Sony has had a first-party Game of the Year nomination at The Game Awards ten years in a row. In fact, the streak would be even longer if 2014 hadn’t been such a lean year for the industry as a whole.
Here are the titles that have been nominated:
- 2015
- Bloodborne
- 2016
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- 2017
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- 2018
- God of War (Winner), Marvel's Spider-Man
- 2019
- Death Stranding
- 2020
- Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us: Part 2 (Winner)
- 2021
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- 2022
- God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West
- 2023
- Marvel's Spider-Man 2
- 2024
- Astro Bot
We suppose some pedantic readers may argue Bloodborne and Death Stranding are not first-party games, as Sony doesn’t own the developers that made them. While this is technically true, platform holders generally consider the titles they publish to be first-party.
In the case of Bloodborne, the Japanese giant still wholly owns the FromSoftware favourite. Death Stranding was later ported to PC and, earlier this year, Xbox Series X|S – and its rights have reverted to Kojima Productions. Nevertheless, at the time of its nomination in 2019, it was very much considered a first-party title.
Irrespective of any caveats and pedantry, this is a remarkable run. Even more incredible is that Sony is highly likely to make it 11 years on the bounce, as we’d be utterly staggered if neither Ghost of Yotei nor Death Stranding 2: On the Beach got nominated in 2025. (Again, as things stand right now, PlayStation is the publisher of Kojima’s sequel.)
Which of the nominations above do you think is the pinnacle of PlayStation first-party? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source reddit.com]
Comments 40
That’s actually rather impressive!
I feel like next year DS2 might explode in a way we are not expecting with new tweaks to the (brilliant!) gameplay making it more palatable to a wider audience.
@Nei I think both DS2 and Yotei could be much better than their predecessors. Yotei seems to be making smart changes to combat and if DS2 actually has environmental hazards, it could be a huge improvement to traversal.
I never underestimate it, I just want MORE of it Sammy.
It's a pretty impressive feat for sure.
@Nei I hope so. Death stranding is one of my favourite games from the ps4. The story is fantastic, but I can see why people didn't vibe with the gameplay (I personally loved it). Would love to see more of that world but with more involved gameplay and I can definitely seeing Kojima improving every aspect of thr first game
DS1 was robbed in 2019!
For those curious about winners for years where Sony didn't win, here is the list:
2015: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
2016: Overwatch
2017: The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild
2019: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
2021: It Takes Two
2022: Elden Ring
2023: Baldur's Gate 3
Still, congrats to Sony on having that many nominations! There is no doubt there is something special about Sony first-party games. They are my second favorite console exclusives losing out to Nintendo.
@somnambulance I would've said that but wasn't Sekiro and Control from that year? I think it's the only time FromSoft have ever deserved the GOTY. So I think it was correct.
Uncharted 4 was robbed. I think in hindsight people look at it more fondly than Overwatch.
@GamingFan4Lyf Overwatch beating out A Thiefs End will always be stupid. It's the only decision that's aged poorly. The rest are all great
@breakneck When I saw that it was Overwatch, I was completely shocked - I am sure I probably thought the same thing back then, too (but I forgot the winners of years past, so I am shocked again).
If Uncharted lost to anyone on the list that year, Overwatch wasn't the one I would have picked:
Overwatch – Blizzard Entertainment
Doom – id Software
Inside – Playdead
Titanfall 2 – Respawn Entertainment
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End – Naughty Dog
Hi I back sorry about that
For BAFTA, Sony games got nominated / won GotY multiple times more than TGA.
I can see Astro Bot or Helldivers 2 got nominated for BAFTA 2024
This is really impressive. I couldn't remember if GoW: Ragnorok won or not. Thank goodness it didn't.
@breakneck yes they both was along with resident evil 2 remake and the outer worlds
Quality over Quantity and i wouldn't change it.
Some things to note about the Game of the Year nominees:
That’s a pretty good year for team blue.
@UltimateOtaku91 compared to Xbox I think PlayStation has both the quality and the quantity right now. 😅
Bloodborne got robbed, Uncharted 4 got robbed....astro bot is my next pick to get robbed. I'll eat both my feet if it wins...and I want it to win...odd flex I know lol
@GamingFan4Lyf damn all goty worthy except for the winner
Sony’s first party was at its peak for me during the PS3. I even played on what i called the worst controller ever. Six Axis, then Dual Shock 3. But PS4 exclusives bored me to tears. PS5 has been a mixed bag for me, as i really enjoyed ratchet and Clank rift apart and Astro Bot. Still plenty of time for some bangers to drop. I don’t care about Marvel games and the others they have. Horizon for me is great on the eyes, very pretty game, but the gameplay and story did nothing for me. I’ve made it known on here i only use my Nintendo and PS for the exclusives and play everything else on Xbox cause I like the controller and features better. But i do want some killer games for PS5 and am glad that the ones they put out in the past did so well with so many gamers.
