We are getting to the business end of the competition for Game of the Year at the 13th Game Awards, set for Dec. 10; with only a couple of exceptions, most of the key competitors are out there. And it has to be said that the likelihood of anything emerging to stop Grand Theft Auto 6 from sweeping the night looks increasingly slim in what is turning out to be a much weaker year than it looked on paper. At this point, we have a clear idea of what games will be favored by The Game Awards' voting body: A high Metacritic rating (preferably over 90) is a must; role-playing games and action-adventures are strongly favored, as are games with strong narrative elements; indie and multiplayer games struggle harder for recognition than AAA single-player adventures.
We used these metrics to correctly predict last year's winner, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and the 2024 winner, Astro Bot. In 2025, we also predicted all six GOTY nominees and correctly called 20 other categories. Below, you'll find our predictions for the most likely nominees, of which there are six each year, for Game of the Year 2026 — taken only from games that have already been released (or made available for review).
We'll update these rankings throughout the year as new games are released. We'll also list some likely upcoming contenders and some of the 2026 GOTY race's dark horses, too. Update (Oct. 27): We've reached the end of October, but two key competitors are still yet to come: Grand Theft Auto 6 and Nintendo's remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Phantom Blade Zero has made a minor splash and shaken up the rankings; it seems like the final in the coffin of Crimson Desert's hopes. And nominations for the Golden Joystick Awards' Ultimate Game of the Year award have been revealed — never a strong predictor for The Game Awards, but indicative of a few titles' momentum. Why it could win: Resident Evil is a reliable contender at The Game Awards, with three GOTY nominations since 2019, and many more in other categories.
Requiem combines the fan appeal of the remakes with the freshness of a new entry, and blends their gameplay successfully, too. It's slickly produced, digestible, thrilling, with both global appeal and a serious side: a perfect Game Awards GOTY contender. Weaknesses: Requiem's critical reception was very good overall, but perhaps a tiny bit soft to be a true GOTY contender — it sits in the high 80s on Metacritic and OpenCritic.
How well it fares in the long run will depend on the strength of the competition, but for now, it's in the lead. Momentum (holding steady): Potential challengers to Requiem's status as pack leader just keep falling by the wayside. Nothing else released this year combines critical acclaim with a perfect Game Awards genre profile so effectively, and nothing else will until GTA 6 comes out.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
