All Winners At The Golden Joystick Awards 2026

Published Nov 11, 2026, 1:10 PM EST Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 3,000 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, provided context on some AI drama, and revealed that Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on three occasions. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. Sign in to your TheGamer account This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.Folks, awards season is here. Buckle in as the gaming world celebrates the year's biggest hits. First up are the Golden Joystick Awards, taking place right now. There's a huge array of games up for Ultimate Game of the Year in a race too close to call, with Resident Evil Requiem, Dispatch, Control Resonant, and 007 First Light among the favorites. While it's unlikely we'll have a repeat of Clair Obscur's sweep last year, although GTA 6 may just have a chance, we'll have you covered every step of the way. Here are the winners as they happen at the Golden Joystick Awards. Every Winner At 2026's Golden Joystick Awards Best Storytelling Dispatch - WINNER (41%) The Blood of Dawnwalker - 2nd (21%) 007 First Light - 3rd (16%) Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave Silent Hill: Townfall Zero Parades: For Dead Spies Best Audio Design Onimusha: Way of the Sword - Winner (32%) Big Walk - 2nd (23%) Star Wars: Galactic Racer - 3rd (16%) Saros Marathon Rhythm Heaven Groove Best Multiplayer Game Meccha Chameleon - WINNER (31%) Valheim - 2nd (21%) Big Walk - 3rd (20%) Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Marathon Arc Raiders Best Visual Design Control Resonant - Winner (31%) Forza Horizon 6 - 2nd (30%) Orbitals - 3rd (17%) Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Saros Phonopolis Best Expansion Doom: The Dark Ages - Revelations - Winner (33%) Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven - 2nd (32%) World of Warcraft: Midnight - 3rd (12%) Dave the Diver - In The Jungle Quake: Dawn of the Machine The Alters: Last Variable Best Self-Published Indie Game Meccha Chameleon - Winner (32%) Mewgenics - 2nd (27%) Cairn - 3rd (14%) Mina the Hollower Rhythm Doctor Perfect Tides: Station to Station Phonopolis The Incident at Galley House Fields of Mistria Vampire Crawlers Still To Be Announced Ultimate Game Of The Year 007 First Light Big Walk Control Resonant Crimson Desert Dispatch Forza Horizon 6 Phantom Blade Zero Pokemon Pokopia Pragmata Resident Evil Requiem Star Wars: Galactic Racer The Blood of Dawnwalker Console Game Of The Year Pokemon Pokopia Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight 007 First Light Saros Nioh 3 Forza Horizon 6 Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave Onimusha: Way of the Sword Resident Evil Requiem Pragmata PC Game Of The Year Big Walk Star Wars Zero Company Meccha Chameleon Crimson Desert Order of the Sinking Star The Blood of Dawnwalker Esoeric Ebb Mewgenics Escape From Tarkov Valheim Best Game Adaptation Fallout Season 2 Mortal Kombat 2 Devil May Cry Season 2 Iron Lung Resident Evil Exit 8 Best Remake/Remaster Star Fox Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter Gothic 1 Remake Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection vol. 2 Best Lead Actor Liam McIntyre (Wolverine) Patrick Gibson (007 First Light) Aaron Paul (Dispatch) Angela Sant'Albano (Resident Evil Requiem) Will de Renzy-Martin (The Blood of Dawnwalker) Anna Demetriou (Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy) Best Supporting Actor Troy Baker (Wolverine) Vic Michaelis (Star Wars Zero Company) Lennie James (007: First Light) Terry O'Quinn (Silent Hill: Townfall) Frankie Kevich (Control Resonant) Best Soundtrack Dispatch 007 First Light Mixtape Mewgenics Lumines Arise Crimson Desert Best Visual Design Orbitals Forza Horizon 6 Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Control Resonant Saros Phonopolis Best Studio Capcom House House Nintendo EPD Square Enix IO Interactive Frogwares Best Early Access Game Slay The Spire 2 Subnautica 2 Menace skate Dead as Disco Wardogs Best Trailer Big Walk Resident Evil Requiem Mouse PI For Hire Prove You're Human Cairn Battlefield 6 x Top Gun Best Hardware Sony Inzone M10S 2 Steam Controller Secretlab Atlas Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike Turtle Beach Stealth Pro 2 Razer Viper V4 Pro Most Wanted The Witcher 4 God of War Laufey Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet Fable Final Fantasy 7 Revealtion Kingdom Hearts 4 Persona 6 The Expanse: Osiris Reborn Metro 2039 Total War: Warhammer 40K Stranger Than Heaven Tides of Annihilation Exodus Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis Resident Evil Code Veronica Remake Alien: Isolation 2 No Law Stuntman: Hollywood Ananta Black Myth: Zhong Kui Still Playing (PC and Console) No Man's Sky Helldivers 2 Minecraft Fortnite The Elder Scrolls Online Warframe GTA Online Hitman World of Assassination Apex Legends World of Warcraft Palworld Call of Duty: Warzone Still Playing (Mobile) Marvel Snap Pokemon Go Balatro Monopoly Go Tom Clancy's Rainbox Six Mobile Old School Runescape Genshin Impact Honkai Star Rail Wuthering Waves NTE: Neverness to Everness Sky: Children of the Light Roblox Systems Released October 29, 2026 ESRB Unreal Engine 5 Developer(s) S-Game Publisher(s) S-Game Engine Unreal Engine 5 Genre(s) Action, RPG