Awards season is creeping up again, and this time you actually get a say. The Golden Joystick Awards are one of the few big ceremonies where the winners are decided by public vote instead of a closed jury room. Voting is live across 21 categories on the GamesRadar voting page and stays open until October 23.
Key dates you need to know
- Until October 23 – voting in all 21 nominated categories.
- From October 26 – a separate vote for the Ultimate Game of the Year, open for just four days.
- November 11 – the ceremony itself, where the winners are announced.
That four-day window for the Ultimate Game of the Year award is short, so if that is the one you care about most, it is worth putting a reminder in your calendar.
Harder to predict than last year
Last year’s edition was a clean sweep for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which came out on top in every category it shared with Kingdom Come: Deliverance II – a game that went on to take home a prestigious BAFTA. This year there is no single title towering over the rest in the same way, and everyone is still waiting to see how much of the competition Grand Theft Auto 6 ends up steamrolling once it lands.
Phonopolis is in the running twice
Czech development does have an iron in the fire. Phonopolis, the adventure game from Amanita Design, is nominated in two categories: Best Graphical Design and Best Self-Published Indie Game. Both fields are stacked, but two nominations in one year is nothing to sniff at. If you want to catch up on the game itself, we collect everything in our Phonopolis coverage.
Golden Joystick Awards 2026 nominations
Still Playing
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)
Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Marvel Snap, Pokémon GO, Wuthering Waves, Monopoly Go!, Old School RuneScape, NTE: Neverness to Everness, Sky: Children of the Light, Balatro, Roblox, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Mobile
Best Remake/Remaster
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, Star Fox
Best Multiplayer Game
Big Walk, Valheim, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, Marathon, Arc Raiders, Meccha Chameleon
Best Trailer
Big Walk – Release Date Announcement, Resident Evil Requiem – Evil Has Always Had a Name, Mouse: P.I. for Hire – Official Launch Trailer, Prove You’re Human – Announcement Trailer, Cairn – Launch Trailer, Battlefield 6 x Top Gun: Carrier Strike Cinematic Trailer
PC Game of the Year
Big Walk, Escape from Tarkov, Valheim, Star Wars: Zero Company, The Blood of Dawnwalker, Mewgenics, Esoteric Ebb, Meccha Chameleon, Crimson Desert, Order of the Sinking Star
Console Game of the Year
Resident Evil Requiem, Pragmata, Pokémon Pokopia, 007 First Light, Forza Horizon 6, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, Saros, Nioh 3
Best Gaming Hardware
Sony Inzone M10S II, Steam Controller, Secretlab Atlas, Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike, Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II, Razer Viper V4 Pro
Studio of the Year
Capcom, House House, IO Interactive, Nintendo EPD, Frogwares, Square Enix
Best Early Access Game
Slay the Spire 2, Subnautica 2, Dead as Disco, Wardogs, Menace, skate.
Best Lead Performer
Liam McIntyre – Wolverine, Marvel’s Wolverine; Patrick Gibson – James Bond, 007 First Light; Aaron Paul – Robert Robertson III, Dispatch; Angela Sant’Albano – Grace Ashcroft, Resident Evil Requiem; Will de Renzy-Martin – Coen, The Blood of Dawnwalker; Anna Demetriou – Sophia, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
Best Supporting Performer
Troy Baker – Nathaniel Essex, Marvel’s Wolverine; Vic Michaelis – Runa Blask, Star Wars: Zero Company; Lennie James – John Greenway, 007 First Light; Terry O’Quinn – Richard, Silent Hill: Townfall; Frankie Kevich – Zoe de Vera, Control: Resonant; Grace Saif – Diana, Pragmata
Best Soundtrack
Lumines Arise, Mewgenics, Mixtape, Crimson Desert, Dispatch, 007 First Light
Most Wanted Game
The Witcher 4, God of War Laufey, Black Myth: Zhong Kui, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, Fable, Final Fantasy VII Revelation, Kingdom Hearts IV, Persona 6, Metro 2039, Total War: Warhammer 40,000, Stranger Than Heaven, Tides of Annihilation, Exodus, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, Resident Evil Veronica, Alien: Isolation 2, No Law, Stuntman: Hollywood, Ananta
Best Screen Adaptation
Fallout (season 2), Iron Lung, Resident Evil, Exit 8, Mortal Kombat II, Devil May Cry (season 2)
Best Indie Game
Big Walk, Valheim, Order of the Sinking Star, Titanium Court, Mixtape, Denshattack!, Esoteric Ebb, Mouse: P.I. for Hire, Reanimal, Sovereign Tower
Best Storytelling
007 First Light, The Blood of Dawnwalker, Dispatch, Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, Silent Hill: Townfall, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave
Best Audio Design
Rhythm Heaven Groove, Big Walk, Saros, Marathon, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, Onimusha: Way of the Sword
Best Graphical Design
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, Forza Horizon 6, Saros, Phonopolis, Control: Resonant, Orbitals
Best Self-Published Indie Game
Mewgenics, Mina the Hollower, Perfect Tides: Station to Station, Phonopolis, The Insident at Galley House, Rhythm Doctor, Fields of Mistria, Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors, Cairn
Best Expansion
Doom: The Dark Ages – Revelations, World of Warcraft: Midnight, Dave the Diver – In the Jungle Content Pack, Quake: Dawn of the Machine, The Alters: Last Variable, Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven
What it means for you
Unlike ceremonies decided behind closed doors, this one rewards turnout. Every category is a straight public vote, so smaller nominees – Phonopolis included – live or die by how many people bother to click through before October 23. Then comes the Ultimate Game of the Year round from October 26, and the winners are revealed on November 11.
FAQ
Voting in the 21 nominated categories runs until October 23. The separate Ultimate Game of the Year vote opens on October 26 and lasts only four days.
The winners are announced at the ceremony on November 11.
Voting takes place on the GamesRadar Golden Joystick Awards page, which hosts the shortlists for all 21 categories.
Amanita Design’s adventure is up for Best Graphical Design and Best Self-Published Indie Game.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 dominated the previous edition, beating Kingdom Come: Deliverance II in every shared category. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II did, however, win a BAFTA.