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Golden Joystick Awards 2026 Winners: Resident Evil Requiem Takes Game of the Year, a Chameleon Takes Four
Every Golden Joystick Awards 2026 winner: Resident Evil Requiem takes Ultimate Game of the Year plus three more, Meccha Chameleon wins four, Dispatch two.
By Mahedi Hasan6 min read
The 44th Golden Joystick Awards were handed out on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, at Troxy in London, hosted by Alix Wilton Regan and streamed on YouTube, Twitch and X at 6 pm UK time (1 pm Eastern), per GGRecon's schedule. Resident Evil Requiem won Ultimate Game of the Year and three other awards; a small multiplayer game called Meccha Chameleon matched it with four; Dispatch took two. The full list, with the public vote shares the organisers published, is below, as compiled by TheGamer and Dot Esports.
The Golden Joysticks are the big public-vote awards of the year, which is why the percentages are worth reading: they tell you what people actually played and cared about in 2026, not what a jury admired. The headline number says a lot about this year: Requiem won the top prize with 17% of the vote, one point ahead of Phantom Blade Zero on 16% and two ahead of Crimson Desert on 15%. No runaway winner, which is the first time in a while.
The big ones
| Award | Winner | Vote share |
|---|---|---|
| Ultimate Game of the Year | Resident Evil Requiem | 17% (Phantom Blade Zero 16%, Crimson Desert 15%) |
| Console Game of the Year | Resident Evil Requiem | 27% (Pragmata 19%) |
| PC Game of the Year | Crimson Desert | 18% |
| Best Studio | Capcom | 57% |
| Most Wanted | The Witcher 4 | 18% |
| Critics' Choice | Big Walk | jury award |
Capcom's night was the story: Requiem's four awards and Pragmata's Best Supporting Performer win (Grace Saif, 54%) came on top of the studio award, which it took with a majority of the vote in a category that is usually split five ways.
Every other winner
| Award | Winner | Vote share |
|---|---|---|
| Best Storytelling | Dispatch | 41% |
| Best Soundtrack | Dispatch | 26% |
| Best Audio Design | Onimusha: Way of the Sword | 32% |
| Best Visual Design | Control Resonant | 31% |
| Best Multiplayer Game | Meccha Chameleon | 31% |
| Best Indie Game (Self-Published) | Meccha Chameleon | 32% |
| Streamers' Choice | Meccha Chameleon | — |
| Developers' Choice | Meccha Chameleon | — |
| Best Indie Game | Valheim | 28% |
| Best Early Access Game | Subnautica 2 | 35% |
| Best Expansion | Doom: The Dark Ages – Revelations | 33% |
| Best Remake / Remaster | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered | 37% |
| Best Game Adaptation | Iron Lung | 32% |
| Best Game Trailer | Resident Evil Requiem, "Evil Has Always Had A Name" | 27% |
| Best Lead Performer | Angela Sant'Albano, Grace Ashcroft in Resident Evil Requiem | 36% |
| Best Supporting Performer | Grace Saif, Pragmata | 54% |
| Best Hardware | Steam Controller | 51% |
| Still Playing (PC and console) | Minecraft | 23% |
| Still Playing (mobile) | Balatro | 22% |
Three things the results tell you
- A horror game won a popular vote. The Golden Joysticks usually go to the year's biggest open world or biggest RPG. Requiem winning both the console award and the overall award, on a split vote, says the series' return to slow, first-person dread landed with a wide audience, not only the fans.
- Meccha Chameleon is the surprise of the year. Four awards for a self-published multiplayer game, including the two voted by streamers and by developers, is the kind of sweep that turns a small game into a long-running one. If you haven't heard of it, you will.
- The two "Still Playing" awards are the honest ones. Minecraft on PC and console, Balatro on mobile: the games people are actually opening every day, years and months after release, are a block-building sandbox and a poker roguelike. That's the browser-game lesson too; the games that last are the ones you can open for ten minutes.
Next on the awards calendar: The Game Awards on December 10, the jury-plus-public show that decides the other "Game of the Year" people argue about.
Something free to play tonight
The winners are all paid, most are large downloads, and a few aren't on every platform. If the list put you in the mood for something right now, in a tab, free: Shamble Siege is a top-down zombie firefight with online co-op rooms for up to three players, which is the closest thing we have to the Requiem mood, in a much more cartoon way; Delve Knight is a dungeon run for people who like Phantom Blade Zero's "one more attempt" loop; and Castle Lanes is lane tower defense for a Dispatch-sized evening of planning. None of them is like the award winners in scale. All of them load in seconds.
Sources: TheGamer's live winners list and Dot Esports' report (results and vote shares), GGRecon (time, venue, host). Checked November 12, 2026.
FAQ
Who won Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards 2026?
Resident Evil Requiem won Ultimate Game of the Year with 17% of the public vote, ahead of Phantom Blade Zero on 16% and Crimson Desert on 15%. It also won Console Game of the Year, Best Game Trailer and Best Lead Performer for Angela Sant'Albano, four awards in total.
Which game won the most Golden Joysticks in 2026?
Two games tied on four. Resident Evil Requiem won Ultimate Game of the Year, Console Game of the Year, Best Trailer and Best Lead Performer. Meccha Chameleon won Best Multiplayer Game, Best Indie Game (Self-Published), Streamers' Choice and Developers' Choice. Dispatch was next with two, for Storytelling and Soundtrack.
When and where were the Golden Joystick Awards 2026 held?
Wednesday, November 11, 2026, at Troxy in London, with Alix Wilton Regan hosting. The show streamed on YouTube, Twitch and X from 6 pm UK time, 1 pm Eastern. It was the 44th edition of the awards, which have been running since 1983.
What won PC Game of the Year at the Golden Joysticks 2026?
Crimson Desert, with 18% of the vote. It also finished third in the overall Ultimate Game of the Year vote with 15%. The Steam Controller won Best Hardware with 51%, the largest share in any public category apart from Capcom's Best Studio win on 57% and Grace Saif's supporting-performer win on 54%.
How are Golden Joystick winners decided?
Most categories are a public vote that runs through October, with the Ultimate Game of the Year vote running a little later on a 12-game shortlist. The Critics' Choice award, won this year by Big Walk, is decided by a panel, and the Streamers' and Developers' Choice awards are voted by those groups.
What's the next big gaming awards show?
The Game Awards, on December 10, 2026. It combines a jury of outlets with a public vote and covers a similar set of categories, so expect Resident Evil Requiem, Crimson Desert, Phantom Blade Zero and Dispatch to be in the conversation again.
