The Last of Us 2 has been named the Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards 2020.
In a video following the announcement, Neil Druckmann, the game's creative director and lead co-writer, told fans that "I'm not going to lie, this is pretty sweet. It's amazing to be in the company of such amazing games," expressing Naughty Dogs' love for "every single other game on this list."
He went on to say that "I could not be prouder of this game and the team that put it together, and how we lifted each other up when we needed to," and that "I especially want to give a shout out to Ashley Johnson and Laura Bailey, who killed it in more ways than one as Ellie and Abby. The game would not be what it is without your guys' contributions, your amazing performances." Finally, Druckmann issued his tanks to "every single fan that voted for us. This being a fan award, you have no idea what it means to me and the team, and we will keep working hard to make you proud."
The award marks the end of an outstanding night for Naughty Dog, which claimed the title of Best Studio along with four further awards (Best Audio, Best Storytelling, Best Visual Design, and PlayStation Game of the Year), making it one of the most successful Golden Joystick Awards winners of all time.
Given the strength of this year's other nominees, the win is arguably even more impressive. They were:
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- The Last of Us 2 (Winner)
- Final Fantasy 7 Remake
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
- Crusader Kings 3
- Fall Guys
- Hades
- Half-Life: Alyx
- Death Stranding (PC)
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla
- Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Demon's Souls (PS5)
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- Factorio
- Spelunky 2
- F1 2020
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon
- Doom Eternal
- Genshin Impact
Congratulations to all the nominees and winners of this year’s Golden Joystick Awards.
Be sure to join us for the rest of the Golden Joystick Awards by heading over to our how to watch the Golden Joystick Awards 2020 page.
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I'm GamesRadar's news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.