Update, 12/31/2016, 10:10am PST: The winners of the inaugural Steam awards have been revealed, and you can see the full list of winners below.
- Villain Most In Need Of A Hug: Portal 2
- I Thought This Game Was Cool Before It Won An Award: Euro Truck Simulator 2
- Test Of Time: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Just Five More Minutes: Counter Strike: Global Offensive
- Whoooaaaaaaa, Dude!: Grand Theft Auto V
- Game Within A Game: Grand Theft Auto V
- I'm Not Crying, There's Something In My Eye: The Walking Dead
- Best Use Of A Farm Animal: Goat Simulator
- Boom Boom: Doom
- Love/Hate Relationship: Dark Souls III
- Sit Back And Relax: Euro Truck Simulator 2
- Better With Friends: Left 4 Dead 2
Brace yourselves: another Steam sale is coming just in time for last-minute gifts. The Steam Winter Sale begins Thursday, December 22, and on the same day voting will begin for nominees of different categories in the recently-announced Steam Awards.
The start date of the Winter Sale was announced on Twitter via the UK division of PayPal. The annual event comes nearly a month after the Autumn Sale, which lasted six days, but the Winter Sale could go on for a longer period of time (last year, the Winter Sale went on for 13 days).
In addition to the Autumn Sale, Valve also announced the Steam awards, which allowed you to nominate games in a multitude of categories. With the nominees finalized, you’ll now have to vote for the winners. There are a total of 12 awards, and from December 22 - 29, one category will be presented and you can vote on the winner. On December 30, four of the 12 awards, which were write-in categories, will be open for voting simultaneously.
In typical Valve fashion, the name of each award is unconventional, but each one seems to perfectly describe the category. Still, the company provided a longer explanation for further clarification. So without further ado, here are the Steam Awards categories and nominees.
| Steam Awards Categories | Nominees |
|---|---|
| Villain Most In Need Of A Hug | Borderlands 2Dead By DaylightFar Cry 3Far Cry 2Portal 2 |
| I Thought This Game Was Cool Before It Won An Award | Euro Truck Simulator 2PaladinsStarboundStardew ValleyUnturned |
| Test Of Time | Age Of Empires II HDThe Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimSid Meier's Civilization VTeam Fortress 2Terraria |
| Just Five More Minutes | Counter-Strike: Global OffensiveRocket LeagueSid Meier's Civilization VIFallout 4Terraria |
| Whoooaaaaaaa, dude! | Bioshock: InfiniteDoomGrand Theft Auto VMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom PainThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt |
| Game Within A Game | Garry's ModGrand Theft Auto VThe Stanley ParableTabletop SimulatorThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt |
| I'm Not Crying, There's Something In My Eye | Life Is StrangeTo The MoonThis War Of MineUndertaleThe Walking Dead |
| Best Use Of A Farm Animal | ARK: Survival EvolvedBlood And BaconFarming Simulator 17Goat SimulatorStardew Valley |
| Boom Boom | BroForceDoomJust Cause 3Keep Talking And Nobody ExplodesKerbal Space Program |
| Love/Hate Relationship | Dark Souls IIIDarkest DungeonDota 2Geometry DashSuper Meat Boy |
| Sit Back And Relax | AbzuCities: SkylinesEuro Truck Simulator 2Mini MetroViridi |
| Better With Friends | Don't Starve TogetherGang BeastsGolf With Your FriendsLeft 4 Dead 2Magicka |
The voting process starts at 10 am PST each day and the winners of each award will be announced on New Year’s Eve. Initially, there was supposed to be only one write-in category in addition to the eight awards created by Valve. However, the company said that “the response was so overwhelming that one category didn’t seem enough.” It’s a safe bet, then, that we’ll see the Steam Awards come back next year.
