Golden Joystick Awards 2026: The Shortlist Is Here – Here's How to Vote Now

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Golden Joystick Awards 2026: The Shortlist Is Here – Here's How to Vote Now.

The 44th Golden Joystick Awards are just around the corner, and from now on you can help decide who takes home the coveted trophy this year. The shortlist is set, voting is underway — and the early favorites have already made themselves clearly known. Anyone looking to have a say in the gaming world's awards has until Thursday, October 23 to cast their vote.

All in all, 21 awards will be handed out, three of them determined by a jury: the Streamers' Choice Award, Breakthrough Award, and Critics' Choice Award. In every other category, your vote counts. According to the reports on hand, there are 168 nominations on the table — more than enough material for every gaming taste to find a box to tick.

Who's leading the pack?

Out in front are 007 First Light from IO Interactive, the Bond RPG, and Big Walk from House House, the social exploration game. The sources differ slightly here: Outrun Gaming reports six nominations for each, while ixbt.games counts five nods for both. In substance, both agree that these two titles are leading this year's race.

Big Walk shows up in categories including Best Audio Design, Best Indie Game, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Game Trailer, and PC Game of the Year. For 007 First Light, the list reads similarly varied according to the reports — you'll find details on all categories directly on the voting page.

PC Game of the Year: Ten games in the running

If you're on PC, this is probably the category that interests you most: PC Game of the Year. According to Shane the Gamer, the lineup features Big Walk, Crimson Desert, and Valheim — plus seven other games. That makes ten contenders for the year's most important PC award.

What's striking at first glance: GTA 6 is missing entirely from the shortlist — a point that Gamertagmythras highlights specifically. So if you're looking for a particular blockbuster, you won't find it this year. The nominated titles instead lean more heavily toward the indie and mid-budget end of the spectrum.

When does voting end?

The end of voting depends a little on where you're sitting. Gamertagmythras gives October 23 at 4 PM PT (Pacific Time), Shane the Gamer converts that to Australia and New Zealand and lands on Saturday morning, October 24. For German-speaking regions, that means: if you haven't voted by Thursday evening, you'd better get a move on.

How can you vote?

Voting runs entirely online via the official Golden Joystick website. You pick your favorite categories, click through the nominees, and submit your picks. The three jury categories (Streamers' Choice, Breakthrough, Critics' Choice) aren't unlocked for community voting — those are awarded separately by expert panels.

If you have your own take on this year's gaming calendar, this is your shot to put it to a vote — before the awards are handed out in November.