Voting in the 44th annual Golden Joystick Awards has now closed, with the winners set to be crowned in our live ceremony on November 11.
Taking place in the The Troxy, London, and hosted by Alix Wilton Regan (the new voice of Lara Croft), the awards will be streamed live on all major platforms.
We've counted millions of your votes across 20+ categories including Best Storytelling, Best Studio, Most Wanted Game and - our most-coveted prize - Ultimate Game of the Year. All that remains is to reveal YOUR top games of the last 12 months.
Keep reading to find out more about our nominees shortlists, and how to watch the Golden Joystick Awards on November 11.
Key Dates for the Golden Joystick Awards 2026
Core voting in the Golden Joystick Awards has now finished, with the Ultimate Game of the Year vote closing on October 30.
The Ultimate Game of the Year award takes place in a separate voting window to allow you more time to play the big autumn / fall releases.
See the Golden Joystick Awards' key deadlines below.
Nominations open |
August 6, 2026 |
Nominations close |
August 28 |
Shortlist announced and voting opens |
September 25 |
Voting closes |
October 23 |
UGOTY voting opens |
October 26 |
UGOTY voting closes |
October 30 |
Awards ceremony |
November 11 |
Last year, Sandfall Interactive took home a whopping seven awards for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. But who will take home this year’s trophies? That’s for you to decide.
Follow @gamesradar or @GoldenJoysticks on X for more reporting and interviews live from our central London show on November 11.
The Golden Joystick Awards 2026 recognises the best games of the last 12 months.
Golden Joystick Awards 2026 Categories and Nominees
You can see the full list of publicly-voted categories and nominees below:
Best Audio Design
Big Walk
Marathon
Onimusha: Way of the Sword
Rhythm Heaven Groove
SAROS
STAR WARS: Galactic Racer
Best Early Access Game
Dead as Disco
MENACE
skate.
Slay the Spire 2
Subnautica 2
WARDOGS
Best Game Adaptation
Devil May Cry (Season 2)
Exit 8
Fallout (Season 2)
Iron Lung
Mortal Kombat II
Resident Evil
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
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
Best Gaming Hardware
Logitech G PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE
Razer Viper V4 Pro
Secretlab ATLAS
Sony INZONE M10S II
Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II
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 Lead Performer
Aaron Paul - Robert Robertson III, Dispatch
Angela Sant'Albano - Grace Ashcroft, Resident Evil Requiem
Anna Demetriou - Sophia, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
Liam McIntyre - Wolverine, Marvel's Wolverine
Patrick Gibson - James Bond, 007 First Light
Will de Renzy-Martin - Coen, The Blood of Dawnwalker
Best Supporting Performer
Frankie Kevich - Zoe de Vera, CONTROL Resonant
Grace Saif - Diana, PRAGMATA
Lennie James - John Greenway, 007 First Light
Terry O'Quinn - Richard, SILENT HILL: Townfall
Troy Baker - Nathaniel Essex, Marvel's Wolverine
Vic Michaelis - Runa Blask, STAR WARS Zero Company
Best Multiplayer Game
ARC Raiders
Big Walk
Marathon
MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls
MECCHA CHAMELEON
Valheim
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 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 Visual Design
CONTROL Resonant
Forza Horizon 6
Orbitals
Phonopolis
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
SAROS
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
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
Studio of the Year
Frogwares
House House
IO Interactive
Nintendo EPD
SQUARE ENIX
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
Ultimate Game of the Year
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
Golden Joystick Awards 2026 nominations criteria
- To be eligible for core voting across 22 categories, the game must have been released between 1st November 2025 and 25th September 2026.
- Exceptions are sometimes made for games that release early in the public voting window, which might have already been extensively played or tested by our judges (for example, if we received a copy weeks earlier for an embargoed review)
- Ongoing / online games which launched before this period are eligible for the ‘Still Playing’ and ‘Best Game Expansion’ categories.
- Games set for release after 11th November 2026 will be eligible for the Most Wanted award. This year’s Most Wanted award focuses on titles due in 2027 or with visible release windows, which excludes some notable games with distant release dates or no visibility.
- Games released between 8th November, 2025 and 25th October 2026 will be considered for Ultimate Game of the Year.
- Exceptions are sometimes made for games that release early in the Ultimate Game of the Year voting window (e.g. 27th October 2026), which might have already been extensively played or tested by our judges (for example, if we received a copy weeks earlier for an embargoed review).
- Games released between 20th November 2025 and 11th November 2026 will be considered for our 2026 critically selected categories.
How to watch the Golden Joystick Awards 2026
The Golden Joystick Awards 2026 will be live streamed on all major platforms on Wednesday, November 11 at 10am PST / 1pm EST / 6pm GMT / 7pm CEST.
Watch the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 below
The Golden Joystick Awards 2025 was live streamed on all major platforms on Thursday, November 20 at 8am PST / 11am EST / 4pm GMT / 5pm CEST.
During October and early November, you cast over 21 million votes in categories including Best Storytelling, Best Indie Game and Most Wanted Game in support of your games of the year - with the winners revealed during our live show hosted by Maggie Roberston (Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village).
Read on to find out everything you need to know about the 43rd Annual Golden Joystick Awards, including a list of all winners, and how to rewatch the show,
Golden Joystick Awards 2025 Steam sale page
You can find all of our categories, nominees and winners on the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 Steam sale page (excluding console or format exclusive games that are not available on PC, such as Ghost of Yotei, which is a PS5-exclusive).
Main voting in the world’s longest-running video game awards, the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 powered by MSI, closed at midnight GMT / 8pm EDT on Oct 31.The winners of over 20 categories such as Best Gaming Hardware, Best Indie Game and Best Storytelling can be found in this full list of Golden Joystick Awards 2025 winners.
Ultimate Game of the Year voting took place in a separate window from Nov 3 - Nov 7 with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 claiming our most-coveted prize.
How to claim your free gaming ebook
As an added bonus, everyone who votes in the Golden Joystick Awards 2026 can claim a free ebook worth up to £12.99 / $18.99 from a selection including:
- 100 Retro Games to Play Before You Die
- RG Presents: The Handheld Gaming Collection
- The History of Videogames
- Ultimate Retro PC Gamer Collection
- Everything You Need To Know About Fortnite
- Ultimate Guide to Roblox
To claim your free ebook, simply enter your email address and click the ‘Register my Votes’ button when you finish voting. We will contact you shortly afterwards and you can choose your free ebook from our selection.
How the Golden Joystick Awards work
What are the Golden Joystick Awards?
The GJAs are held in special regard because they are voted for by those who buy and play games. Every year, millions of fans support their favorite games, developers, publishers, and people of the last 12 months.
Now in its 44th year, the Golden Joystick Awards will be returning as an in-person live show at Troxy, London on November 11, 2026. You can book your tickets and tables here.
How games are nominated in the Golden Joystick Awards
Publisher nominations for the Golden Joystick Awards 2026 are now closed.
Every year, we invite the industry to nominate the games, people and studios that they believe deserve recognition in this year’s categories. We want to make sure that a wide pool of potential nominees is being considered.
The final shortlist is chosen by the Golden Joystick Awards judging panel with reference to this list of nominees. The judges consist of editors and contributors from our sister brands including PC Gamer, Future Games Show, Edge magazine, Retro Gamer, GamesRadar and a variety of industry experts.
By definition, we can’t guarantee that every nominated game will make the shortlist, but you can be assured that it will be considered and debated by our judging panel.
We strive to create a broad list of categories and nominees which represent the best that gaming has to offer. Sadly, this always means we have to exclude some much-loved and popular titles.
