Welcome to PC Gamer's annual Game of the Year awards. It's been an interesting year for PC gaming—a handful of major releases, but many more incredible games that dedicated themselves to satisfying a specific niche. We'll be celebrating that variety through the rest of the month as we run through the best games of 2024, culminating in the reveal of our official Game of the Year on December 30.
To create the list, every member of PC Gamer's 30+ editorial team could nominate up to six games released in 2024. These nominations became our shortlist. From there, we gather on a big global call to talk through our picks and—after some heated discussion and a couple of tiebreaker votes—select 14 games to receive awards, including our overall Game of the Year. Once the games are chosen, we assign an award category based on what we think that game does best. The awards are tailored specifically to the game—that's why there's a slightly different selection of award names each year.
Alongside the awards proper, each member of the team has also picked out a personal favourite of the year—giving some love to a game that didn't make the main list. We'll be updating the list with new awards and new personal picks each day throughout the rest of the month.
The Awards
Best Ongoing Game: Stardew Valley
Creative Achievement: UFO 50
Best Survival: Pacific Drive
Best Tactics: Tactical Breach Wizards
Best Roguelike: Caves of Qud
Best Comedy: Thank Goodness You're Here!
Best FPS: Revealed December 24
Spirit of the PC: Revealed December 25
Best City Builder: Revealed December 25
Best Sandbox: Revealed December 26
Best RPG: Revealed December 27
Best Expansion: Revealed December 28
Best Multiplayer: Revealed December 29
Game of the Year: Revealed December 30
Personal Picks
Chris Livingston: The Rise of the Golden Idol
Fraser Brown: Sins of a Solar Empire 2
Jacob Ridley: Frostpunk 2
Robin Valentine: Shogun Showdown
Jody Macgregor: Silent Hill 2
Jess Klinghorn: 1000xResist
Joshua Wolens: Halls of Torment
Morgan Park: Abiotic Factor
Phil Savage: Against the Storm
Harvey Randall: Hades 2
Past Awards
Game of the Year Awards 2023
Game of the Year Awards 2022
Game of the Year Awards 2021
Game of the Year Awards 2020
Game of the Year Awards 2019
Game of the Year Awards 2018
Game of the Year Awards 2017
Game of the Year Awards 2016
Game of the Year Awards 2015
Game of the Year Awards 2014
Game of the Year Awards 2013
