Methodology
This page explains which GOTY results are included and how they are turned into scores and rankings.
Methodology
What do we count?
We collect verifiable GOTY results from official game publications, award shows, and reader polls. Each result is assigned to the year when that game mainly competed, and the public page shows only the context needed to understand the ranking. Original links are kept internally so the record can be checked again when needed.
Which results are included?
- Overall GOTY or Best Game results with a clear winner are included.
- The result must come from a source that can be checked again in writing, such as an article, award page, or official poll page.
- It must be an official result from a publication, editorial team, award show, or reader vote, not one person's personal pick.
- If the result appears in video or podcast form, we use it only when the same result is also published in text.
- The original link must be something we can keep for later verification.
Which results are excluded?
- Personal blogs, personal channels, and one-person picks are excluded.
- Platform-only publications are excluded from the main aggregate.
- Genre awards, platform awards, regional awards, and other non-overall categories are excluded.
- DLC or expansion results are excluded unless they are treated as full standalone releases.
- Results published far outside the normal GOTY season are usually excluded unless they are clearly delayed official awards.
- Candidate lists, reposts, unclear social posts, dead links, and unverifiable claims are excluded.
- Video-only results are excluded when there is no clear text version of the final result.
How are scores calculated?
- Each confirmed source can contribute up to 100 points for one year.
- If vote totals are public, points are split by each game's share of the vote.
- If only vote percentages are public, points are split using those percentages.
- Ranked lists are converted so higher places receive more points.
- If a winner and nominees are shown, the winner scores highest and the nominees are treated as one shared tier.
- If only a winner is published, that game receives 100 points. If the source explicitly declares a tie for first, those 100 points are split evenly.
How are ranks and ties decided?
- Rankings use the year when a game mainly competed, not just the article date.
- Even if a source labels the year differently, its score is assigned to only one competition year.
- Games are ordered by the total score collected for that year.
- If a game does not appear in a source result, it counts as 0 points from that source.
- Any game with a positive total score can enter the ranking.
- Public year pages show up to 20 games.
- If displayed scores match at one decimal place, the table shows a shared rank.
- Shared ranks use competition ranking, so two #1 entries are followed by #3.
- Within a tie, the order stays stable: winner selections, reflected sources, then title.
- The Most Awarded page is a cumulative record across multiple years.
What do the status labels mean?
Status labels show how stable a year's ranking currently is. They do not mean every possible source has been found, and they are not a review status for each individual source.
The reflected sources are confirmed and there is little left that could change the current ranking.
The page is ready to view, but the result may still change as more sources or candidates are reviewed.
Public material is scarce enough that broader verification is difficult for that year.
Related navigation
Keep browsing
Use these links to go back to the year-by-year view or compare winners and records.