GTA 5 is game of the year at Golden Joysticks 2013

Grand Theft Auto V is game of the year at Golden Joysticks 2013

GTA V - winning

The mighty Grand Theft Auto V has bagged the headlining Game Of The Year award at the Golden Joysticks 2013, with Bioshock auteur Ken Levine also honoured with a lifetime achievement award.

The Golden Joysticks - now in its 31st year and run by TechRadar's publisher Future - are firmly established as a key event in the gaming calendar and this year more than 10 million votes were cast to separate the wheat from the chaff.

This year is, of course, the swansong of the last-gen consoles the Xbox 360 and PS3 - with their successors arriving in a matter of weeks.

Bewitching

With critics and fans alike extolling the brilliance of Grand Theft Auto it was always a likely winner of game of the year, and so it proved, while Ken Levine (Lifetime Achievement) and Call of Duty (Hall of Fame) were both inducted into exclusive clubs.

Last of Us has had a huge impact, and the game picked up the Best Storytelling and Best Newcomer, while, somewhat oddly, the next-gen consoles the Xbox One and PS4 were beaten to the Most Wanted gong by Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

The Best Mobile/Tablet Game of the year was picked up by Xcom: Enemy Unknown, and Best Indie Game was snapped up by Mark of the Ninja.

The winners of the Golden Joystick Awards presented by Green Man Gaming are:

Best Newcomer
The Last of Us

Most Wanted (in association with Playfire)
Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Best Indie Game
Mark of the Ninja

Best Visual Design
BioShock Infinite

Best Multiplayer
Payday 2

Best Gaming Moment (in association with Absolute Radio)
Far Cry 3 - The Definition of Insanity

Studio of the Year (in association with MPG Universal)
Naughty Dog

Innovation of the Year in association with T3
Oculus Rift

Best Storytelling
The Last of Us

Best Online Game
World of Tanks

Best Handheld Game
Assassin's Creed III: Liberation

YouTube Gamer Award (in association with YouTube)
Yogscast

Best Gaming Platform (in association with Digital Spy)
Steam

Best Mobile/Tablet Game of the Year
XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto V

Hall of Fame
Activision: Call of Duty

Lifetime Achievement
Ken Levine

Why not play the best game this year with some check out some GTA 5 cheats?

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content. After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.