The year 2017 stands as one of the most remarkable periods in modern gaming history, anchored by a historic clash of heavy-hitting masterpieces. At The Game Awards in Los Angeles, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild claimed the coveted Game of the Year trophy, beating out a ferocious slate of nominees that included massive commercial juggernauts and critically revered indies. This victory wasn't just a win for Nintendo; it signaled a complete paradigm shift in how open-world game design, player freedom, and environmental interaction were approached across the entire medium.
To understand why 2017 remains a watershed moment, you have to look past the trophy ceremony itself. It was a twelve-month span where long-dormant franchises were reinvented, multiplayer trends shifted overnight, and indie developers delivered narrative experiences that rivaled Hollywood cinema.
The Winner: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
When Nintendo launched Breath of the Wild alongside the Nintendo Switch in March 2017, it threw away the rigid hand-holding structure that had defined the Zelda series for decades. Instead, it dropped players onto the Great Plateau and handed them the tools to go anywhere, climb anything, and solve problems through sheer creative experimentation.
The secret sauce was its systemic physics and chemistry engine. If an object was made of wood, it could catch fire in the rain or burn down in a thunderstorm. If it was made of metal, it attracted lightning during storms. This interconnected set of rules allowed players to bypass obstacles in entirely unintended ways, creating organic stories unique to every individual playthrough.
Critics praised its minimalist approach to storytelling and environmental discovery. By scattering shrines, Korok seeds, and ruins across a breathtaking, ruined version of Hyrule, the game rewarded pure human curiosity. It proved that players didn't need a minimap clogged with a thousand icons to stay engaged; they just needed an interesting horizon to chase.
The Heavyweight Runners-Up of 2017
While Breath of the Wild took home the top prize, the rest of the GOTY nominees represented an exceptionally high watermark for the industry. Each runner-up brought something radically different to the table, making 2017 an embarrassment of riches for players.
Super Mario Odyssey
Nintendo pulled off the unthinkable in 2017 by releasing two generational masterpieces in the same calendar year. Super Mario Odyssey returned the franchise to the sprawling, exploratory sandbox style of Super Mario 64 and Sunshine. Its defining mechanic—throwing Mario's cap, Cappy, to possess enemies, vehicles, and objects—kept the gameplay fresh from the first kingdom to the last. It blended razor-sharp platforming precision with jaw-dropping set pieces like New Donk City, reminding everyone why Mario remains the undisputed king of platformers.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Guerrilla Games stepped away from the gritty military corridors of the Killzone franchise to build a stunning, lush post-apocalyptic sci-fi world where robotic dinosaurs roamed the earth. As Aloy, players unraveled a compelling mystery of how humanity fell while mastering tactical combat that required tearing specific weapon components off towering machine beasts. Its technical polish on PlayStation 4 hardware set a new visual standard for open-world titles.
Persona 5
Atlus delivered one of the most stylish, dripping-with-personality Japanese role-playing games ever created. Persona 5 turned the mundane daily routine of a Tokyo high school student into an intoxicating balancing act of building relationships, studying for exams, and stealing the corrupted hearts of corrupt adults in supernatural palaces. With an unforgettable acid-jazz soundtrack and a striking red-and-black UI, it brought turn-based combat back into the mainstream cultural conversation.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG)
Though technically in an early access state during much of the year, PUBG ignited the global battle royale phenomenon that still dominates the multiplayer landscape today. Dropping one hundred players onto an 8x8 island with nothing and forcing them to scrounge for weapons while a blue death wall closed in created heart-pounding tension. It birthed an entirely new genre and changed the streaming ecosystem overnight.
Beyond the Main Stage: Standouts That Shaped the Year
The strength of 2017's lineup is even more apparent when looking at games that didn't quite crack the final GOTY nominee circle but left an indelible mark on players.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice approached mental health with raw sensitivity, utilizing binaural audio design to simulate the auditory hallucinations experienced by its protagonist, Senua. Meanwhile, What Remains of Edith Finch redefined interactive storytelling through a series of tragic, beautifully crafted vignettes exploring a cursed family tree. On the multiplayer front, Nier: Automata fused philosophical android existentialism with PlatinumGames' trademark lightning-fast combat, while Divinity: Original Sin 2 raised the gold standard for modern tabletop-style computer RPGs.
Why 2017 Remains a Benchmark Year
Looking back, 2017 was special because it represented a rare alignment of massive commercial hits and deep artistic risks. Studios weren't just iterating on safe formulas; they were throwing out old rulebooks. Open-world games adopted systemic design because of Zelda; multiplayer gaming pivoted entirely to last-man-standing survival formats because of PUBG; and mature themes regarding grief and mental illness were handled with unprecedented care in titles like Hellblade.
The winner was clear on that December night, but the real victor was anyone who held a controller.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which game won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2017?
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild won the overall Game of the Year award at The Game Awards 2017, edging out competition like Super Mario Odyssey and Horizon Zero Dawn.
What were the official GOTY nominees in 2017?
The five nominees for Game of the Year at the 2017 awards were The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Horizon Zero Dawn, Persona 5, and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.
Was PUBG fully released in 2017?
PUBG launched its 1.0 version on PC in December 2017, following a wildly successful Early Access launch earlier in the year that propelled it to massive global popularity.
How many copies did Breath of the Wild sell?
As one of the best-selling games on both the Nintendo Switch and the entire Zelda franchise, Breath of the Wild surpassed 30 million copies sold globally over its lifetime.
