The 2026 Golden Joystick Awards hit London on Wednesday, Nov. 11, and the full nominee list is finally locked in. Twenty-one core categories got the public vote treatment starting Sept. 25, and the Ultimate Game of the Year shortlist dropped a month later on Oct. 26. So who got snubbed and who got lucky?
Core voting wrapped Oct. 23, and the Ultimate Game of the Year ballot stayed open until Oct. 30 at 5 p.m. PT. Three awards never touch the public vote at all: Streamers’ Choice, Breakthrough and Critics’ Choice get picked by a panel and announced live at the show. Alix Wilton Regan, aka Lara Croft in the upcoming Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, hosts the whole thing at the Troxy.
Ultimate Game of the Year: The Big Fight
Twelve games are throwing hands for the top prize. My money’s on Resident Evil Requiem because Capcom has been absolutely cooking with this franchise, and I refuse to pretend otherwise. Big Walk and 007 First Light have the numbers, though. Each landed five category nods in the main vote, six if you throw in their studios’ Studio of the Year nominations, and then both made this shortlist on top of that.
- 007 First Light
- Big Walk
- Control Resonant
- Crimson Desert
- Dispatch
- Forza Horizon 6
- Phantom Blade Zero
- Pokémon Pokopia
- Pragmata
- Resident Evil Requiem
- Star Wars: Galactic Racer
- The Blood of Dawnwalker
The snub? Gears of War: E-Day came out Oct. 6, comfortably inside the eligibility window, and still missed the cut. Kotaku called it the first big snub of awards season, and I can’t argue. The lucky one? Phantom Blade Zero launched Oct. 29, four days past the Oct. 25 cutoff and one day before voting closed. The rules allow the occasional exception, and that’s quite the photo finish. And no, GTA 6 isn’t on any list, Most Wanted included. It lands Nov. 19, eight days after the show.
PC and Console Game of the Year: The Real Brawl
Nioh 3 has been eating people alive since February, and they keep thanking it. Resident Evil Requiem is the obvious console pick, but Saros is lurking, and Housemarque does not miss.
PC Game of the Year:
- Big Walk
- Crimson Desert
- Escape from Tarkov
- Esoteric Ebb
- Meccha Chameleon
- Mewgenics
- Order of the Sinking Star
- Star Wars Zero Company
- The Blood of Dawnwalker
- Valheim
Console Game of the Year:
- 007 First Light
- Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave
- Forza Horizon 6
- LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight
- Nioh 3
- Onimusha: Way of the Sword
- Pokémon Pokopia
- Pragmata
- Resident Evil Requiem
- Saros
Performers and Sound: The People Behind the Voices
Aaron Paul in a video game is the kind of casting that makes you go, yeah, sure, why not. 007 First Light and Dispatch both show up in multiple categories here, and the people love a good narrative.
Best Supporting Performer:
- Frankie Kevich (Zoe de Vera in Control Resonant)
- Grace Saif (Diana in Pragmata)
- Lennie James (John Greenway in 007 First Light)
- Terry O’Quinn (Richard in Silent Hill: Townfall)
- Troy Baker (Nathaniel Essex in Marvel’s Wolverine)
- Vic Michaelis (Runa Blask in Star Wars Zero Company)
Best Lead Performer:
- Aaron Paul (Robert Robertson III in Dispatch)
- Angela Sant’Albano (Grace Ashcroft in Resident Evil Requiem)
- Anna Demetriou (Sophia in Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy)
- Liam McIntyre (Wolverine in Marvel’s Wolverine)
- Patrick Gibson (James Bond in 007 First Light)
- Will de Renzy-Martin (Coen in The Blood of Dawnwalker)
Best Soundtrack:
- 007 First Light
- Crimson Desert
- Dispatch
- Lumines Arise
- Mewgenics
- Mixtape
Best Storytelling:
- 007 First Light
- Dispatch
- Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave
- Silent Hill: Townfall
- The Blood of Dawnwalker
- Zero Parades: For Dead Spies
Best Audio Design:
- Big Walk
- Marathon
- Onimusha: Way of the Sword
- Rhythm Heaven Groove
- Saros
- Star Wars: Galactic Racer
Visuals and Multiplayer: Pretty Pictures and Punching
Best Visual Design is a gorgeous lineup. Best Multiplayer Game is a weirder mix. ARC Raiders has the sauce, and I will die on that hill.
