Elden Ring barely beat The Last of Us Part II’s 2020 record of the most Game of the Year awards

For as controversial of a title as it was, there’s no denying that The Last of Us Part II was an all-around success for Sony and Naughty Dog, both financially and critically. It even set a record for the most Game of the Year wins for any video game, earning 322 from across a variety of awards shows and websites. Neil Druckmann and his team likely thought that record was safe for at least a few more years, but FromSoftware’s Elden Ring has already taken the crown for itself.

Granted, it wasn’t easy. According to a ResetEra forum post that tracks Game of the Year wins, Elden Ring won 323 awards in total, barely beating The Last of Us Part II by a single award. Although that number may go up if any more Game of the Year lists for 2022 are found and added to the tally.

If any game was going to dethrone The Last of Us Part II, it was going to be something like Elden Ring. Much like its opponent, Elden Ring has not only been a critical darling but also shattered sales expectations across the board, becoming one of the US’ best-selling games of all time in just four short months.

It also took home Game of the Year at December’s Game Awards, beating two of Sony’s major 2022 titles — Horizon Forbidden West and God of War: Ragnarok. The latter has come second place in terms of Game of the Year wins for 2022 with 74. However, its predecessor, the 2018 God of War, received 263 Game of the Year wins, putting it in fourth place behind The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s 283 wins. Makes you wonder if God of War: Ragnarok would have dominated the awards season if Elden Ring hadn’t launched in the same year.