5 shooter GOTY contenders for 2023

When it comes to the 2023 shooter Game of the Year (GOTY) contenders, there’s a lot to consider. There’s more to the genre than just competitive games, or casual, FPS/TPS run-and-gun titles. There were plenty to consider this year, and quite a few almost made the cut. This list could also change as the year goes on as there are still a few possible games coming that might wow us. A good example is Robocop: Rogue City, which looks to faithfully reproduce the look and feel of the 1980s hit film.

When looking at the shooter GOTY contenders for this year, we looked at several genres. Some might surprise, and others might not. After all, this is an opinionated list: Your personal game of the year might not have made the cut. Here’s what impressed us the most in 2023 when it comes to gun-wielding carnage.

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What were 2023’s GOTY contenders in the shooter genre?

1) Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

• Review Link: Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC

While this list of GOTY shooter titles changed several times over the course of the morning, a few did not waver: This is one of them. I’m basing it solely on the merits of the Phantom Liberty expansion, of which there were many. That, alongside the massive 2.0 update, completely changed the game for the better. I adored the story, and how there was ultimately “no easy way out” of the situation V was in.

There is going to be tragedy no matter which side you choose, and I love that. It added a new, bittersweet ending to the game as well. There are so many new gameplay options thanks to the redesigned talent tree system. We’ll probably wait years for the next entry into this series, but this is what Cyberpunk should have always been. It’s easily a contender for GOTY in the shooter genre.

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2) Battlebit Remastered

• Review Link: N/A
• Platforms: PC

Battlebit Remastered entered early access this year, and it really took the internet by storm. One of the things that I think online shooters forget is that they're supposed to be team-based. Battlebit Remastered gets that right immediately. It reminded me of Battlefield, only enjoyable to play. Sorry - Battlefield’s latest entry hasn’t been so great.

I love the charming visuals, and the class-based gameplay, not to mention the vast amount of people you can have on a server. It’s really difficult to do MMO shooters right, but I think Battlebit Remastered is one of the GOTY contenders without a doubt. The indie team that put it together really understands what makes this genre fun.

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3) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

• Review Link: Modern Warfare 3 (First Impressions)
• Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Windows

I’m a casual FPS player at best, so when I am thinking about shooters who could be GOTY contenders, I go to the experts. We’ve had some writers playing throughout the Modern Warfare 3 testing periods, and so far, they seem pretty impressed.

The multiplayer brings back the fluidity in movement that the CoD community longed for. It also has one of the best gunplay mechanisms in recent years of the franchise. With many callbacks from old times and a perfect fusion between classic arcade CoD experience and modern day's innovative features, it’s worthy of being called a GOTY contender in the shooter genre already.

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4) Counter-Strike 2

• Review Link: N/A
• Platforms: PC

CS:GO is one of the most noteworthy shooters to ever grace a computer screen. So when CS2 was finally announced, people were over the moon. It might have a ways to go before before it matches the movement fluidity of the original, but it feels responsive. Playing Counter-Strike 2 doesn’t feel like a chore. Further, it is a revolutionary step for the franchise, in terms of visual fidelity.

When it comes to GOTY contenders for the shooter genre, I feel like Counter-Strike 2 must be in the conversation. It still feels like a hardcore shooter for the most diehard of fans, but that’s what it’s meant to be. Anyone can get good at it with enough work - and that effort feels so rewarding when you begin to master this game.

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5) Starfield

• Review Link: Starfield
• Platforms: PC, Xbox X|S, Xbox Cloud Gaming

Sure, you can play Starfield with a melee build. However, it’s still very much a shooter, like Dead Island 2, Destiny, and other games in the genre. Its ability to let players explore the cosmos any way they want really helps put it head and shoulders above the others as a GOTY contender.

The game’s ranged combat feels excellent, and there are tons of awesome guns to pick up. It’s going to feel rewarding no matter how you play the game, but there was something satisfying about how the gunplay felt in this action RPG.

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There are other FPS/TPS titles yet to come in 2023, so we’re going to monitor releases as they happen. If something else comes up that deserves to be on the list, we’ll adjust it accordingly. There are other GOTY contender lists as well, such as our indie games list.