Lara Croft is to be honoured at this year's Golden Joystick Awards, being inducted into the Golden Joystick Awards Hall of Fame. It's timely, as 2016 is the 20th anniversary of Tomb Raider.
One of the most revered gaming series ever, Tomb Raider has sold over 46 million copies and the brand has seen multiple spin offs including animation series, comics, worldwide blockbuster films and even two albums!
The Golden Joystick Awards are the only annual awards voted for by gamers and in 2015 an incredible nine million votes were cast. There are 21 publicly voted categories, with additional special awards being chosen by an expert panel.
“Lara Croft is one of gaming's most iconic characters, the figurehead of PlayStation's explosion into mainstream culture in the mid 90s and truly deserving of a place in the Hall of Fame," said Dan Dawkins, Global Editor in Chief of our sister site GamesRadar+.
“The past 20 years has seen Lara become a household name and one of the most inspiring and influential female characters ever.
"Most impressively, the character has evolved over the decades, with Lara's recent, more realistic, reboot more closely aligned with modern gamer's attitudes; allied to a game-design that continues to be best in class. We would like to congratulate all of the teams behind Lara over the past 20 years for their achievements.”
How to vote in the Golden Joystick Awards
Vote for your best games of 2015/16 at goldenjoystick.com and you can claim a 'Golden bundle' from Green Man Gaming for just £1/$1/1€.
The ceremony takes place on Friday 18 November at the indigO2 in the world famous O2 Arena in London. For the first time in the Golden Joystick Awards history, YOU can attend the event, with a limited number of balcony tickets being sold to watch the full ceremony, the tickets are £10 each.
The three PC games in the budget bundle include Spec Ops: The Line, rated 4 out of 5 by GamesRadar+, the remake of the 1987 PC classic Sid Meier's Pirates! and a Mystery Game. On top of this, voters will be able to get their £1/$1/€1 back in Green Man Gaming credit if they play Spec Ops: The Line.
Step by step instructions on how to claim the games from Green Man Gaming will be communicated to voters in October.
The 21 public voted categories are:
Best Original Game
- Abzu
- Firewatch
- Furi
- Hyper Light Drifter
- Inside
- No Man's Sky
- Overwatch
- Quantum Break
- Soma
- Tom Clancy's The Division
- The Witness
Best Story Telling
- Firewatch
- Oxenfree
- Quantum Break
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
- Soma
- Tales from the Borderlands
- The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
- Zero Time Dilemma
Best Visual Design
- Abzu
- Battleborn
- Brutal
- Dark Souls 3
- Doom
- Firewatch
- Furi
- Hyper Light Drifter
- Inside
- Mirrors Edge Catalyst
- No Man's Sky
- Overwatch
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
- Soma
- Superhot
- The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
- The Witness
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Best Audio
- Amplitude
- Doom
- Fallout 4
- Hyper Light Drifter
- I Am Setsuna
- Inside
- No Man's Sky
- Overwatch
- Star Wars Battlefront
- Thumper
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Game of the Year
- Dark Souls 3
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
- Doom
- Fallout 4
- Halo 5
- Hitman
- Inside
- No Man's Sky
- Overwatch
- PES 2017
- Pokemon Go
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
- The Witness
- Total War: Warhammer
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
- XCOM 2
Performance of the Year
- Doug Cockle
- Camilla Luddington
- Cissy Jones
- Elias Toufexis
- Nolan North
- Rich Sommer
- Shawn Ashmore
- Victoria Atkin
PlayStation Game of the Year
- Abzu
- Amplitude
- Firewatch
- Gravity Rush Remastered
- I Am Setsuna
- No Man's Sky
- Ratchet & Clank
- Salt And Sanctuary
- Severed
- Street Fighter 5
