Meccha Chameleon’s 4 Golden Joystick Wins Set New Indie Record

Meccha Chameleon Broke A 44-Year-Old Record At The Golden Joysticks Published Nov 12, 2026, 3:15 AM 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. The Golden Joystick Awards have been running for 44 years now. That's a staggering amount of time, especially since video games haven't been commercially available for much longer than that. It also means many of the ceremony's records are pretty well established. During last night's show, however, one two-person indie shattered all expectations, scooping four awards and breaking one of those 44-year-old records in the process. Meccha Chameleon Won More Awards Than Any Other Indie Game At A Single Golden Joystick Awards Meccha Chameleon was developed by two people: Lemorion and Haganeiro. It took roughly five months to develop, and it quickly became one of 2026's biggest hits, selling over 20 million copies (more than Pokemon Legends Z-A, God of War Ragnarok, and Resident Evil Village's lifetime sales). Last night, it scooped four awards at the Golden Joysticks, sharing the most wins on the night with eventual Game of the Year winner Resident Evil Requiem. It topped every category it was nominated in, except Best PC Game, which was won by Crimson Desert, and those four wins meant it took home more awards at a single Golden Joysticks ceremony than any other indie game. It beat Marathon, Valheim, and Arc Raiders to win Best Multiplayer; Mewgenics and Cairn to win Best Self-Published Indie; and Mortal Shell 2 and Orbitals to win Developers' Choice. It also won the Streamers' Choice award. The previous record for most wins by an indie in a single night was shared by multiple games, at 2. That list contains some behemoths, including Hollow Knight: Silksong, Balatro, Cult of the Lamb, Hades, and Outer Wilds. If you include Baldur's Gate 3 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as indie, then Meccha Chameleon didn't quite grab the record, as both won seven in a single night; however, because their status is disputed, many won't include them. Meccha Chameleon wasn't the only record breaker at last night's Golden Joysticks. With its win in the Best Remake/Remaster category, The Witcher 3 became the game with the most outright wins in the ceremony's history, with 10. Capcom also had a stellar evening. Three of its games won awards: Pragmata for Best Supporting Actor, Onimusha: Way of the Sword for Best Sound Design, and Resident Evil Requiem picked up four wins, netting the show's overall Game of the Year for the studio. It also won Studio of the Year, beating Nintendo, HouseHouse, and Square Enix, winning that award with the highest vote percentage of the entire evening (57%). You can check out a breakdown of every winner right here. Systems Released June 10, 2026 Developer(s) lemorion_1224 Publisher(s) lemorion_1224 Multiplayer Online Multiplayer Number of Players 2-10 players