has been packed with candidates and not all of them are evident nor commercial. Even those that are "good" may not be enjoyable for some. The Hollywood blockbusters are not the best, same for video games. Reviews and awards are just opinions, in a best-case scenario.

Sony are actually the most successful publisher ever at the game awards and have had a game nominated for game of the year, every single year since 2015. Yep, you read that right. 9 in a row. 😅

@Banjo- i not think Hifi Rush would, it was decent, def not GOTY contender. Sifu is better imo. I haven’t played new Zelda, got Breath of Wild an think that great. Baldurs Gate is incredible and Spiderman is a vast improvement on previous game. It real is so, so good. I see some say dlc or copy an paste, these people have clearly not played game. Of coarse it gonna be similar, it a sequel!! Every sequal gonna have traces of previous game. Is Red Dead 2 copy an paste? Is GTA? Is Halo? Gears? TLOU? God of War? Uncharted?

@iplaygamesnstuff So you believe the store you worked at sold spots on the best seller list so naturally everyone must do it? That’s a really big jump to your conclusion especially considering that the Game Awards has an independent voting process and almost certainly uses an independent third party to tabulate votes as all big awards shows do. Plus even your conclusion about your employer is probably wrong. A lot of products debut as best sellers thanks to pre-orders. A much easier conclusion would be that you have basic taste in media. I’m not saying that’s the case but it’s much less of a jump than you’re making.

Still have not beat it but not shocked. I, however, am shocked about both Spider-Man 2 and Mario Wonder malign the list. Mario Wonder feels odd given nomination patterns and spider-man feels like the opposite, an industry pattern-shoehorned inclusion.

Let’s face it: this is Baldurs Gate 3’s award at the end of the day.

@Ralizah I still love Starfield its just now that the Honeymoon period is over and i've seen most of what it offers i feel the faults are just more obvious. I agree there's definitely some weird hate for the game, it seems no matter where you turn everyone acts like its the worst. Maybe its not the 10/10 we wished for but 8/10 is still really good.

@Pimpernel Spider Man 2 definitely should not be on the list. Not a great game. It's good but not great. It definitely is not so, so good. Lol.

From the list, my choice would be Mario Wonder. Not from the list, my favorite game was Cocoon. That game was fantastic. I do think HiFi Rush should take the place of Spiderman. I’m just happy that FFXVI didn’t get a nomination. That game was so boring. It is worse in every way than FFXV which everyone seems to think is bad nowadays.

Didn’t deserve to be anywhere near Game of the Year unless it was the category for biggest disappointment. Fighting against Fire Emblem Engage for the top spot.

@Romans12 if you not like it that fine. Opinions and all. But it’s fact the general consensus think it’s incredible.

Wheres the Hogwarts game, that sold huge numbers ?

2023 has been one of the best years for games in quite some time, which resulted in stiff competition. Some might say that Starfield deserved to be one of the GOTY nominees, some might not. Whatever side you fall on, you can't deny that the list of nominees this year is comprised of six very good, very popular and very well reviewed games.

There's also absolutely no evidence to suggest (nor sense in arguing) that the fact that Starfield is an Xbox exclusive had any bearing whatsoever on it not being included as a GOTY nominee. Sorry, but there just isn't. Also, The Game Awards is one of hundreds - if not thousands - of outlets that does Game of the Year awards and, guess what, Starfield will show up on a lot of those lists and, dare I say it, win quite a few.

Don't feel too bad, it was a tough year. At least some of Xbox's games are getting nominations for some awards, that's a start.

Starfield is far from a bad game, but it leaves a lot to be desired in many areas. I know nothing about these other nominees, but from what I have experienced on SF it doesn't deserve GOTY, and that's coming from a loyal 18+ year Bethesda fan. New Game+ was done well, as were the weapons and combat. But the procedural generation looks like N64 level graphics and that's being pretty generous. The main quest has its moments, but it really felt like it needed a different dynamic and better writing. I never wanted to finish any of the chapters because they were "fun", I wanted to get through them because I kept hoping the next chapter would be better. It never really lifted off though, nothing that makes you just sit back and say "that's ba!" When I got to Earth I kept thinking "how cool would it be to bring this old girl back to life and fly it to New Homestead or something?" But no, nothing even remotely that interesting, just more of the same, find this terminal, click through the files until you get a checkmark, etc etc. Can't help but feel like Bethesda's best days are behind them at this point. I worry for ESVI after experiencing Starfield, they need fresh ideas and new direction.

Personally, Starfield is my GOTY, since I enjoy not-too-violent Sci-Fi FPSs.

Then Terminator: Resistance the Annihilation Line DLC.

RoboCop: Rogue City was too violent/criminals for me, like Cyberpunk 2077 was the same.

I also wish there was a really good Kart Racer in 2023, but Disney Speedstorm turned into F2P mobile gambling trash, sadly.

Each to their own. All the best everyone.

While Starfield was good, but it had too many flaws to be up there with games like Baldurs Gate 3, Alan Wake 2 or Spider-Man 2.

Who gives a *****?
The winners will win, the real losers are the ones who sit through TGA. You can just feel your braincells shorting out, all while a coked up Geoff Keighley grins at you in a suit & sneakers. No ma'am.