- The Last Guardian
- The Witness
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
- Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection
- Yakuza 5
Nintendo Game of the Year
- Fire Emblem Fates
- Kirby: Planet Robobot
- The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
- Monster Hunter Generations
- Pokken Tournament
- Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
- Xenoblade Chronicles X
- Yo-kai Watch
- The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD
PC Game of the Year
- Sid Meier's Civilization 6
- Doom
- Master of Orion: Conquer The Stars
- Overwatch
- Stardew Valley
- Stellaris
- Total War: Warhammer
- Undertale
- World of Warships
- XCOM 2
Xbox Game of the Year
- Ark: Survival Evolved
- Elite: Dangerous
- Forza Horizon 3
- Forza Motorsport 6
- Halo 5: Guardians
- Inside
- Killer Instinct Season 3
- Quantum Break
- ReCore
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
Competitive Game of the Year
- Call of Duty Black Ops 3
- Counter Strike: Global Offensive
- Dota 2
- FIFA 17
- Hearthstone: Heroes Of Warcraft
- Heroes of the Storm
- Killer Instinct Season 3
- League of Legends
- Overwatch
- Smite
- Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void
- Street Fighter 5
Competitive Play of the Year
- Coldzera's jumping AWP quad kill at MLG Columbus
- s1mple's double AWP noscope at ESL One Cologne
- Huni quad kill at the 2015 World Championships
- w33's Sunstrike, Echo Stomp cancel and Tornado snipe
- Suma1l's clutch Sacred Arrow at The International 2016
- Justin Wong's comeback against Flocker at EVO 2016
- LI Joe's V Trigger dodge at EVO 2016
- Daigo's 'magic pixel' comeback at the Capcom Cup Final
Best Handheld Mobile Game in association with DigitalSpy
- Alphabear
- Clash Royale
- Downwell
- Fire Emblem Fates
- Monster Hunter Generations
- Peter Panic
- Pokemon Go
- Severed
- The Room 3
- Zero Time Dilemma
Best Multiplayer Game
- Broforce
- Call of Duty Black Ops 3
- Dark Souls 3
- FIFA 17
- Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns
- Halo 5: Guardians
- Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
- Overwatch
- PES 2017
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
- Star Wars Battlefront
- Street Fighter 5
- Tom Clancy's The Division
- World of Warships
- Worms W.M.D
Best Indie Game
- Banner Saga 2
- Firewatch
- Furi
- Hyper Light Drifter
- Inside
- No Man's Sky
- Oxenfree
- Pony Island
- Starbound
- Stardew Valley
- Superhot
- The Witness
- Undertale
Innovation of the Year
- Guitar Hero Live
- HTC Vive
- No Man's Sky
- Oculus Rift
- Playstation VR
- Pokemon Go
- Quantum Break
Best Gaming Moment in association with Absolute Radio
- Climbing the tallest building in Mirror's Edge Catalyst
- Flying the Falcon in Star Wars Battlefront
- Play of the game in Overwatch
- Returning to Anor Londo in Dark Souls 3
- The Brotherhood Of Steel arriving in Fallout 4
- The Car Chase in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
- The ending of Inside
- Unleashing the BFG 9000 in Doom
- Unlocking the secret of Psalm 46 in The Witness
Most Wanted Game in association with green man gaming
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3
- Days Gone
- God of War
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Mass Effect Andromeda
- Resident Evil 7
- Scalebound
- Sea of Thieves
- Shenmue 3
- Spider-Man
- Star Citizen
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
YouTube Personality of the Year in association with Guinness World Records
- CapgunTom
- Jesse Cox
- Amy Lee
- TWOSYNC
- Samgladiator
- Ashley Mariee
- Blitzwinger
- JMX
- Spencer FC
- Mr Woofless
- Matt HD Gamer
Studio of the Year
- 343 Industries
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Blizzard
- CD Projekt RED
- Creative Assembly
- Firaxis
- FromSoftware
- Hello Games
- id software
- Naughty Dog
- Niantic
Gaming Platform of the Year
- 3DS
- Apple IOS
- Google Play
- PS4
- Steam
- Xbox One
