Starfield snubbed? Stacked GOTY category at The Game Awards leaves out Xbox exclusive

The nominees for game of the year at this year’s The Game Awards were announced today, and for many, it’s lacking one space-faring adventure.

Xbox and Bethesda’s RPG Starfield is nowhere to be found in this year’s six nominees for game of the year. Instead, the field includes Alan Wake 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Resident Evil 4, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 lead the field with eight nominations out of 31 possible awards, but BG3 is likely the odds-on favorite to take home the night’s biggest prize. For many gamers, though, the lack of Starfield may be the biggest story.

All of the games nominated are deserving of the honor, there’s no doubt. It’s difficult to choose one to take out and swap with Starfield, but you can be sure that Xbox and Bethesda fans are likely unhappy with the results thus far.

Starfield received only one nomination of its own this year in the Best RPG category. But the hyped-up space game has been anticipated for many years ahead of finally releasing this past September. To many, the lack of a GOTY nomination will mark it a failure, while others will say it’s an injustice. But the field this year is simply stacked with incredible games, and there was bound to be at least one title that didn’t get a nomination for the biggest award of the night.

It turns out that this year, that left-out game is Starfield, losing out to two Nintendo exclusives, one PlayStation exclusive, an instant horror classic, a remake of another horror classic, and arguably the best RPG of all time. Still, it won’t sit well with fans of the game who have loved their time exploring the vastness of space.

The Game Awards 2023 will be streamed live on Dec. 7.