• A. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
  • B. Baldur’s Gate 3
  • C. Spider-Man 2
  • D. Starfield

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This game was a long-awaited RPG that surprised gamers worldwide with its depth and freedom of choice. It is based on an iconic tabletop role-playing game from the 1970s.

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The correct answer is B. Baldur’s Gate 3. This role-playing game won the prestigious Game of the Year award at The Game Awards 2023. The game from Larian Studios defeated strong competitors like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Spider-Man 2, ultimately taking home five awards during the ceremony (including Best RPG and Best Multiplayer).

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The Game Awards 2023 took place on December 7, 2023, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. And honestly, almost no one expected Baldur’s Gate 3 to win. The Belgian Larian Studios - yes, literally from Ghent - did something many people thought was impossible: they beat the absolute top players in the gaming industry.

What makes Baldur’s Gate 3 so special? It’s actually just insane how much freedom you get. Literally thousands of different scenarios are possible, depending on your choices. No two playthroughs are the same. The game received glowing reviews for its depth, the writing, and especially the way it translated D&D rules into a video game without it feeling forced.

The competition was fierce, by the way. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was the favorite among many experts - understandably, as it’s a brilliant sequel to Breath of the Wild. Spider-Man 2 flew off the shelves for PlayStation. And Starfield? That was Bethesda’s long-awaited space epic that people had been waiting years for. Alan Wake 2 and Resident Evil 4 Remake rounded out the list.

What many people don’t know: Larian Studios was previously mainly known for the Divinity series (good games, but not worldwide hits). With Baldur’s Gate 3, they proved you don’t have to be EA or Ubisoft to win the big prizes. It also led to a revival of Dungeons & Dragons - suddenly people wanted to play tabletop role-playing games again.

Notably, the game had been in early access since October 2020. For three years, players could participate in the development, report bugs, and give feedback. That community input clearly paid off. The full release came in August 2023 for PC and a month later for PlayStation 5.

The Game Awards itself has existed since 2014 and was established by journalist Geoff Keighley. The event combines award presentations with world premieres of new games (sometimes those announcements are actually the most interesting part). The Game of the Year award is the most important prize in gaming - comparable to an Oscar, but for games.

For Dutch and Belgian gamers, the victory felt especially good, of course. A studio from Ghent beating Nintendo and Sony? That doesn’t happen often. It proved that European developers can compete with the American and Japanese giants. The game sold over 5 million copies within just a few weeks after release and remained at the top of Steam’s most-played games for months. (These figures are from 2023, so probably much higher by now.)