Golden Joystick Awards 2026 Vote Is Now Live

Voting is officially open in the 44th Golden Joystick Awards, the longest-running publicly voted awards in video games. The organizers revealed the nominees on September 25, 2026, and the public vote is live now at goldenjoysticks.com across 21 categories, according to GamesRadar. Ballots stay open until 4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. ET, midnight BST) on Friday, October 23, ahead of a ceremony in central London on November 11 that will be livestreamed around the world.

The field has a pair of clear leaders. 007: First Light and the indie title Big Walk collected six nominations each, while Resident Evil Requiem picked up four. A separate Golden Joystick Awards ballot for Ultimate Game of the Year opens on October 26 and runs through October 30, with its nominees revealed separately.

Who leads the shortlist

007: First Light is up for Console Game of the Year, Best Storytelling and Best Soundtrack, as reported by FullCleared. Big Walk is shortlisted for Best Indie Game, Best Audio Design and Best Game Trailer for its release-date announcement. The indie energy on this year's ballot mirrors the experimentation happening elsewhere in games, including Meta's tool that lets anyone build games from a text prompt.

Newly released titles are already on the ballot. Control Resonant is nominated for Best Visual Design, and Frankie Kevich's performance as Zoe de Vera is shortlisted for Best Supporting Performer. Silent Hill: Townfall also made the list. The Most Wanted Game category features two of the most anticipated titles on the calendar: Kingdom Hearts IV and Final Fantasy VII Revelation.

The adaptation race reads like a snapshot of gaming's current crossover moment. Best Game Adaptation nominees include the second seasons of Devil May Cry and Fallout alongside Exit 8, Iron Lung, Mortal Kombat II and Resident Evil. In early access, Subnautica 2, Slay the Spire 2, skate., MENACE, Dead as Disco and WARDOGS are all shortlisted, while the Best Game Expansion category spans Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven, Dave the Diver – In the Jungle, Doom: The Dark Ages – Revelations, Quake: Dawn of the Machine, The Alters – Last Variable and World of Warcraft: Midnight.

Hardware gets its own spotlight. The Best Gaming Hardware shortlist includes the Logitech G PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE, the Razer Viper V4 Pro, the Secretlab ATLAS, the Sony INZONE M10S II, the Steam Controller and the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II. Audio gear keeps evolving alongside it: Sennheiser's latest MOMENTUM 5 headphones ship with user-replaceable batteries.

Why this year's race looks wide open

In a statement published by MCV, the organizers said no single game dominates the field and described the race as among the "most open and unpredictable" in the show's history, adding that each public vote is "more influential than ever" in deciding the Golden Joystick Awards winners. The statement also introduced a refreshed look built around the iconic joystick trophy, which traces back to the awards' inception in 1983.

The show is known as the People's Gaming Awards for a reason. Last year drew a record twenty-one million public votes, when Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 collected seven awards including Ultimate Game of the Year.

The turnaround from nomination to ceremony is deliberately tight. Nominations opened on August 6 and closed on August 28, leaving a window of only a few weeks between the shortlist reveal and the final ballot. That compressed schedule matters for a public vote: games need to be fresh in players' minds when voting opens.

Last year's ceremony also spread prizes beyond the top winner, with Ghost of Yōtei, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Grand Theft Auto VI and PEAK each taking home multiple awards. An additional selection of critically selected winners, including the Breakthrough Award and the Critics' Choice Award, will be unveiled at the Golden Joystick Awards ceremony itself, according to MCV.

The industry's biggest blockbuster will be watching from the sidelines. Grand Theft Auto VI is not eligible for this year's awards: the ceremony lands eight days before the game's scheduled November 19 launch for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, as reported by GTAVice. The timing ends any chance of a clean sweep of this awards season and pushes Rockstar's title to the 45th Golden Joystick Awards in 2027. Games released between November 20, 2025 and the ceremony date were eligible for this year's critically selected categories, according to Out of Games.

For players, the next step is simple: pick from the main categories, cast a ballot before the deadline, and wait for the Ultimate Game of the Year vote that follows. With the field this open, every vote cast before the cutoff will help shape the Golden Joystick Awards winners list announced live from London. That public vote is the whole point of the People's Gaming Awards, a spirit shared by community stories like the 78-year-old Fortnite streamer who set a world record.