GameSpot's Best of 2010 awards cover special achievements in the field of advancements for games, dubious honors for less-than-admirable qualities, and full awards for individual genres and every major platform. Nominations and awards are the result of rigorous debate among GameSpot's editors, who select up to five finalists and one winner for almost every category (the Game of the Year category includes up to 10 finalists). To qualify for an editorial award, games must have been reviewed by GameSpot between January 1, 2010, and November 30, 2010.

Award categories are intended to call out those games that truly deserve the attention--therefore, while each award is meaningful, it's considered an honor simply to be nominated.