The 2020 Steam Awards ended up with some unexpected winners

Red Dead Redemption 2 took Game of the Year

After almost two weeks of voting, the polls are closed and the tallies are finalized. We now know the winners of the 2020 Steam Awards, from Game of the Year to Best Soundtrack to Labor of Love.

I knew there was a not-insignificant chance Red Dead Redemption 2 could win Steam’s 2020 Game of the Year – it was a finalist alongside Doom Eternal, Hades, Fall Guys, and Death Stranding – but still! I didn’t think it would actually pull through. Among PC players, I would’ve put my money on Hades.

If you’re curious like I was: Red Dead Redemption 2 launched on Steam on December 5, 2019, and given that the Steam Awards are a fixture of late December, the timing just worked out that way.

Here’s the complete list of finalists and winners for 2020:

Game of the Year

• Red Dead Redemption 2
• Hades
• Doom Eternal
• Fall Guys
• Death Stranding

VR Game of the Year

• Half-Life: Alyx
• Phasmophobia
• The Room VR: A Dark Matter
• Thief Simulator VR
• Star Wars: Squadrons

Labor of Love

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
• Among Us
• Terraria
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
• No Man’s Sky

Better with Friends

• Fall Guys
• Sea of Thieves
• Borderlands 3
• Deep Rock Galactic
• Risk of Rain 2

Most Innovative Gameplay

• Death Stranding
• Control
• Superliminal
• Noita
• Teardown

Outstanding Story-Rich Game

• Red Dead Redemption 2
• Detroit: Become Human
• Mafia: Definitive Edition
• Metro Exodus
• Horizon Zero Dawn

Best Game You Suck At

• Apex Legends
• Crusader Kings III
• Ghostrunner
• FIFA 21
• GTFO

Outstanding Visual Style

• Ori and the Will of the Wisps
• Battlefield V
• There Is No Game: Jam Edition 2015
• Marvel’s Avengers
• Black Mesa

Best Soundtrack

• Doom Eternal
• Halo: The Master Chief Collection
• Helltaker
• Need for Speed Heat
• Persona 4 Golden

Sit Back and Relax

• The Sims 4
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Satisfactory
• Untitled Goose Game
• Factorio

The people have spoken. I’m happy for Ori – what a sight it is – and the eccentric Death Stranding.