Steam Awards Archives

AppWizard

January 8, 2026

‘Not bad for a dead game’: Palworld managed to get four nominations in Steam’s Best of 2025 Awards, including 2nd place for most played game

Hollow Knight: Silksong won the title of Best Game at the Steam Awards, while Palworld received four nominations and won four medals: Silver for Most Played and Most Played (Steam Deck), and Bronze for Top Seller and Controller Game. Palworld is still in early access after two years. The Palworld team expressed gratitude to their community and announced they are working on the official release of Palworld 1.0 this year, with a promise of upcoming news. A winter update in 2024 will introduce a new island, fresh resources, and innovative mechanics. Palworld is currently facing a copyright dispute with Nintendo over gameplay mechanics similar to Pokémon, leading to changes such as a patch that altered gliding mechanics. The development team remains grateful for community support despite the challenges.

AppWizard

January 7, 2026

Valve announced the 2025 Steam Awards winners (and shockingly Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 didn’t win everything)

Valve announced the winners of the 2025 Steam Awards, highlighting user preferences on the gaming platform. Hollow Knight: Silksong was the only title to win multiple awards, while Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won the Best Soundtrack Award. The Steam Awards, held annually since 2016, are determined by user votes, with this year's selections showcasing a diverse range of titles, including smaller games like The Midnight Walk and RV There Yet?.

AppWizard

January 5, 2026

Hollow Knight Silksong wins Steam’s Game of the Year with a staggering 43 million votes from PC players

Hollow Knight Silksong won the Game of the Year at the 2025 Steam Awards, receiving 43.8 million votes. It also won the award for Best Game You Suck At. The game was released on September 4, 2025, and experienced significant traffic that caused outages on platforms like Steam and Xbox. It did not win the Game Awards' GOTY, which went to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Players can expect additional content with the upcoming Sea of Sorrow expansion. Other notable awards included Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for Best Soundtrack, Hades 2 as Best Game on Steam Deck, Silent Hill F for Outstanding Visual Style, and The Midnight Walk as VR Game of the Year. Team Cherry is also developing a new release for the Nintendo Switch 2. Baldur’s Gate 3 received the Labor of Love award.

AppWizard

January 4, 2026

PC players hand Silksong their Game of the Year gong over Expedition 33 as the 2025 Steam Awards winners are announced

Hollow Knight Silksong won the Game of the Year title at the 2025 Steam Awards, determined by user votes. It also received the 'Best Game You Suck At' award, making it the only title to secure two wins that year. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won Best Soundtrack. Baldur's Gate 3 received the 'Labor of Love' award, while Hades 2 was named 'Best Game on Steam Deck.' Dispatch won 'Outstanding Story-Rich Game,' Silent Hill f received 'Outstanding Visual Style,' The Midnight Walk was named 'VR Game of the Year,' and RV There Yet won the 'Sit Back and Relax' award. Arc Raiders was recognized for 'Most Innovative Gameplay.' Hollow Knight Silksong reached the 'platinum' tier of bestsellers during the Steam Winter Sale.

AppWizard

December 18, 2025

The Steam Winter Sale kicks off with deals on some of 2025’s biggest games

The Steam Winter Sale has officially started, offering significant discounts on popular titles of 2025, including Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which is now half its original price. The Steam Awards nominees have been announced, and voting is open until the sale ends, with winners revealed on January 3, 2026. The year-end Replay feature shows that only 14% of playtime was on new releases. Other platforms, such as the Epic Games Store and GOG, are also running sales, with Epic offering a holiday game giveaway of 17 free games. The Steam Winter Sale will run until January 2 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.

AppWizard

November 27, 2025

Sean Murray just crushed my hopes of playing Light No Fire anytime soon by describing the dev team as ‘tiny’ and working ‘in the background’ at Hello Games

The Steam Awards are currently taking place, allowing players to vote for their favorite games, including the "Labor of Love" category for enduring titles. No Man's Sky, developed by Hello Games, is a contender and has seen significant updates since its launch nine years ago, with new features added in 2025 at no additional cost. Sean Murray, the founder of Hello Games, mentioned ongoing work on a new title called Light No Fire, which is being developed by a small team while the focus remains on enhancing No Man's Sky. He indicated that significant announcements regarding Light No Fire are not imminent, leading to speculation among fans about its release.