Twitch star Mike ‘shroud’ Grzesiek believes there should be separate Game of the Year awards for single-player and multiplayer games, especially given the success of Arc Raiders.
With 2025’s time on the calendar quickly winding down, everyone has started looking towards what 2026 has in store. Before then, though, we will have a raft of awards to celebrate the last 12 months.
When it comes to Game of the Year awards, shroud has caused a stir by advocating for Arc Raiders to win out over the likes of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
“We all have to band together to make this game win. Us multiplayer gamers are the minority, but I believe we can win,” he said back on November 5, trying to rally support behind the extraction shooter.
Now, he wants there to be “two different categories” for awards shows to help shine a bigger light on multiplayer games.
Shroud throws more weight behind Arc Raiders as GOTY
“I feel like Game of the Year needs to be two different categories. I feel like multiplayer and single-player competing doesn’t make sense,” the former Counter-Strike pro said. “It’s so easy for a single-player game to win, you know? They should make two. The last time a multiplayer game won was 2016.”
The Twitch star noted that co-op games, such as It Takes Two and Split Fiction, are “very different” from multiplayer titles and could also have their own lane.
“The thing with co-op games is that they usually can be played single,” he continued, adding that It Takes Two is different as you do need two actual players.
Grzesiek also called it “bulls*it” that single-player games have dominated the award wins. “Single-player games always win Game of the Year, and it’s bulls*it.”
The former Counter-Strike star has made multiplayer games a huge part of his Twitch streams, and he is pretty obsessed with Arc Raiders at the moment, so he is going to show love when possible. Whether his calls turn into reality, though, remains to be seen.
Latest Super Mario Galaxy Leak Comes From Pillsbury Cookies, Offers Our Best Look Yet at Yoshi, And All But Confirms Two More Fan-Favorite Characters