Best Visual Design:
- Control Resonant
- Forza Horizon 6
- Orbitals
- Phonopolis
- Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
- Saros
Best Multiplayer Game:
- ARC Raiders
- Big Walk
- Marathon
- Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls
- Meccha Chameleon
- Valheim
Indies and Adaptations: The Weird Stuff
Best Game Adaptation is a genuinely funny mix. “Iron Lung” getting a nomination after everything that happened around that movie is wild, and I mean that sincerely. Markiplier self-financed and self-distributed a movie based on a tiny submarine horror game, pulled in about $50 million and briefly vanished from some box office charts along the way. Mouse: P.I. For Hire deserves the indie crown for the premise alone.
Best Indie Game:
- Big Walk
- Denshattack!
- Esoteric Ebb
- Mixtape
- Mouse: P.I. For Hire
- Order of the Sinking Star
- Reanimal
- Sovereign Tower
- Titanium Court
- Valheim
Best Indie Game – Self-Published:
- Cairn
- Fields of Mistria
- Meccha Chameleon
- Mewgenics
- Mina the Hollower
- Perfect Tides: Station to Station
- Phonopolis
- Rhythm Doctor
- The Incident at Galley House
- Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors
Best Game Adaptation:
- Devil May Cry (Season 2)
- Exit 8
- Fallout (Season 2)
- Iron Lung
- Mortal Kombat II
- Resident Evil
Remakes and Trailers: Nostalgia Bait Done Right
The Witcher 3 remaster is the definition of beating a dead horse, except the horse keeps printing money, so who am I to complain? That Battlefield trailer is pure “Top Gun: Maverick” energy, with Rooster, Bob and Warlock back on the job, and I’m not immune to it.
Best Remake/Remaster:
- Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
- Gothic 1 Remake
- Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2
- Star Fox
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered
- Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter
Best Game Trailer:
- Battlefield 6 x Top Gun: Carrier Strike Cinematic Trailer
- Big Walk – Release Date Announcement
- Cairn – Launch Trailer
- Mouse: P.I. For Hire | Official Launch Trailer
- Prove You’re Human – Announcement Trailer
- Resident Evil Requiem – Evil Has Always Had A Name
Expansions and Most Wanted: The Future Is Loaded
Best Game Expansion is a solid batch. Most Wanted Game is a monster list, and Persona 6 being on there has me contractually obligated to scream about it.
Best Game Expansion:
- Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven
- Dave the Diver – In the Jungle Content Pack
- Doom: The Dark Ages | Revelations
- Quake: Dawn of the Machine
- The Alters: Last Variable
- World of Warcraft: Midnight
Most Wanted Game:
- Alien: Isolation 2
- Ananta
- Black Myth: Zhong Kui
- Exodus
- Fable
- Final Fantasy VII Revelation
- God of War Laufey
- Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
- Kingdom Hearts IV
- Metro 2039
- No Law
- Persona 6
- Resident Evil Veronica
- Stranger Than Heaven
- Stuntman: Hollywood
- The Expanse: Osiris Reborn
- The Witcher 4
- Tides of Annihilation
- Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis
- Total War: Warhammer 40,000
Best Early Access Game: The Waiting Room
Six games are hoping to graduate from the unfinished pile. Seeing skate. here again is genuinely funny. EA announced the reboot in 2020, it hit early access in September 2025, and it was on this same list last year. That game could apply for tenure at this point, and I say that with affection.
- Dead as Disco
- Menace
- skate.
- Slay the Spire 2
- Subnautica 2
- Wardogs
Still Playing: The Games That Never Die
The mobile list is a lifestyle choice at this point. The PC and console list is basically a retirement home for my free time. If you haven’t lost a weekend to Balatro yet, congratulations on your incredible willpower. I lost a whole week and my sleep schedule to that card game.
Still Playing (Mobile):
- Balatro
- Genshin Impact
- Honkai: Star Rail
- Marvel Snap
- Monopoly Go!
- NTE: Neverness to Everness
- Old School RuneScape
- Pokémon Go
- Roblox
- Sky: Children of the Light
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Mobile
- Wuthering Waves
Still Playing (PC & Console):
- Apex Legends
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Fortnite
- GTA Online
- Helldivers 2
- Hitman World of Assassination
- Minecraft
- No Man’s Sky
- Palworld
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- Warframe
- World of Warcraft
Hardware and Studios: The Metal and the Makers
The Steam Controller returning is like seeing an old friend who was always a little weird. Capcom is my horse in the Studio of the Year race, and I’m not hiding it. Resident Evil Requiem, Pragmata and Onimusha in one year is a flex.
Best Gaming Hardware:
- Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike
- Razer Viper V4 Pro
- Secretlab Atlas
- Sony Inzone M10S II
- Steam Controller
- Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II
Studio of the Year:
- Capcom
- Frogwares
- House House
- IO Interactive
- Nintendo EPD
- Square Enix
So there you have it. Nov. 11 can’t come fast enough. Argue with me in the comments. I will be there.
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