The Game Awards 2024 pulled off the year’s biggest upset in gaming: Astro Bot by Team Asobi won Game of the Year over heavy favourites Metaphor: ReFantazio, Balatro, and Black Myth: Wukong. The result was met with genuine surprise — and genuine joy. Japan Studio’s resurrection as Team Asobi, and their crafting of the most joyful, technically brilliant platformer in years, was a triumph for pure game design over spectacle.
Astro Bot won seven awards in total, including Best Family Game, Best Innovation in Accessibility, and Best Art Direction. Team Asobi’s Nicolai Colombus gave an emotional acceptance speech that brought PlayStation’s gaming heritage to the forefront. The game sold over 1.5 million copies in its first month and carries a Metacritic of 94.
The reveals were equally thrilling. A new Borderlands 4 trailer confirmed a March 2025 release. Ghost of Yotei, the Ghost of Tsushima successor, was officially announced. And a new FromSoftware project known only as “The Duskbloods” was teased with a cryptic trailer.
Astro Bot winning GOTY is a reminder that the best games are made with love, not just budgets. 2024’s finest hour.
Source: The Game Awards