Astro Bot’s developers didn’t expect the game to win the Game of the Year award

Astro Bot is a platform game developed by Team Asobi and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5 to coincide with PlayStation's 30th anniversary. The game is the sequel to Astro's Playroom and the fifth overall installment in the Astro Bot series. In this installment, the player embarks on a quest to save lost Bots, retrieve parts for the PlayStation 5 mothership, and defeat the alien Space Bully Nebulax, who originally destroyed the mothership.

Since its release, Astro Bot has received universal acclaim from critics and players. Some even claim it might be the best game of 2024, drawing comparisons to the Super Mario series from Nintendo. Unsurprisingly, Astro Bot quickly earned a nomination for Game of the Year 2024. However, the competition this year is incredibly strong, with titles like Metaphor: ReFantazio, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Therefore, when Astro Bot was announced as the winner of the Game of the Year 2024 award over such heavyweights, many were astonished—including, it seems, the developers themselves.

In an interview with Famitsu, the Astro Bot development team, including Director Nicolas Doucet, Lead Sound Designer Junko Sano, Lead Game Designer Hiroaki Yatoku, and others, shared their thoughts on winning Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024.

Nicolas Doucet expressed joy at the widespread recognition of Astro Bot, especially as a family-oriented game, which was one of his original goals when founding Team Asobi. While winning Game of the Year was an honor, being nominated for Best Family Game was particularly meaningful to him.

Junko Sano shared that awards weren’t on her mind during development; instead, she focused on creating a fun and heartfelt experience. The positive reactions felt like an unexpected reward and reinforced her pride in the team’s efforts.

Hiroaki Yatoku echoed Sano's sentiments, emphasizing that his primary goal was to create something the team could enjoy during internal play sessions. Seeing players and media respond positively validated their approach.

The team also recounted their emotional experience at the awards ceremony, where fans enthusiastically cheered for Astro Bot, requested autographs, and offered congratulations. They were deeply touched by the global impact of their game, highlighted by the event's massive viewership of 154 million. Overall, the team expressed immense gratitude for the recognition and support they received.

If you haven’t had the chance to try this masterpiece of a game yet, make sure to use our price comparison tool to secure the best deal for Astro Bot.