Public voting in the Golden Joystick Awards 2026 closes on Friday, October 23 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET / midnight BST (23:00 UTC), with 21 categories open to fans, according to the official awards page on GamesRadar+. 007 First Light and Big Walk lead the Golden Joystick Awards 2026 nominees with five nods each, and winners will be named at a live ceremony in London on Wednesday, November 11.
The Golden Joysticks, run by GamesRadar+ publisher Future, are now in their 44th year and bill themselves as the longest-running public-voted games awards. Last year’s show handed Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 seven trophies, including Ultimate Game of the Year. The awards’ X account posted the Console Game of the Year shortlist on October 18, a post that Destructoid reported drew complaints from fans of games that missed out.
Big Walk ties 007 First Light with five nominations, including PC Game of the Year. Image: House House / Panic
Table of Contents
Golden Joystick Awards 2026 key dates
| Stage | Date (2026) |
|---|---|
| Shortlist announced, voting opens | September 25 |
| Main voting closes | October 23, 23:00 UTC |
| Ultimate Game of the Year shortlist and voting opens | October 26 |
| Ultimate Game of the Year voting closes | October 30 |
| Awards ceremony (Troxy, London) | November 11 |
How to vote in the Golden Joystick Awards
Goldenjoysticks.com redirects to the GamesRadar+ awards page, where a “Start Voting” button opens the ballot for all 21 current categories. Voting is free. At the end, voters can enter an email address and click “Register my Votes” to claim one free ebook from Future’s catalogue, such as The History of Videogames or an Ultimate Guide to Roblox. The Ultimate Game of the Year category runs as a separate vote from October 26 to 30, and its nominees have not been revealed yet.
Golden Joystick Awards 2026 nominees for PC and Console GOTY
The two platform awards have ten nominees each, per GamesRadar+’s full nominations list:
- PC Game of the Year: Big Walk, Crimson Desert, Escape from Tarkov, Esoteric Ebb, Meccha Chameleon, Mewgenics, Order of the Sinking Star, Star Wars Zero Company, The Blood of Dawnwalker, Valheim.
- Console Game of the Year: 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, Resident Evil Requiem, Saros.
Six of the ten PC nominees also appear in an indie category, led by House House’s Big Walk, which won’t come to Xbox. On the console side, Housemarque’s Saros, which just got its free Zenith update with a boss rush and NG+, sits alongside Pokémon Pokopia and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave.
Which games have the most nominations?
By our count of the published shortlist, these games appear in three or more categories:
| Game | Nominations | Categories |
|---|---|---|
| 007 First Light | 5 | Console GOTY, Storytelling, Soundtrack, Lead Performer, Supporting Performer |
| Big Walk | 5 | PC GOTY, Indie Game, Multiplayer, Audio Design, Game Trailer |
| Resident Evil Requiem | 3 | Console GOTY, Lead Performer, Game Trailer |
| Saros | 3 | Console GOTY, Visual Design, Audio Design |
| The Blood of Dawnwalker | 3 | PC GOTY, Storytelling, Lead Performer |
| Mewgenics | 3 | PC GOTY, Indie Game (Self-Published), Soundtrack |
| Meccha Chameleon | 3 | PC GOTY, Indie Game (Self-Published), Multiplayer |
| Valheim | 3 | PC GOTY, Indie Game, Multiplayer |
| Dispatch | 3 | Storytelling, Soundtrack, Lead Performer (Aaron Paul) |
Angela Sant'Albano's Grace Ashcroft is up for Best Lead Performer, one of Resident Evil Requiem's three nods. Image: Capcom
Notable omissions
Destructoid singled out CONTROL Resonant, Remedy’s fastest-selling game, which is absent from both PC and Console Game of the Year but still has two nods: Best Visual Design and Best Supporting Performer for Frankie Kevich as Zoe de Vera. Crimson Desert made the PC shortlist and Best Soundtrack but not the console award. The Blood of Dawnwalker, with update 1.1 adding respecs and a story mode on the way, is a PC nominee only.
Eligibility explains some gaps. Core categories cover games released between November 1, 2025 and September 25, 2026, so anything launching this autumn is out, and GamesRadar+ notes that voting ends well before GTA 6 arrives. Most Wanted Game covers titles due after November 11, with a 20-game list that includes Final Fantasy VII Revelation, out April 8, 2027, God of War Laufey, The Witcher 4, Kingdom Hearts IV, Persona 6 and Fable.
What’s next
After main voting closes on October 23, the Ultimate Game of the Year shortlist goes live on October 26 for a five-day vote, open to games released between November 8, 2025 and October 25, 2026. Jury prizes for the Streamers’ Choice, Breakthrough and Critics’ Choice awards will be announced alongside the public winners at the November 11 show. GamesRadar+ has not yet posted a stream time for this year’s ceremony on its awards page.
Sources: GamesRadar+ (Golden Joystick Awards 2026 page), GamesRadar+ (nominations, Sep 25), PC Gamer, Destructoid.
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