Readers might know me as one among Destructoid’s native Future heads, however proper now, we have to discuss concerning the Video Sport Awards (VGA). Specifically, how Cyberpunk 2077 stole a 2023 award from one other sport and studio.

On December 7, the VGA named Cyberpunk 2077 the winner of the ceremony’s Greatest Ongoing Sport award. This was despite the truth that Cyberpunk went up in opposition to precise reside service titles like Apex Legends, Fortnite, Genshin Impression, and Remaining Fantasy XIV. 

As some might bear in mind, Cyberpunk 2077 just isn’t an “ongoing sport.” It’s a single-player sport and one which was launched with disastrous preliminary outcomes. The launch was so awash with points that Sony would even rapidly take away it from the PSN digital storefront. CD Projekt RED would go on to spend the higher a part of three years fixing the sport.

As of 2023, the crew has produced praise-worthy outcomes with Cyberpunk 2077‘s 2.0 replace. However the VGA’s nomination logic appears flawed. So, the single-player Cyberpunk 2077 is an “ongoing sport” as a result of it was launched so damaged it wanted years of labor to perform as supposed? I’m not shopping for it.

How is the VGA defining an “ongoing sport?”

Cyberpunk’s win doesn’t make sense when contemplating the spirit of the award class. The award ought to have gone to a live-service title that defines itself as an “ongoing sport” by nature slightly than circumstance. If Cyberpunk 2077 may be thought of within the working for the perfect ongoing sport, what standards is the VGA utilizing? 

If Cyberpunk may be within the working, what about different video games with updates nonetheless flowing? Warhammer 40K: Darktide, No Man’s Sky, and Name of Responsibility: Warzone have all acquired game-changing updates after launch. None of these video games even acquired nominations. Hell, even a choose as on the market as Workforce Fortress 2 nonetheless has extra benefit as an precise “ongoing sport” than Cyberpunk 2077. So how might the apparent top-running candidates with nominations in opposition to Cyberpunk 2077 lose?

Don’t get me mistaken, what CD Projekt RED did was spectacular. Many studios would slightly take the L than spend further years that would have been utilized to a different challenge fixing errors. I’m by no means suggesting CD Projekt RED made the mistaken choice there. The crew’s dedication to its product speaks for itself. Nonetheless, I’m saying that the VGA’s analysis of Cyberpunk 2077 as an “ongoing sport” is mistaken.

One other title missed out

With Cyberpunk successful this award, one other deserving sport missed out. The contenders for Greatest Ongoing Sport, by nature, are unlikely to be nominated for a lot of different classes. Certain, they might seem in much less extravagant classes like Greatest Cell Sport or Greatest ESports Sport. However the titles that find yourself in Greatest Ongoing Sport are by nature hardly ever going to win the “huge” awards like Sport Of The Yr. A sport can’t be Sport Of The Yr and Greatest Ongoing Sport the yr it’s launched; it’s simply not potential.

So, Cyberpunk 2077‘s nomination pushed one other deserving title out of the working. And its win solely served to swivel the highlight away from the opposite contenders excelling within the subject. Let’s hope there’s higher consideration throughout nomination classes subsequent yr. Much less Gollum will get a well-received replace and snags Greatest Ongoing Sport in 2024.