This year’s gaming awards season kicks off in earnest today with the 44th annual Golden Joystick Awards. It’s an especially interesting event given just how up in the air 2026’s Game of the Year race has been. Unlike 2025, which had a clear frontrunner in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, this year’s slate of games has been full of quality titles, but nothing has singularly captured the public’s interest in a way that assures it will take home awards. The Golden Joysticks could be an early indicator of what games will rise to awards recognition, especially at Geoff Keighley’s The Game Awards in December.
IMAGE: Polygon
There are two elephants in the room, however, with this year’s Golden Joystick Awards. The first is Grand Theft Auto 6. Rockstar Games’ much-anticipated blockbuster won’t be released until Nov. 19, meaning it isn’t in competition at this particular awards show. GTA 6 will undoubtedly upend the awards landscape, so later shows could look completely different than what we see today.
There is also the Big Walk issue. Developer House House revealed this week that it used AI, specifically large language models (LLMs), in the final phase of development. While the studio says that under 0.1% of the game’s code had anything to do with generative AI tools, this will likely be a hardline for many that puts the critical darling out of contention. As The Golden Joystick Awards closed voting on Nov. 5, voters weren’t aware of this controversy, but Big Walk winning awards may put a bad taste in some people’s mouths that may be reflected in fewer accolades later this year.
Here’s the complete list of winners from The Golden Joystick Awards 2026, which we will update as the show goes on.
Best Audio Design
Image: Capcom
- WINNER: Onimusha: Way of the Sword
- Big Walk
- Marathon
- Rhythm Heaven Groove
- Saros
- Star Wars: Galactic Racer
Best Early Access Game
Image: Unknown Worlds Entertainment/Krafton
- WINNER: Subnautica 2
- Dead as Disco
- Menace
- skate.
- Slay the Spire 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
Image: id Software/Bethesda Softworks
- WINNER: Doom: The Dark Ages | Revelations
- Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven
- Dave the Diver – In the Jungle Content Pack
- Quake: Dawn of the Machine
- The Alters: Last Variable
- World of Warcraft: Midnight
Best Game Trailer
- WINNER: Resident Evil Requiem – Evil Has Always Had A Name
- 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
Best Gaming Hardware
Image: Valve
- WINNER: Steam Controller
- Logitech G PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE
- Razer Viper V4 Pro
- Secretlab ATLAS
- Sony INZONE M10S II
- Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II
Best Indie Game
Image: Iron Gate/Coffee Stain Publishing
- WINNER: Valheim
- Big Walk
- Denshattack!
- Esoteric Ebb
- Mixtape
- Mouse: P.I. for Hire
- Order of the Sinking Star
- Reanimal
- Sovereign Tower
- Titanium Court
Best Indie Game – Self-published
- WINNER: Meccha Chameleon
- Cairn
- Fields of Mistria
- 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
- WINNER: Meccha Chameleon
- ARC Raiders
- Big Walk
- Marathon
- Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls
- Valheim
Best Remake / Remaster
Image: CD Projekt Red
- WINNER: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered
- Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
- Gothic 1 Remake
- Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.2
- Star Fox
- Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter
Best Soundtrack
Image: AdHoc Studio via Polygon
- WINNER: Dispatch
- 007 First Light
- Crimson Desert
- Lumines Arise
- Mewgenics
- Mixtape
Best Storytelling
- WINNER: Dispatch
- 007 First Light
- Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave
- Silent Hill: Townfall
- The Blood of Dawnwalker
- Zero Parades: For Dead Spies
Best Visual Design
Image: Remedy Entertainment
- WINNER: 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 7 Revelation
- God of War Laufey
- Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
- Kingdom Hearts 4
- 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
- WINNER: 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
Image: Mojang Studios/Xbox Game Studios
- WINNER: Minecraft
- Apex Legends
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Fortnite
- GTA Online
- Helldivers 2
- Hitman World of Assassination
- No Man’s Sky
- Palworld
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- Warframe
- World of Warcraft
Studio of the Year
- WINNER: Capcom
- Frogwares
- House House
- IO Interactive
- Nintendo EPD
- Square Enix
PC Game of the Year
Image: House House/Panic
- 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
