It may be 12 years since Grand Theft Auto V first hit the shelves, but Rockstar’s blockbuster is suddenly back in the awards conversation: because of the recently launched Enhanced Edition, the game is technically eligible at the 2025 Steam Awards and could even walk away with the Game of the Year trophy.

Valve has kicked off the first phase of the 2025 Steam Awards, which allows players to vote for what they consider to be this year’s Game of the Year from among all 2025 releases. Fans were quick to rally behind current heavy-hitters like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, but many were surprised to see GTA V listed as an option – an outstanding title, yes, but one that originally launched back in 2013 and did not reach PC until 2015. This odd situation is down to how Steam structures its awards and to the fact that Rockstar has updated the latest Grand Theft Auto with an Enhanced Edition.

On March 4th, 2025, thousands of players dove back into Rockstar’s open-world sandbox with the arrival of Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced, a release that brought the visuals up to modern standards while adding faster loading times, 3D audio support, and exclusive content for GTA Online. Because this edition counts as a 2025 launch, Valve’s system flags it as eligible for the Steam Awards, and it can now be voted on in eight of the eleven categories available to PC users.

GTA V is not the only game caught up in this curious technicality. The subscription-based GTA+ service is also eligible in the 2025 Steam Awards, since it appears on Steam as a separate application from the original GTA V product page and is therefore treated by Valve’s system as its own contender. Ironically, the same does not apply to GTA Online: even though it would fit the “With Love and Dedication Award” category – the one meant for titles that keep receiving long-term content updates – it cannot be nominated in any way in this year’s edition.

Steam itself has yet to make any public statement about the situation, but players are already responding with a mix of complaints and jokes. Some users, like jasonsemerau, are saying things like “this is really bad”, while others, such as jonscartoonshow, are grabbing the popcorn and commenting that “it would be funny if people used this to manipulate the Game of the Year”. In any case, there are still several days left before voting closes, and the community is already busy backing some of 2025’s most popular games – with or without the enhanced version of GTA V in the conversation.

When Will The Winners Of The 2025 Steam Awards Be Announced?

The Steam Awards are split into two distinct phases. The first stage, which started only a few hours ago and runs until December 1st, asks players to vote for the games they want to see nominated across eleven different categories. The second stage takes place during the Steam Winter Sale and focuses on choosing the winners from among the finalists. The final results will be revealed on January 3rd, 2026 at 7:00 PM (Spanish Peninsula Time).

Players who take part in this process can also earn the Steam Awards Nominating Committee Badge. This four-tier badge is unlocked by completing four tasks: casting at least one vote in the 2025 Steam Awards, selecting a title in every category, playing at least one of the games you nominated, and writing or updating a review for one of the adventures you voted for.

Source: 3djuegos