@Ichiban The only worthy thing about The Game Awards will be the new announcements if there is any, but we can read that on Pure Xbox one minute later.

@DennisReynolds I was saying it’s one of the most unique and daring in scope “for the year”.

You’re right that the game isn’t as good at space exploration as some you mentioned, for example No Man’s Sky, but in other aspects it’s gigantic.

Just think of the amount of items, lovingly crafted. The literal hundreds-of-thousands of lines of dialogue. And all those other things. It is a massive game in scope compared to many others releases this year.

All I’m saying is the game deserves some recognition.

Yeah, it’s Fallout in space, but Spider-Man 2 is Spider-Man 1, but now bigger. Resident Evil 4 is literally a remake of an old game with additions. Not to mention TotK and Mario Wonder being improved versions of older entries in the series. Great games? Sure. But a few of them are not as much a step forward as Starfield (in my opinion). So it’s a shame Game Awards seemingly chose politics over appreciating the developers.

That being said, Baldurs Gate 3 likely deserves to win.

All the nominees seem about right for me. Hi Fi Rush will be getting all my votes for sure. Also loved Planet of Lana. But other than that nothing on Xbox has stood out to me.

The game awards is a marketing show with some awards attached. Nobody should take it seriously. If we are going by the most popular/best selling game of 2023 it is Hogwarts Legacy.

@DennisReynolds Based on reviews Starfield isn't GOTY material. Hi-Fi Rush would have had a chance but again it is a very crowded year. Even if nominated I doubt either of them would have won. AW2 and BG3 are the critic darlings this year.

@MrMagic Then you would be ignoring that Alan Wake 2 is a bugged mess, Hi Fi Rush was not.

Not one New IP was selected, though looking at who does the selections!
'Chosen by an international jury of media and gaming influencer outlets'.

@Syndrome I think the nominations are voted on by devs and studios not journalists. I get your point though, you do you. Award ceremonies are simply how we express consensus and give praise.

@Sifi I don’t see a problem with the bias in the voting process (https://thegameawards.com/voting-jury). It is a shame no new IPs made it to the top nomination, but I’m not sure if any new IPs from ‘23 deserve it.

I think Street Fighter 6 was hard done by more so than Starfield, I really enjoyed Starfield but it's not even in my top 4 or 5 games this year. The only nominated game I'd really question would probably be Spider-Man 2

No Xbox game, no matter how highly rated, has been nominated for GOTY at the doritopope's spike tv game awards in the last 10 or so years. Ori and its sequel, Gears 5, even FH5 which was the single highest rated game the year it came out. There's always handwaving. Gears 5 didnt review well enough? It reviewed better than Ghosts of Tsushima which got nominated. Ori 2 wasnt big enough? Then Stray gets nominated. Whatever you think about Starfield, it didn't have a chance at this meaningless ***** show.

I think Baldur's Gate 3 and Tears of the Kingdom are the best games on that list.

BG3 is a daring leap for the CRPG genre much like Breath of the Wild was for the Open-World genre. Tears is standing on the shoulders of Breath, so I would give 2023 to BG3.

I've only seen a demo of Spider-Man 2 but I was impressed. It packed all the narrative and variety of a Spider-Man cartoon episode into a 15 minute mission, with great pacing and switching perspectives/characters on the fly, all whilst looking incredible. So that could well be a contender too.

Never a fan of Bethesda art style and direction … seems very rpg like no matter the genre . Wish Xbox went after Ubisoft catalog instead tbh .

Yeah, that’s because it isn’t very good.

Bunch of people on Twitter calling it the Xbox tax. Lmao

Really hard argue with that.

Just ant-xbox its obvious

@Jellyfox "Nominations for the game awards are selected by a voting jury of over 100 leading media and influencer outlets across the globe".
That's from the official website. So yeah, journalists and influencers(whatever that last one means).

The point of my comment is that, in my opinion, people give way too much credit in things like awards and review scores, which mostly serve as fuel for console wars at this point, and that they shouldn't let some "influencers" tell them which game is a great or goty or whatever and instead judge for themselves.

More critical thinking and less obsessing over double digit numbers is my message.

Fun but dull — I assume there was a deliberate desire not to overlap the dynamic storytelling seen in Fallout.

Starfield wasn't snubbed. If you doubled the size of the list of GOTY candidates, it still wouldn't deserve a spot. The year was insanely stacked. I do feel Hi-Fi Rush should get a nod. Probably just barely missed the cut.

Starfield probably would have been nominated if it were released in 2021 or 22, but not this year. Was just an insane year overall.

While I find Starfield to be a massive disappointment, it's not entirely a bad game, there are far worse.

I do think it's nowhere near good enough to even be considered for the running as a GotY contender.

@InterceptorAlpha

The procedural generation is so bad in Starfield, it's like Bethesda didn't even try. I e seen the same copy pasted structure 3 times on one planet, and the other two locations were effectively small holes in the wall somehow labeled as caves.

It's not like Starfield is terrible or anything, but is it ever underwhelming, and oftentimes it feels like it was phoned in. It's the first Bethesda game that's ever bored me.