Resident Evil Requiem won Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards 2026, held at the Troxy in London on Wednesday, November 11. Capcom's horror game took four awards in total, the same number as the hide-and-seek hit Meccha Chameleon. Crimson Desert won PC Game of the Year, The Witcher 4 was voted Most Wanted Game, Capcom was named Studio of the Year and Big Walk took the Critics' Choice Award. GTA 6 was not in the running, because voting closed before its November 19 release.[1][2][5][7]
 | |
| Edition | 44th Golden Joystick Awards |
|---|---|
| Date | Wednesday, November 11, 2026, 6pm GMT (1pm ET, 10am PT) |
| Venue | Troxy, London |
| Host | Alix Wilton Regan |
| Organiser | Future plc (GamesRadar+, PC Gamer) |
| Categories | 25 (22 public vote, 3 jury) |
| Ultimate Game of the Year | Resident Evil Requiem |
| Most awards | Resident Evil Requiem and Meccha Chameleon (4 each) |
| Studio of the Year | Capcom |
| Most Wanted Game | The Witcher 4 |
| Next big show | The Game Awards, December 10 |
Who won Ultimate Game of the Year?
Resident Evil Requiem. It beat 11 other finalists to the top prize: 007 First Light, Big Walk, Control Resonant, Crimson Desert, Dispatch, Forza Horizon 6, Phantom Blade Zero, Pokemon Pokopia, Pragmata, Star Wars: Galactic Racer and The Blood of Dawnwalker.[2][4]
It was tight. The full results list published by SteamDeckHQ puts Requiem on 17% of the Ultimate Game of the Year vote, just ahead of Phantom Blade Zero on 16% and Crimson Desert on 15%.[4] That is the closest top-prize finish we can see in the published numbers, and it fits what the organisers said before the vote: no single game dominated this year.[3]
Requiem came out in February, so it had to survive the usual pull of newer releases. GamesRadar+, which runs the awards, called the win the end of a long stretch as a front-runner in the Game of the Year conversation.[2]
Full list of Golden Joystick Awards 2026 winners
There were 25 categories. The table below lists every winner, checked against the GamesRadar+ results article, the organiser's results release (as published by GoNintendo), SteamDeckHQ and Bleeding Cool. All four lists agree on every winner.[1][3][4][5]
| Category | Winner | Winner's vote share |
|---|---|---|
| Ultimate Game of the Year | Resident Evil Requiem | 17% (SteamDeckHQ) |
| Console Game of the Year | Resident Evil Requiem | 27% |
| PC Game of the Year | Crimson Desert | 18% |
| Most Wanted Game | The Witcher 4 | 18% |
| Studio of the Year | Capcom | 57% |
| Best Storytelling | Dispatch | 41% |
| Best Soundtrack | Dispatch | 26% |
| Best Audio Design | Onimusha: Way of the Sword | 32% |
| Best Visual Design | Control Resonant | 31% |
| Best Multiplayer Game | Meccha Chameleon | 31% |
| Best Indie Game (self-published) | Meccha Chameleon | 32% |
| Best Indie Game | Valheim | 28% |
| Best Game Expansion | Doom: The Dark Ages, Revelations | 33% |
| Best Early Access Game | Subnautica 2 | 35% |
| Best Remake or Remaster | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered | 37% |
| Best Game Trailer | Resident Evil Requiem ("Evil Has Always Had a Name") | 27% |
| Best Lead Performer | Angela Sant'Albano, Grace Ashcroft in Resident Evil Requiem | 36% |
| Best Supporting Performer | Grace Saif, Diana in Pragmata | 54% |
| Best Game Adaptation | Iron Lung | 32% |
| Best Gaming Hardware | Steam Controller | 51% |
| Still Playing (PC and console) | Minecraft | 23% |
| Still Playing (mobile) | Balatro | 22% |
| Streamers' Choice | Meccha Chameleon | Jury |
| Developers' Choice | Meccha Chameleon | Jury |
| Critics' Choice | Big Walk | Jury |
Vote shares come from the organiser's results release (GoNintendo) and match SteamDeckHQ. The release did not give a figure for Ultimate Game of the Year; the 17% is from SteamDeckHQ's list.[3][4]
The biggest winners
Resident Evil Requiem (4 awards): Ultimate Game of the Year, Console Game of the Year, Best Game Trailer and Best Lead Performer for Angela Sant'Albano, who plays Grace Ashcroft.[2][5] Add Capcom's Studio of the Year win and the publisher had a very good night: Pragmata (Grace Saif, supporting performer) and Onimusha: Way of the Sword (audio design) are Capcom games too.[2][8]
Meccha Chameleon (4 awards): the hide-and-seek game won Best Multiplayer Game and Best Self-Published Indie Game in the public vote, then took Streamers' Choice and Developers' Choice from the jury. GamesRadar+ said that tied it with Requiem on four awards.[2][5]
Dispatch (2 awards): Best Storytelling, with 41% of the vote, and Best Soundtrack.[1][3]
The Witcher (2 awards): CD Projekt Red won both categories it was nominated in. The Witcher 4 was voted Most Wanted Game and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered, a free upgrade released in September, won Best Remake or Remaster.[9][1]
Crimson Desert won PC Game of the Year with only 18% of the vote, ahead of The Blood of Dawnwalker (14%) and Meccha Chameleon (13%), which shows how spread out the PC field was.[3][4] PC Gamer, which belongs to the same publisher as the awards, covered the win the same night.[10]
The closest races
Several categories were decided by one or two points. Control Resonant beat Forza Horizon 6 for Best Visual Design by 31% to 30%, and Doom: The Dark Ages, Revelations beat Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven for Best Game Expansion by 33% to 32%.[4] In the lead performance race, Angela Sant'Albano (36%) finished ahead of Aaron Paul for Dispatch (31%).[4]
At the other end, three winners took more than half of the vote: Capcom for Studio of the Year (57%), Grace Saif for Best Supporting Performer (54%) and Valve's Steam Controller for Best Gaming Hardware (51%).[3][4]
How the winners were picked
The Golden Joysticks call themselves the "People's Gaming Awards", and most categories are decided by public vote on the awards website.[3][9] Voting for most categories ran until October 23, and a separate vote for Ultimate Game of the Year ran from October 26 to October 30.[11]
Three awards were picked by a jury, not the public: Streamers' Choice, Developers' Choice and Critics' Choice.[6][5] That is why those rows have no vote share.
