It’s not even November yet, but the 2026 video game awards season, which essentially stretches from now until the BAFTAs in the spring, has already kicked off. The Golden Joystick Awards, essentially the Iowa Caucus of video game awards season, revealed its Ultimate Game of the Year contenders this week and we already have what some will see as the first big snub for Gears of War: E-Day.
The Coalition’s excellent and gorgeous-looking sci-fi shooter was not among the 12 games selected for voting on by the public in the Golden Joysticks’ GOTY category. Here’s the full list:
- 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
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
🚀… pic.twitter.com/BcaGT9QP5S— Golden Joysticks (@GoldenJoysticks) October 26, 2026
All of this is subjective, of course, and from my perch there’s no obviously wrong choices here, though I personally probably would have snuck E-Day in over The Blood of Dawnwalker (great but rough around the edges) or Forza Horizon 6 (not as good as Horizon 5). For sensitive console warriors, however, the Xbox tax will appear live and well.
More curious for some will be Phantom Blade Zero sneaking onto the nomination list despite not coming out until October 28, just two days before public voting for GOTY wraps. It doesn’t make any of the voting cut-offs for the Golden Joysticks, though the awards page does note that exceptions can be made. Obviously Grand Theft Auto 6 completely missed the nomination window, though it’ll be eligible for the forward-looking “Most Wanted” category.
Golden Joystick Awards voting across 21 categories has already wrapped, with the full list of winners getting announced during the live ceremony on November 11. Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards will take place a month later on December 10.