Golden Joystick ‘Ultimate Game of the Year’ 2026 Nominees Revealed

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Jon "Sikamikanico" Clarke

23 seconds ago

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With the awards season looming, the Golden Joysticks have announced their ‘Ultimate Game of the Year’ 2026 Nominees in what’s been an incredible year for video games.

It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. The nominees for Ultimate Game of the Year are… 🍸 007 First Light 🚶🏻 Big Walk 🔻 CONTROL Resonant 🗡️ Crimson Desert 🦸 Dispatch 🏁 Forza Horizon 6 ⚔️ Phantom Blade Zero 🔴 Pokémon Pokopia 🧑‍🚀 PRAGMATA 🧟 Resident Evil Requiem 🚀 STAR WARS: Galactic Racer 🧛 The Blood of Dawnwalker Cast your vote at https://t.co/3pNdBogV0z. Voting closes on Friday 30 Oct! #GoldenJoystickAwards

— Golden Joysticks (@GoldenJoysticks) October 26, 2026

While Geoff Keighley’s The Game Awards garners the lions share of media attention, the Golden Joysticks is still prestigious and is currently celebrating its 44th year! Check out the full list of nominess below:

• 007 First Light
• Big Walk
• CONTROL Resonant
• Crimson Desert
• Dispatch
• Forza Horizon 6
• Phantom Blade Zero
• Pokémon Pokopia
• PRAGMATA
• Resident Evil Requiem
• STAR WARS: Galactic Racer
• The Blood of Dawnwalker

With such an incredible number of titles released in 2026, competition is pretty fierce, but it’s hard to look at this list and not agree that every title is worthy of inclusion, and that’s before you think about what’s not been included. Titles like Gears of War: E-Day, Ace Combat 8, Mixtape and more haven’t made the cut.

One omission you might immediately notice is the lack of Rockstar’s next behemoth, Grand Theft Auto 6, but seeing as the Golden Joysticks are awarded on November 11th, it’s clear that Rockstar’s latest was never going to be in the running this year. Roll on 2027, hey?

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