The publicly voted Golden Joystick Awards return for their 44th edition. Presented by Pot Noodle, the Golden Joystick Awards 2026 will reveal this year’s winners in a live ceremony on Wednesday, November 11.
According to information Oyun Günlüğü obtained from the Golden Joystick Awards press release, the show starts at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm GMT / 7pm CEST. The ceremony will be hosted by actor Alix Wilton Regan, who plays Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis.
How to watch the Golden Joystick Awards
The ceremony can be watched live on YouTube, Twitch, Steam, TikTok and X, as well as through Future Games Show, PC Gamer, WhatCulture Gaming, IGN, Ginx TV, eClutch, Niconico, Kuaishou and Bilibili.
Regan will be joined on stage by guest presenters from across the industry: Rare Ltd composer Chloe Kwok, art and creative director Rex Crowle, Paddle Paddle Paddle developer Mateo Covic, presenter and actor Alices Pixels, Resident Evil Requiem actor Nick Apostolides, Star Wars: Galactic Racer actor Richard Summers-Calvert, CD Projekt Red production director Malgorzata Mitrega, composer Richard Jacques and Control Resonant actor Frankie Kevich.
Games in the running
This year’s nominees include 007 First Light, Big Walk, Crimson Desert, Control Resonant, Dispatch, Forza Horizon 6, Meccha Chameleon, Mewgenics, Resident Evil Requiem, Phantom Blade Zero, Pokémon Pokopia, Saros, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, The Blood of Dawnwalker and Valheim. The full list of nominees is available on GamesRadar+.
Awards across 25 categories
Celebrating the people and products that shaped the games industry in 2026, the event features 25 categories, 22 of which were voted for by players worldwide. The remaining three are critically chosen: Streamers’ Choice, Critics’ Choice and the new Developers’ Choice award, which lets game makers honor the achievements of their peers. First held in 1983, the Golden Joystick Awards are the world’s longest-running publicly voted gaming awards.
Host Alix Wilton Regan said the show will celebrate the best games of the past 12 months and, more importantly, the talented teams behind them, promising an evening of special guests, spectacular games and plenty of jokes.
Daniel Dawkins, Content Director of the Golden Joystick Awards, said this year’s shortlist offers a cross-section of the industry in 2026, with small indie teams sitting alongside giant franchises like Pokémon and Resident Evil and major IPs like Star Wars and James Bond. Dawkins also noted that the Golden Joystick Awards are the only games awards show chosen by the players.
