Golden Joystick Awards 2026 Winners Revealed
The 44th annual ceremony, held on November 11, named winners in 21 categories, from Ultimate Game of the Year to Best Lead Performer.
The Golden Joystick Awards have revealed their winners, with Crimson Desert and Resident Evil Requiem taking the top game awards.
The 44th annual Golden Joystick Awards, held on November 11, named winners across 21 categories, recognizing games and actors for audio and visual design and performance. Categories include Ultimate Game of the Year, Console Game of the Year, Best Storytelling, and Best Lead Performer, with winners chosen by public vote.
Rockstar's GTA 6 was not part of the competition, as it releases after the vote, on November 19, so the picture could change at later events.
Take a look at the winners' list:
- Best Storytelling – Dispatch (nominees: 007 First Light, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, Silent Hill: Townfall, The Blood of Dawnwalker, and Zero Parades: For Dead Spies)
- Best Audio Design – Onimusha: Way of the Sword (nominees: Big Walk, Marathon, Rhythm Heaven Groove, Saros, and Star Wars: Galactic Racer)
- Best Multiplayer Game – Meccha Chameleon (nominees: ARC Raiders, Big Walk, Marathon, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, and Valheim)
- Best Visual Design – Control Resonant (nominees: Forza Horizon 6, Orbitals, Phonopolis, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, and Saros)
- Best Game Expansion – DOOM: The Dark Ages (nominees: Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven, Dave the Diver - In the Jungle Content Pack, Quake: Dawn of the Machine, The Alters: Last Variable, and World of Warcraft: Midnight)
- Best Indie Game Self-Published – Meccha Chameleon (nominees: Cairn, Fields of Mistria, Mewgenics, Mina the Hollower, Perfect Tides: Station to Station, Phonopolis, Rhythm Doctor, The Incident at Galley House, and Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors)
- Best Indie Game – Valheim (nominees: Big Walk, Denshattack!, Esoteric Ebb, Mixtape, Mouse: P.I. for Hire, Order of the Sinking Star, Reanimal, Sovereign Tower, and Titanium Court)
- Best Gaming Hardware – Steam Controller (nominees: Logitech G PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE, Razer Viper V4 Pro, Secretlab ATLAS, Sony INZONE M10S II, and Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II)
- Studio of the Year – Capcom (nominees: Frogwares, House House, IO Interactive, Nintendo EPD, and Square Enix)
- Best Early Access Game – Subnautica 2 (nominees: Dead as Disco, Menace, skate., Slay the Spire 2, and Wardogs)
- Best Soundtrack – Dispatch (nominees: 007 First Light, Crimson Desert, Lumines Arise, Mewgenicsm and Mixtape)
- Still Playing – Mobile – Balatro (nominees: 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, and Wuthering Waves)
- Still Playing – Consoles & PC – Minecraft (nominees: 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, and World of Warcraft)
- Streamers' Choice – Meccha Chameleon (critically chosen)
- Best Game Trailer – Resident Evil Requiem – Evil Has Always Had A Name (nominees: 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; and Prove You're Human - Announcement Trailer)
- Best Remake / Remaster – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered (nominees: Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, Gothic 1 Remake, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.2, Star Fox, and Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter)
- Developers' Choice – Meccha Chameleon (critically chosen)
- Best Game Adaptation – Iron Lung (nominees: Devil May Cry (Season 2), Exit 8, Fallout (Season 2), Mortal Kombat II, and Resident Evil)
- Best Supporting Performer – Grace Saif (Pragmata)
- Best Lead Performer – Angela Sant'Albano (Resident Evil Requiem)
- PC Game of the Year – Crimson Desert (nominees: Big Walk, Escape from Tarkov, Esoteric Ebb, Meccha Chameleon, Mewgenics, Order of the Sinking Star, Star Wars Zero Company, The Blood of Dawnwalker, and Valheim)
- Console Game of the Year – Resident Evil Requiem (nominees: 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, and Saros)
- Critics' Choice – Big Walk (critically chosen)
- Most Wanted Game – The Witcher 4 (nominees: 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, Tides of Annihilation, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, and Total War:Warhammer 40,000.)
- Ultimate Game of the Year – Resident Evil Requiem (nominees: 007 First Light, Big Walk, Control Resonant, Crimson Desert, Dispatch, Forza Horizon 6, Phantom Blade Zero, Pokémon Pokopia, Pragmata, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, and The Blood of Dawnwalker.)
Watch the trailer for Resident Evil Requiem, "Evil Has Always Had A Name," which won Best Game Trailer:
We covered insights into some of the titles that ranked at the top. For example, take a closer look at the technology behind Resident Evil: Requiem, examine the characters from DOOM: The Dark Ages, explore GPU-based cloth and hair simulation, water effects, and more from Crimson Desert, and read our interview about how Capcom created real-time sword combat for Onimusha: Way of the Sword, discussing the use of the RE Engine for the real-time calculations behind its sword clashes, historically inspired Kyoto, and a complete environment art pipeline.
What do you think about the winners, and what are your expectations for The Game Awards?
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