SomeGenshin Impactplayers are accusingSonic Frontiersfans of using bots to help the Blue Blur’s latest outing win the Player’s Voice award at the 2022 Game Awards. An intense rivalry has developed between fans of the two games as bothGenshin ImpactandSonic Frontiersvie for the coveted award, the winner of which is chosen by the gaming community.

The first open-world title featuring the iconic Sonic the Hedgehog,Sonic Frontierswas released earlier this year to lukewarm reviews by many players and critics. Although the game was praised for introducing new gameplay elements while successfully translating the franchise’s trademark fast-paced gameplay into an open-world setting, technical issues and a sometimes-lifeless open world led to mixedreviews on Metacritic forSonic Frontiers. After failing to receive nominations in other categories at The Game Awards,Sonic Frontiersfans have been pinning their hopes on the game’s excellent voice acting earning it the hotly contested Player’s Voice award.

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In multiple posts on Reddit and Twitter, fans of HoYoVerse’s action RPGGenshin Impacthave accused fans ofSonic Frontiersof using bots to boost the game’s vote count for the Player’s Voice award after Sonic Team’s latest title racked up thousands of votes in the span of just a few minutes. Linking to charts from the tracking page for the contest,Genshin Impactfans cited the sudden spike in votes as “proof” of botting, though none offered definitive proof of those claims. Attempting to defuse tensions over the alleged botting, one Reddit post shared a tweet stating that the spike in votes had been the result of an exploit test and that the votes were added accidentally.

In the run-up to The Game Awards,Genshin Impacthas been unexpectedly surpassing heavyweight contenders likeElden RingandGod of War: Ragnarokin thevote count for the Player’s Voice award. The only game that has managed to stay competitive with HoYoVerse’s hit title isSonic Frontiers, which trailed behindGenshin Impactin second place after the third round of voting. Some fans of both games have thrown unfounded accusations at the other’s fanbase as the competition has intensified, withGenshin Impactplayers making claims of vote rigging whileSonic Frontiersfans accuse HoYoVerse of bribing players with in-game items.

Whether it’s over console wars or game awards, passionate players can sometimes take their love of a title a bit too far and begin to lash out unfairly at others. While only one game can ultimately win the Player’s Voice award, it’s clear that the performances in both titles have brought immense joy to their respective fans. And asGenshin Impactfans enjoy the game’s latest update andSonicfans await thefreeSonic FrontiersDLC, both titles look set to keep that joy coming.

Sonic Frontiersis available for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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