The winners of the annual Golden Joystick Awards were announced at a ceremony on Wednesday, where the Witcher series – from Polish game developer CD Projekt Red – won in both categories it was nominated for. The fantasy game series bagged the prize for Best Remake/Remaster for the remastered version of the critically acclaimed hit The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and the Most Wanted Game award for the upcoming The Witcher 4. Released in 2015, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the most commercially and critically successful role-playing games of all time, selling more than 65 million copies worldwide. A remastered version with upgraded graphics and gameplay was released in September this year for PC and the current generation of games consoles, with gamers who already owned the original version on qualifying platforms able to claim the upgrade for free. This week’s win means that The Witcher 3 now has a whopping 12 Golden Joystick Awards prizes to its name, including two won before its release more than a decade ago – more than any other video game. The tally includes two Studio of the Year awards for CD Projekt Red. Małgorzata Mitręga, production director on The Witcher 4, accepted the Most Wanted Game award at the ceremony in London, saying: “This is a huge, huge honor for us, but it’s also a great responsibility. We all know it.” She added that the team behind the anticipated game is working hard and giving “heart and soul” and “all the skills we have, passion we have” toward delivering the next chapter in the series. The Witcher 4 is one of the most highly anticipated role-playing games and is slated for a 2028 release. The Golden Joystick Awards have been held since 1983 and see most winners chosen by a public vote, with last year’s edition seeing 21 million public votes cast across 22 different categories. The Witcher franchise is based on the novels and short stories by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, which follow the adventures of monster slayer Geralt of Rivia and draw heavily on Slavic folklore and mythology. In addition to the highly successful video games, Sapkowski’s books have also inspired a global franchise, including a Netflix series adaptation and graphic novels.
The Witcher 3 is one of the most successful video games of all time. (SOPA Images/Contributor via Getty Images)
