Every Golden Joysticks Awards 2026 Nominee And How To Vote

Big Walk, Galactic Racer, And Dispatch Among Nominees For Golden Joysticks Game Of The Year Published Oct 26, 2026, 10:15 AM EDT Josh Coulson is an editor at TheGamer covering breaking news on everything from colorful platformers to the latest Lego sets. Primarily a news writer since 2018, Josh has covered just about every major game from the past decade. Now an editor, their focus has shifted to being the leading affiliate expert at the site, building relationships between TheGamer and global brands including Mattel, Funko, and The Pokemon Company. Sign in to your TheGamer account It might still be October with some of the biggest games of the year yet to be released, but it is officially the 2026 Game of the Year season. As always, it kicks off with the reveal of which games are up for awards at this year's Golden Joysticks, and with the nominees for its Ultimate Game of the Year now revealed, the line-up is complete. Golden Joysticks Reveals Its Ultimate Game Of The Year Nominees House House The big one is the Ultimate Game of the Year, and 12 titles have been confirmed to be in the running. The expected games are there, including 007 First Light and indie darling Big Walk. With Ultimate nominations now confirmed, those two are the games with the potential to win big at this year's Golden Joysticks as they lead the way in total nominations, sporting six each. Some of the more surprising titles to be nominated for Ultimate GOTY include Star Wars: Galactic Racer, Pokemon Pokopia, and Dispatch. Surprising for several reasons, but Dispatch, most notably, as its release schedule meant that it technically qualified to win game of the year awards this year and last year. Adhoc Phantom Blade Zero is also somewhat surprising as the game hasn't been released yet. Its reviews went live just a few hours ago, and it is right up there with some of the highest-rated games of 2026. Players vote for who wins at the Golden Joysticks, though, and with voting closing on October 30, that will only leave 24 hours for S-Game's new release to leave a big enough impression on people to secure their votes. Voting for Ultimate Game of the Year is now open, and you have until voting closes on October 30, 2026, to choose which title from the shortlist should be 2026's GOTY. Voting in all of the other categories has now closed, but you can check out the full list of nominees in every single category ahead of the Golden Joysticks awards ceremony on November 11. Every Golden Joysticks Award And Its Nominees 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 Indie Game Big Walk Valheim Order of the Sinking Star Titanium Court Mixtape Denshattack Esoteric Ebb Mouse PI For Hire Renaimal Sovereign Tower Best Self-Published Indie Game Meccha Chameleon Mina the Hollower Mewgenics Rhythm Doctor Perfect Tides: Station to Station Phonopolis The Incident at Galley House Fields of Mistria Vampire Crawlers Cairn Best Multiplayer Game Big Walk Meccha Chameleon Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Marathon Arc Raiders 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 Expansion Doom: The Dark Ages - Revelations World of Warcraft: Midnight Dave the Diver - In The Jungle Quake: Dawn of the Machine The Alters: Last Variable Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven Best Storytelling 007 First Light Dispatch The Blood of Dawnwalker Silent Hill: Townfall Zero Parades: For Dead Spies 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 Audio Design Big Walk Star Wars: Galactic Racer Onimusha: Way of the Sword Saros Marathon Rhythm Heaven Groove 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 Released August 4, 2026 Developer(s) House House Publisher(s) Panic Multiplayer Online Co-Op Cross-Platform Play Full Genre(s) Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle