It may have won last year but CD Projekt RED’s Cyberpunk 2077 claimed the Most Wanted Game award at The Golden Joystick Awards for 2019. This is the year that the first person RPG received new gameplay footage and details along with a release date. Also the inclusion of Keanu Reeves as Johnny Silverhand. That probably helped as well.

Some stiff competition was on hand this year.  Other titles like DOOM Eternal, Dying Light 2, Halo Infinite, Elden Ring, Watch Dogs Legion and The Last of Us Part 2 competed for the award. A break-up for the voting numbers wasn’t provided but Cyberpunk 2077 coming out on top is no small feat.

Speaking to GamesRadar about the award and its significance, CD Projekt Red board member Michael Nowakowski said that, “It means we have great expectations. The team knows that very well, they’re hard at work back home.” As for winning the award back to back for the past two years, Nowakowski added, “That’s why I said great expectations.”

“We now have a date set, and we know when that ship is sailing so I’d say each day we’re closer to that moment when we’re actually going to release the game to the players. Like I said on that stage, hopefully you all love it.”

Cyberpunk 2077 releases on April 16th 2020 for PS4, Xbox One and PC. CD Projekt RED revealed last month that it was “pushing it to the wall” to meet the deadline.

SIE Bend Studio’s Days Gone released earlier this year and performed pretty well. In the UK alone, it was the biggest launch exclusive for PS4 and also the biggest new IP launch (which is no small thing considering it beat Death Stranding). It even recently won the PlayStation Game of the Year for 2019 award at The Golden Joystick Awards.

What’s next though especially with the studio planning pre-production for a new title? Speaking to GamesRadar, studio director Chris Reese said the award was a great motivator to stick with the franchise. “Oh yeah, it is certainly a passion of ours, and that’s what we’ve always wanted to do. This is a world that we want to keep breathing more life into, and explore many, many different avenues. So who knows, we’ll see!”

The Golden Joystick Awards are decided by fan vote which makes it all the more impressive that Days Gone won. Reese said, “It’s awesome, because there was so much dedication and hard work from the team, and this is kind of the final payoff for that. To see the players actually engage with the game and really enjoy the passion that we put into it, to see that come back, it’s awe inspiring.”

There’s speculation that if Days Gone 2 was in development, it could release for the PlayStation 5. Given sales of the first game, it wouldn’t be strange for Sony to pour more resources into the project to garner more console sales. The PS5 is out in Holiday 2020 so there’s still some time before an official sequel announcement.