The awards are run by Future plc, the company behind GamesRadar+ and PC Gamer. They started in 1983, which PC Gamer says makes them the longest-running publicly voted video game awards.[10]
Why GTA 6 was not nominated
GTA 6 could not win anything this year. Voting closed weeks before its release on Thursday, November 19, 2026, so it was not eligible for the 2026 awards, as GamesRadar+ explained when the nominations came out.[11][7] It should be eligible next year. If you are waiting for it, our GTA 6 pre-load and release time guide has the unlock times by country.
The show
The 44th Golden Joystick Awards were held at the Troxy in London's East End on Wednesday, November 11, starting at 6pm GMT (1pm ET, 10am PT), and were streamed live, including on the GamesRadar YouTube channel.[7][8] The host was actor Alix Wilton Regan, who will play Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis.[7][8] The full show is still on YouTube if you want to watch it back.[7][4]
The next big awards show is The Game Awards on December 10, according to SteamDeckHQ.[4]
Timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| September 25, 2026 | Nominations announced, public voting opens. 007 First Light and Big Walk lead the field.[11] |
| October 23, 2026 | Voting closes for most categories.[11] |
| October 26 to 30, 2026 | Ultimate Game of the Year vote.[11] |
| November 11, 2026 | Ceremony at the Troxy, London. Resident Evil Requiem wins Ultimate Game of the Year.[2][7] |
| November 19, 2026 | GTA 6 release, after this year's voting closed.[11] |
| December 10, 2026 | The Game Awards.[4] |
Frequently asked questions
Who won Game of the Year at the Golden Joysticks 2026?
Resident Evil Requiem won Ultimate Game of the Year, the top prize, on November 11, 2026.[1][2][5]
Which game won the most Golden Joystick Awards in 2026?
Resident Evil Requiem and Meccha Chameleon tied with four awards each.[2][5]
Did GTA 6 win a Golden Joystick?
No. It was not eligible, because voting closed before its November 19 release.[11][7]
Who won PC Game of the Year?
Crimson Desert, with 18% of the vote.[10][3]
Who won Most Wanted Game?
The Witcher 4, with 18% of the vote.[9][3]
Are the Golden Joystick Awards voted by fans?
Mostly. 22 of the 25 categories are public votes. Streamers' Choice, Developers' Choice and Critics' Choice are picked by a jury.[6][5]
Where can I watch the Golden Joystick Awards 2026?
The full show is on the GamesRadar YouTube channel.[7][4]
References
- "All the Golden Joystick Awards 2026 winners revealed". GamesRadar+. November 11, 2026.
- "Resident Evil Requiem wins Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards 2026". GamesRadar+. November 11, 2026.
- "44th Golden Joystick Awards Winners Revealed" (organiser's results release). GoNintendo. November 11, 2026.
- "All the Winners of the 2026 Golden Joystick Awards". SteamDeckHQ. November 11, 2026.
- "The Full List Of Winners From The 2026 Golden Joystick Awards". Bleeding Cool. November 11, 2026.
- "Golden Joystick Awards 2026: All Award Winners". Insider Gaming. November 11, 2026.
- "The Golden Joysticks 2026: Full list of confirmed winners". Radio Times. November 12, 2026.
- "The Golden Joystick Awards 2026 just wrapped, Resident Evil Requiem wins Ultimate Game of the Year". Gaming Nexus. November 11, 2026.
- "The Witcher Wins Two Awards at 2026 Golden Joysticks". CD PROJEKT RED Press Center. November 11, 2026.
- "Crimson Desert wins 'PC Game of the Year' at the 2026 Golden Joystick Awards". PC Gamer. November 11, 2026.
- "007: First Light, Big Walk, and Resident Evil: Requiem lead the Golden Joystick Awards nominations". GamesRadar+. September 25, 2026.