Golden Joystick Awards 2026 Nominations Put 007: First Light and Big Walk in Front

The Golden Joystick Awards 2026 field has been revealed, giving players a sprawling ballot that stretches from major action releases and anticipated sequels to experimental indies, live-service mainstays, hardware, adaptations, and upcoming games. 007: First Light and Big Walk emerge as the most nominated games in the initial public-voting categories, earning five nominations each.

The public vote is now open for the currently announced categories and runs until October 23. A separate voting period for Ultimate Game of the Year will follow between October 26 and October 30, with that category's nominees yet to be announced. Winners across the slate will be revealed at a London ceremony on Wednesday, November 11.

This year's nominations tell a familiar but still encouraging story about the modern games business: blockbuster productions occupy plenty of space, but they share the spotlight with self-published projects, survival favorites, unusual genre hybrids, and games whose appeal rests as much on atmosphere and community as spectacle.

Big Walk and 007: First Light top the early tally

Big Walk lands nominations for Best Audio Design, Best Indie Game, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Game Trailer, and PC Game of the Year. That combination places it in both craft-focused categories and broad popularity contests, while also recognizing its place among the year's PC releases. It is joined in the multiplayer category by ARC Raiders, Marathon, MARVEL Tokon: Fighting Souls, MECCHA CHAMELEON, and Valheim.

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007: First Light has an equally varied set of five nods. The James Bond game is in contention for Best Soundtrack, Best Storytelling, and Console Game of the Year. Its cast also receives recognition: Patrick Gibson is nominated for Best Lead Performer for playing James Bond, while Lennie James is nominated for Best Supporting Performer for his work as John Greenway.

The performer categories have a notably strong mix of familiar screen talent and game-focused performances. Gibson faces Aaron Paul for Dispatch, Angela Sant'Albano for Resident Evil: Requiem, Anna Demetriou for Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, Liam McIntyre for Marvel's Wolverine, and Will de Renzy-Martin for The Blood of Dawnwalker. In supporting performance, James is up against Frankie Kevich, Grace Saif, Terry O'Quinn, Troy Baker, and Vic Michaelis.

Resident Evil: Requiem and a busy group of three-time nominees

Resident Evil: Requiem sits just behind the leaders with three nominations: Best Game Trailer, Console Game of the Year, and Best Lead Performer for Angela Sant'Albano's portrayal of Grace Ashcroft. Its trailer nomination comes for "Evil Has Always Had A Name," where it will compete against trailers from Battlefield 6, Big Walk, Cairn, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire, and Prove You're Human.

A diverse group of games also earns three nominations each: MECCHA CHAMELEON, Mewgenics, The Blood of Dawnwalker, Valheim, and SAROS. Their appearances across the ballot underline how differently a game can make an awards impact. Mewgenics is recognized in Best Indie Game - Self-published, Best Soundtrack, and PC Game of the Year, while Valheim appears in Best Indie Game, Best Multiplayer Game, and PC Game of the Year.

The Blood of Dawnwalker receives attention for storytelling, PC Game of the Year, and lead performance. SAROS is represented in audio design, visual design, and Console Game of the Year. MECCHA CHAMELEON is a contender in self-published indie, multiplayer, and PC Game of the Year categories.

Several categories look especially competitive. Best Storytelling features 007: First Light, Dispatch, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, SILENT HILL: Townfall, The Blood of Dawnwalker, and ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies. Best Soundtrack includes 007: First Light alongside Crimson Desert, Dispatch, Lumines Arise, Mewgenics, and Mixtape. These are categories where players can weigh everything from a game's world-building and character work to the way music shapes its identity.

Indies, remakes, and technical craft get a wide-ranging ballot

The Best Indie Game category is packed with games that vary sharply in scale and style. Big Walk is joined by Denshattack!, Esoteric Ebb, Mixtape, MOUSE: P.I. for Hire, Order of the Sinking Star, REANIMAL, Sovereign, Tower, Titanium Court, and Valheim. The separate self-published category gives another set of teams a dedicated platform, with Cairn, Fields of Mistria, MECCHA CHAMELEON, Mewgenics, Mina the Hollower, Perfect Tides: Station to Station, Phonopolis, Rhythm Doctor, The Incident at Galley House, and Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors all nominated.

Best Audio Design includes Big Walk, Marathon, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Rhythm Heaven Groove, SAROS, and Star Wars: Galactic Racer. Visual Design has another varied list in Control Resonant, Forza Horizon 6, Orbitals, Phonopolis, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, and SAROS.

For players interested in reworked classics, Best Remake / Remaster includes Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, Gothic 1 Remake, METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol.2, Star Fox, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered, and Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter. Best Game Expansion, meanwhile, highlights continued support for established games through Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven, DAVE THE DIVER - In the Jungle Content Pack, DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations, Quake: Dawn of the Machine, The Alters: Last Variable, and World of Warcraft: Midnight.

Platform awards bring together the year's biggest contenders

PC Game of the Year brings 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, and Valheim into one category. It is an unusually broad selection, covering online favorites, narrative games, strategy-minded experiences, and independent releases.

Console Game of the Year is similarly crowded. 007: First Light and Resident Evil: Requiem will compete with 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, and SAROS.

There are also awards for games that continue to hold players' attention long after launch. The Still Playing - PC & Console nominees are Apex Legends, Fortnite, GTA Online, HELLDIVERS 2, HITMAN World of Assassination, Minecraft, No Man's Sky, Palworld, The Elder Scrolls Online, Warframe, World of Warcraft, and Call of Duty: Warzone. The mobile equivalent includes Balatro, Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, MARVEL SNAP, MONOPOLY GO!, NTE: Neverness to Everness, Old School RuneScape, Pokémon GO, Roblox, Sky: Children of the Light, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Mobile, and Wuthering Waves.

Most Wanted points toward gaming's next wave

The Most Wanted Game category looks beyond 2026's current releases and provides a snapshot of the projects generating the most anticipation. Nominees include Alien: Isolation 2, ANANTA, Black Myth: Zhong Kui, EXODUS, Fable, FINAL FANTASY VII REVELATION, God of War Laufey, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, KINGDOM HEARTS IV, METRO 2039, NO LAW, Persona 6, Resident Evil Veronica, STRANGER THAN HEAVEN, Stuntman: Hollywood, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, The Witcher 4, Tides of Annihilation, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, and Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000.

Notably, the voting calendar closes before the scheduled release of GTA 6. That means it will not be eligible for the 2026/7 awards cycle's full set of major honors, despite the enormous attention surrounding the game.

Hardware, adaptations, and studio recognition round out the awards

Gaming is represented beyond software, too. Best Gaming Hardware nominees are Logitech G PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE, Razer Viper V4 Pro, Secretlab ATLAS, Sony INZONE M10S II, Steam Controller, and Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II. Best Game Adaptation recognizes Devil May Cry Season 2, Exit 8, Fallout Season 2, Iron Lung, Mortal Kombat II, and Resident Evil.

Studio of the Year nominees are CAPCOM, Frogwares, House House, IO Interactive, Nintendo EPD, and SQUARE ENIX. Jury-selected honors will also be handed out for the Streamers' Choice Award, Breakthrough Award, and Critics' Choice Award.

With public voting open until October 23, the early nomination leaders have a clear advantage in visibility, but the breadth of the ballot leaves room for nearly every kind of player to back their favorites. The Ultimate Game of the Year race remains the major unanswered question, and its later voting window will provide the final focal point before the November ceremony.