Time is running out to vote in the Golden Joystick Awards 2026

The Golden Joystick Awards 2026 are fast approaching with the awards ceremony taking place on 11th November. Before then, however, you can still have your say for the biggest and arguably most important category.

That category is “Ultimate Game of the Year” or UGOTY, which has 12 nominees:

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.

To vote, all you need to do is go to the official website for the awards, hosted on GamesRadar here, and have your say.

Voting is done a bit differently, however. Instead of simply selecting the game you want to win, you select three games and rank them in your preferred order. Number one is the game you want the most to win, number two less so, etc.

You don’t need to sign in or subscribed to GamesRadar+ or anything like that, so voting should just take a few seconds.

Let’s use our crystal ball to make a guess here about what will win. Given the sheer popularity of the Pokémon franchise right now, and the fervour Pokopia created when it released back in March, it is a standout for us. That being said, the fact that it’s a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive may hurt its chances, as will its release date as recency bias pushes newer games to the top.

If Pokopia doesn’t take it we can see Control Resonant making for a dark horse win. It’s a much newer game, everyone seems to love it and it has the pedigree of Remedy Entertainment. This may be our bias speaking because we love Remedy and we want to see them succeed, however.

Given how the voting works we will give a third guess for the winner. Dispatch, despite being even older than Pokopia and offering the least amount of actual gameplay, seems to have made a lasting impression on the videogame landscape. Its novelty, indie status and ability to innovate in the comic book and adventure game genres may be enough to win.

Those are our guesses, in order of likelihood, but make sure you actually vote too.

Lastly, we have to mention that, while voting for UGOTY is still open for the next day or so, the Golden Joystick Awards 2026 has many more categories that have already closed their voting back on 23rd October.

The full list of categories can be found below:

• Best Storytelling,
• Best Multiplayer Game,
• Best Visual Design,
• Best Indie Game,
• Best Indie Game – Self Published,
• Still Playing Award – PC and Console,
• Still Playing Award – Mobile,
• Best Remake/Remaster,
• Studio of the Year,
• Best Game Expansion,
• Best Audio Design,
• Best Soundtrack,
• Best Lead Performer,
• Best Supporting Performer,
• PC Game of the Year,
• Console Game of the Year,
• Best Early Access Game,
• Best Gaming Hardware,
• Best Game Adaptation,
• Best Game Trailer,
• Most Wanted Game,
• Ultimate Game of the Year [Voting still open].

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