The Steam Awards 2023 have concluded and winners announced. BG3, Lethal Company, Sifu and a couple of others make sense, but the usual popularity-contest voting has revealed the problem with this format (again). Starfield ‘most innovative’ after having been universally panned as dated, and RDR2 as ‘labour of love’ after having not received an update in years. Righto!

Prepare your wallets, the Steam Winter Sale is here. Baldur’s Gate 3 gets its first discount, and Elden Ring is 40% off, so if you’ve yet to jump into these must play titles, now’s the time. Voting has also opened for the 2023 Steam Awards, so be sure to tick that off too (let’s go Yomi Hustle!).

As discovered by a sleuth on Reddit, and soon thereafter seemingly confirmed by a (since removed) tshirt store listing, Hideo Kojima is partnering with A24 on a live action Death Stranding film. Details about the adaptation remain undisclosed, but Kojima has previously stated that if this were to ever happen, he would be deeply involved in production. Absolutely no idea how this would work, and not super keen on it given how much of the point of the game - moreso than most, IMO - is… you know, the player interacting with it, but we’ll see! Update: Confirmation and more info has been provided by Kojima Productions.

ESA ends E3 after 28 years, citing waning interest - despite an attempted revival, the 2023 event was canceled. Their statement emphasises ESA’s ongoing commitment to industry advocacy, but the once iconic gaming showcase itself has reached its final chapter. Thanks for the memories indeed.

After only four days, The Day Before has been removed from Steam after becoming one of the platforms worst reviewed releases. If that wasn’t stunning enough, the studio behind it, FNTASTIC, has announced their complete, immediate closure and CEO Eduard Gotovtsev’s social accounts are seemingly wiped clean. Publisher Mytona are managing refunds. Colossal oof.

As previously mentioned, 2023 was rough for game devs, but there’s no denying it was a remarkable year for releases. So given all the amazing new games I played this year, it says even more about how special Baldur’s Gate 3 was - because when it came time to think about GOTY, it was not even close. BG3 is an incredibly special, once in a generation game the likes of which we likely won’t see again for some time.

TGA 2023 has come and gone, with mostly expected results. Baldur’s Gate 3 deservedly cleaned up, securing Game of the Year, Best Community Support, Best RPG, Best Multiplayer, and the Player’s Voice Award. Alan Wake 2 closely followed with wins in Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, and Best Art Direction categories. Check all the categories and winners here.

Set for a 2025 release, Capcom have announced the next in their mega franchise, Monster Hunter Wilds. Not heaps of info yet, but I’ve always really wanted to sink hundreds of hours into this genre and just never found one that really jived with me. Here’s hoping this is the one!

After seven years of free No Man’s Sky patches and overwhelmingly redeeming their reputation, Sean Murray and Hello Games are ready to show off their next big venture: Light No Fire. “A game about adventure, building, survival and exploration together. Set on a fantasy planet the size of Earth, it brings the depth of a role playing game to the freedom of a survival sandbox.”

Ex-The Division devs reveal a new open-world extraction shooter, Exoborne. A press release provides more info, emphasizing gear over RPG mechanics, with the focus being on the Exo-Rig’s weapons, upgrades and traversal with built-in tools like grappling hooks and gliders.