How Does GameSpot’s Best Of Work (Explainer Video)

Every year, we at GameSpot do our best to look back at the dozens of great games that have passed under our thumbs and try to come to an agreement on which deserves to be crowned our Game of the Year. With so many games to consider, and with so many editors and producers bringing different perspectives to the table, we can’t fault you for wondering how it all works. Thankfully, it’s not all that complicated.

The ever helpful Kurt Indovina is here to help lay out the flow of our decision making process, and yes, have a little fun along the way. In the video above, he’s going to walk you through our early selection process. He’s going to describe how we narrow down a huge list of nominees from dozens of employees into something manageable. And he’s going to clue you into the factors we take into account when getting down to the final decisions for each category, and for the coveted top 10.

Is it decided by votes? Do we ever pick more than one game as Game of the Year? Must we succumb to the dark arts if only to overcome crippling indecision, just so we can meet a deadline? All good questions, but I’m going to let Kurt do the talking.

Once you feel like you’ve gleaned all the wisdom you can from him, head over to our gallery of Every GameSpot Game Of The Year for a look back at our picks for the last 22 years. We’ve also got a ton of other content looking back at the best of 2019, both in video games and in entertainment.