The event that awards the greatest videogames of each year began in 2021 hosted by LOAD ZX Museum. The GOTY Gala has been broadcast on YouTube since 2023, and this year's edition was no exception. Present by the journalist Cristiana Reis and João Diogo Ramos, founder of the LOAD ZX Museum, the event had the presence of Crispin Sinclar, son of the creator of the ZX Spectrum computer.

The event took place in the LOAD ZX Museum, and the space was complimented by Crispin Sinclair, who was looking, at that moment, at “the biggest collection” he had ever seen of Sinclair products.

André Luna Leão, founder of Planeta Sinclair, said that the 2025 gala was “one of the best years ever, with more than 140 games of extraordinary quality nominated, from countries such as Portugal, Brazil, Spain, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Russia, Belgium, Japan, among others.”

“As for the winners, the game Aliens: Neoplasma 2, by the Sanchez Crew from Eastern Europe, was the big winner, scooping the GOTY title (Game of The Year), as well as the trophies for Best Graphics and Best Arcade and Action Game. In this main category, the podium was completed by second place for ‘El Bigotudo’ and third place for ‘Hafoc Tor’.”

Credits: Supplied Image;

The fans of the event had the chance to vote on “the second great winner of the Museum’s Hall of Fame” when every year it is possible to choose “a game from the great classics of the golden age of the ZX Spectrum to feature on the museum's wall.” This year, the public chose Target Renegade to be part of the Hall of Fame.

“There was also time to announce a new category, starting next year, consisting of games for the ZX Spectrum Next platform released in the last five years, something the public had been clamouring for.”

Pedro Cardoso, vice-president of Cantanhede highlighted “the success of the initiative and the enormous momentum of the LOAD ZX Museum in the national and international context’, the result of ‘the work and dedication of an extraordinary team, led by João Diogo Ramos.”

At the end of the event, João Diogo Ramos revealed the plans for 2025, which include “the presentation of games that are in development and are expected to be released throughout 2025, bringing new interest to the event, as it becomes a place of choice to find out what is being done in terms of new games for these computers.”

Author

Deeply in love with music and with a guilty pleasure in criminal cases, Bruno G. Santos decided to study Journalism and Communication, hoping to combine both passions into writing. The journalist is also a passionate traveller who likes to write about other cultures and discover the various hidden gems from Portugal and the world. Press card: 8463. 

Bruno G. Santos