Even with Ghost of Yotei and Death Stranding 2, and hypothetically new multiplayer horizon, Cory Balrog's new game, Neil Druckman's new game, etc.. no matter what Sony releases next year, they wont win GOTY, GTAVI will sweep everything
@breakneck I’ll be honest in that I’ve never much cared for FromSoft games, outside Elden Ring. It “clicked” for me with Elden Ring, but that’s the only one, for whatever reason. I’m biased against Sekiro then, I suppose. I’m always surprised by the popularity of Souls games.
Control, on the other hand, man, picking between DS and Control is no easy feat. I’d say that’s the #1 and #2 of the entire PS4 generation!
@somnambulance Weirdly Elden Ring was extremely disappointing for me after Sekiro lol. DS and Control are masterpieces though
To this day it bothers me that a janky, undercooked, bug-filled, glitch ridden broken mess like Skyrim won GotY over the original Dark Souls. What a travesty of justice.
Do not underestimate the power of PlayStation
Overwatch won in 2016? Yuck.
Uncharted 4 got mugged on that one.
2021: Rift Apart was nominated, It Takes Two won, and Returnal wasn’t even nominated.
Btw Returnal: THAT would benefit a lot from a PS5 Pro patch!
@Batesy125s I really couldn't get into it at all. Liked some of the imagary but just found the gameplay ponderous
Edit - and yes, it's good that Sony were able to get game nominated for 10 years... so well done.
Ok... not trying to be the downer... but I think most people would not consider HZD or Ratchet and Clank (and in my opinion GOWR or SM2) be considered as GoTY in their respective years. I love Sony games, but I think we also need to be realistic... some those games are not that innovative, well-written, that polished, or that original... compared to the actual winners. HZD might be all of those things... but it was also pretty repetitive if I'm being honest. They're all decent to good games (and genuinely technically masterful) - but I think it says more about Sony's ability to shape narrative than it does about their games. And this is coming from a Sony fan.
Its a great record - no doubting that, but this is also a curious industry / hobby.
If someone told you 2 years ago, that in 2024, Astro bot would be GOTY or close, I bet most of us would have done a double take.
It's this CONSISTENCY over a long period of time that sets apart Nintendo and PlayStation from Xbox imho. I still own a Series X and Game Pass is great, but when it comes to exclusives the other two are superior and this keeps them ahead in many players eyes.
@GamingFan4Lyf Overwatch may have aged a little poorly (mostly due to Overwatch 2) but it was an absolute phenomenon in the year it came out and for many years after. I don't even play Multiplayer games but can recognise that in the year it released it was a worthy winner. As would Uncharted, Inside, Doom, Titanfall 2 or ANY game on that list. it was a really competitive year with no clear Elden Ring / BOTW run-away winner.
When you count Game of the Year nominations since the new generation started, it's easy to see why Sony have been smashing Xbox
Nominated and awarded are very different.
I'm sure Stella blade and Wukong will get nominated if rags like IGN don't doctor the public votes. Oh wait.. they already did..
@Wario_Waha I have both switch and Playstation, and I know you are usually outed as a Nintendo fan (fair enough) but it does seem odd that you name jist three games for a decade..
Dark Souls 3 would have been my pick for 2016. Crazy that it wasn't even nominated.
Even crazier that DLC for what is essentially Dark Souls 4 IS being nominated for GOTY this year.
How the turn tables
The fact that only two of those incredible games won (so far) is a travesty.
@rusty82 as I say I totally get it, but I enjoyed it, and I loved just spending time in the world. But I completely get why a lot of people didn't like it
While they are considered Playstation Studios titles, Bloodborne and Death Stranding are not first party games (technically, Spider-Man 2018 wasn't first party at the time either). That said, every one of these games deserved their nominations and some (Uncharted 4, R&C Rift Apart, and possibly Ghost of Tsushima which is kind of 1A to The Last of Us Part II in 2020) deserved to win. It's actually crazy that Deathloop was nominated in 2021 over Returnal.
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