The winners of the Gayming Awards 2023 have been announced, with Cult of the Lamb, Stray, Wylde Flowers and more winning big at this year’s celebration of LGBTQ+ representation within video games.
Revealed during a live awards show in New York City, Cult of the Lamb beat Elden Ring, God of War: Ragnarok, and Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers to take home the Game of the Year trophy.
Ashly Burch also took home the Gayming Icon Award as recognition for her contributions to the LGBTQ+ community through voicing so many LGBTQ+ characters like Horizon: Forbidden West’s Aloy and Life is Strange’s Chloe.
Seven more streamers were also inducted into Gayming Magazine’s Rising Star Class as Gayming Ambassadors for their “significant contributions to the LGBTQ+ world within the gaming space”. The streamers are BetweenTwoGays (Ryan and Jayce), Blobarella, itsOnlyVega, MadiDuVernay, Marisol Lords, and TheJustRyan.
“Making our Broadway debut and celebrating LGBTQ excellence in the global games industry was such a proud moment,” said Gayming Magazine and the Gayming Awards founder Robin Gray.
“Coming into our third year of the awards, we’re now firmly established as the leading voice on LGBTQ gaming and to be able to celebrate the success of our community in person, in such a prestigious location, it was truly awesome.”
The full list of Gayming Awards winners can be seen below.
Game of the Year Award
● WINNER: Cult of the Lamb – Devolver Digital & Massive Monster
● Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers – Pqube & Fiction Factory Games
● Elden Ring – FromSoftware & Bandai Namco
● God of War Ragnarök – SIE Santa Monica Studio
Gayming Magazine Readers’ Award
● WINNER: Stray – Annapurna Interactive & Blue Twelve Studio
● Cult of the Lamb – Devolver Digital & Massive Monster
● Disney Dreamlight Valley – Gameloft
● Elden Ring – FromSoftware & Bandai Namco
● Ghostwire Tokyo – Bethesda Softworks
● Horizon Forbidden West – Sony Interactive Entertainment
● Tunic – Finji
● Wylde Flowers – Studio Drydock
Gayming Icon Award
● WINNER: Ashly Burch
Best LGBTQ+ Indie Game Award
● WINNER: Wylde Flowers – Studio Drydock
● Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers – Pqube & Fiction Factory Games
● Butterfly Soup 2 – Brianna Lei
● SIGNALIS – rose-engine & Humble Games
● ValiDate: Struggling Singles in your Area – Veritable Joy
● We Are OFK – Team OFK
LGBTQ+ Streamer of the Year Award
● WINNER: DragTrashly
● Espé Symoné
● Fox Queen
● Gothika Love
● HiDro
● Psoymilk
● Sammy M Jay
● SuperButterBuns
● Toph
● Willow
Authentic Representation Award
● WINNER: I Was a Teenage Exocolonist – Northway Games & Finji
● Saints Row – Deep Silver
● SIGNALIS – rose-engine & Humble Games
● Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands – Gearbox & 2K
● ValiDate: Struggling Singles in your Area – Veritable Joy
● We Are OFK – Team OFK
Best LGBTQ+ Character Award
● WINNER: Lor – New Tales from the Borderlands – Gearbox & 2K
● Bones Three-Wood – Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands – Gearbox & 2K
● Bridget – Guilty Gear Strive – Arc System Works
● Catalyst – Apex Legends – Respawn & EA
● ELSTER – SIGNALIS – rose-engine & Humble Games
● Tara Wylde – Wylde Flowers – Studio Drydock
Industry Diversity Award
● WINNER: GLITCH
● Code Coven
● GaymerX
● Girls Run These Worlds
● Qweerty Gamers
Best LGBTQ+ Contribution to Esports Award
● WINNER: XSET
● Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association
● Team Overture
● Valorant Game Changers
Best LGBTQ+ Tabletop Game of the Year Award
● WINNER: Adventuring with Pride – A Queero’s Journey – Jack Dixon
● Pathfinder Lost Omens – Paizo
● Pride Across the Multiverse – Wizards of the Coast
● Tower of the Soul – Awfully Queer Heroes
Best LGBTQ+ Comic Book Moment Award
● WINNER: Young Men in Love – Joe Glass and Matt Miner (editors) & A Wave Blue World
● Marvel’s Voices ICEMAN – Luciano Vecchio & Marvel Comics
● Rockstar and Softboy – Image Comics
● Superman: Son of Kal-El – DC Comics
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.