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The results are in from the player-voted Steam Awards, and the winners may surprise you. Red Dead Redemption 2 won the Labor Of Love award and Starfield received the “Most Innovative Gameplay” award.
The Labor Of Love award recognizes a game that has received ongoing support from its developers long after its release. However, Red Dead Redemption 2, which was released on PC in 2019, has not received a meaningful update since 2020. Some argue that the award may be sarcastic.
“Most Innovative” is awarded to a game known for “creative experimentation,” providing “a fresh perspective and brain-breaking surprises,” according to Steam’s own description. Many people are confused by this, as it seems an odd choice for such an award.
It’s a known phenomenon that video game awards dominated by public votes, or even small teams of journalists, often end up rewarding popular games rather than under-recognized masterpieces. Consequently, the awards sometimes favor successful marketing campaigns over genuine video game quality.
Steam’s categories aim to establish a more specific criteria than just general popularity. Sadly, the results suggest that this attempt to control for bias hasn’t been entirely effective, with voters choosing popular games that don’t quite fit the categories they’ve won.
To be clear: it’s not that Red Dead 2 or Starfield are bad games, but they’re obviously poor fits for the categories they’ve been awarded.
The full list of victors includes some more reasonable and fitting results. Lethal Company won the “Better With Friends award” and Baldur’s Gate 3 won Game Of The Year and Outstanding Story-Rich Game, reflecting broader consensus of their quality.
Here is the complete list of Steam Awards 2023 winners:
- Game Of The Year Award: Baldur’s Gate 3
- VR Game Of The Year Award: Labyrinthine
- Labor Of Love Award: Red Dead Redemption 2
- Best Game On Steam Deck Award: Hogwart’s Legacy
- Better With Friends Award: Lethal Company
- Outstanding Visual Style Award: Atomic Heart
- Most Innovative Gameplay Award: Starfield
- Best Game You Suck At Award: Sifu
- Best Soundtrack Award: The Last Of Us: Part 1
- Outstanding Story-Rich Game Award: Baldur’s Gate 3
- Sit Back And Relax Award: Dave The Diver
The Steam Awards should serve as an opportunity to highlight more deserving winners across all categories and represent the wider diversity of games on Steam.