Key Summary
- Pearl Abyss’s Black Desert was named PC Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards in the UK.
- The award went to Black Desert Enhanced, which received the most votes from a jury made up of game media and industry experts.
- Krafton publishing label title Subnautica 2 won Best Early Access Game.
- Black Desert was also nominated for Ultimate Game of the Year and Best Soundtrack but did not win either category.
Main Story
Pearl Abyss’s Black Desert has won the PC Game of the Year award at the Golden Joystick Awards, one of the major video game ceremonies in Europe and North America.
According to the event organizers on the 12th, Black Desert Enhanced received the highest share of votes, 18%, among 10 nominees in its category. The vote came from a judging panel composed of game media outlets and industry specialists. The title was selected ahead of several globally popular games, including Escape from Tarkov, Valheim, and Blood of Dawnwalker.
The game was also in the running for the ceremony’s top honor, Ultimate Game of the Year, and the music category, Best Soundtrack. Those awards went to Resident Evil Requiem and Dispatch, respectively.
The Golden Joystick Awards have been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1983 and are organized by GamesRadar.
Separately, Subnautica 2, developed by Krafton’s U.S. subsidiary Unknown Worlds, won Best Early Access Game, beating titles such as Slay the Spire 2 and War Dogs.
Black Desert Enhanced had previously won the Technology Innovation award at the Develop Star Awards, hosted by the UK game developer conference, and Best International Game at the China Game Innovation Awards 2026.
The game is also currently nominated for a main prize at the Korea Game Awards, which will be held on the 18th at BEXCO in Busan. It is also drawing attention over whether it will be selected as a nominee for Game of the Year at The Game Awards, scheduled for December in Los Angeles.
Background
The supplied text says the Golden Joystick Awards are a long-running global video game awards ceremony held in the UK since 1983 and organized by GamesRadar. No additional background was provided beyond the award history and the list of recent nominations and wins mentioned above.
Items Requiring Further Verification
- The report says the award went to Black Desert Enhanced, while also referring to the game as Black Desert; the exact naming relationship between the two titles is not clarified in the supplied text.
- The statement that the title defeated specific competitors is attributed to the award results, but the full nominee list is only partially provided.
- The mention that Black Desert may be nominated for The Game Awards in December is future-oriented and not yet confirmed in the text.