2026 Altın Joystick Ödülleri Adayları Bu Hafta Açıklanacak

Golden Joystick Awards 2026—the annual awards ceremony, now in its 44th year—has announced its date. This time, the organizers have devised a new approach to defining the best games of 2026.

On its social media, the Golden Joystick Awards announced the 2026 ceremony will take place on November 11. Furthermore, nominations will be announced this week, on September 25, on the official website. As in previous years, all winners will be determined by the players themselves through voting—the first round will run through October 23, and then, from October 26 to 30, voting will take place for the main category, Ultimate Game of the Year.

The Golden Joystick Awards will return on November 11, 2026!

The nominees will be revealed THIS FRIDAY September 25 at goldenjoysticks.com, where public voting opens for the first 21 categories, including Best Storytelling, Console Game of the Year, Best Lead Performer, and more.

Public voting for these categories will then close on October 23, ahead of the public vote for Ultimate Game of the Year, which takes place between October 26 & October 30.

Get ready to have your say on the longest-running publicly voted game awards… the results are in your hands!

As for the list of categories, they are exactly the same as those for the Golden Joysticks Awards, which took place last year. You can check out the full list of categories below:

• Best Storytelling
• Best Multiplayer Game
• Best Visual Design
• Best Indie Game
• Best Indie Game - Self Published
• Still Playing Award - PC and Console
• Still Playing Award - Mobile
• Best Remake/ Remaster
• Studio of the Year
• Best Game Expansion
• Best Audio Design
• Best Soundtrack
• Best Lead Performer
• Best Supporting Performer
• PC Game of the Year
• Console Game of the Year
• Best Early Access Game
• Best Gaming Hardware
• Best Game Adaptation
• Best Game Trailer
• Most Wanted Game
• Ultimate Game of the Year

The voting for the Ultimate Game of the Year is particularly interesting, as it will take place from October 26 to 30. This means the games released after October 30 will not be eligible for the vote. This rules out GTA 6 from the nomination since it is scheduled for release on November 19. There had already been speculation the game might miss The Game Awards 2026, which will take place in December, due to its late release and the fact that game journalists won’t be able to play it because of Rockstar Games’ embargo. Despite this, according to Polygon, GTA 6 will widely be recognized as the best game of 2026, although there is a chance it won’t be nominated in this category at major award ceremonies.

Last year, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took home the top prize at the Golden Joystick Awards. The game also won in the categories of Best Storytelling, Best Visual Design, Best Soundtrack, Best Supporting Performer (Ben Starr), and Best Lead Performer (Jennifer English). Interestingly, GTA 6 also won in two categories: Best Game Trailer and Most Wanted Game.