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Capcom’s Resident Evil Requiem has won Ultimate Game of the Year at the 44th Golden Joystick Awards, held in London on November 11. The survival horror sequel took 17% of the public vote, just one percentage point ahead of Phantom Blade Zero (16%), with Crimson Desert close behind on 15%, according to results reported by Insider Gaming and several other outlets.
Requiem finished the night with four trophies, tied for the most with indie hit Meccha Chameleon, and Capcom also took home Studio of the Year.
Who won Game of the Year at the Golden Joysticks 2026?
Resident Evil Requiem won Ultimate Game of the Year from a 12-game shortlist that included 007 First Light, Big Walk, Control Resonant, Crimson Desert, Dispatch, Forza Horizon 6, Phantom Blade Zero, Pokémon Pokopia, Pragmata, Star Wars: Galactic Racer and The Blood of Dawnwalker. Most Golden Joystick categories are decided by public vote, which is why the show bills itself as the people’s gaming awards.
Notably absent: Grand Theft Auto VI, which doesn’t launch until November 19 and missed the eligibility window.
Golden Joystick Awards 2026: full winners list
- Ultimate Game of the Year: Resident Evil Requiem
- Console Game of the Year: Resident Evil Requiem
- PC Game of the Year: Crimson Desert
- Studio of the Year: Capcom
- Most Wanted Game: The Witcher 4
- Critics’ Choice: Big Walk
- Developers’ Choice: Meccha Chameleon
- Streamer’s Choice: Meccha Chameleon
- Best Multiplayer Game: Meccha Chameleon
- Best Indie Game (Self-Published): Meccha Chameleon
- Best Indie Game: Valheim
- Best Storytelling: Dispatch
- Best Game Trailer: Resident Evil Requiem
- Best Lead Performer: Angela Sant’Albano (Grace Ashcroft, Resident Evil Requiem)
- Best Supporting Performer: Grace Saif (Diana, Pragmata)
- Best Audio Design: Onimusha: Way of the Sword
- Best Early Access Game: Subnautica 2
- Best Game Expansion: Doom: The Dark Ages – Revelations
- Best Game Adaptation: Iron Lung
The ceremony had 25 categories in total, 22 decided by public vote and three by a jury, per Dot Esports.
Capcom’s big year
Capcom left London with five trophies once you count Studio of the Year, and its broader 2026 slate showed up across the ballot: Pragmata earned a performance win and Onimusha: Way of the Sword took audio. For Resident Evil, the win continues a remarkable run for a series that has reinvented itself several times since 1996. Requiem’s lead, Grace Ashcroft, was a big reason for its success, and Angela Sant’Albano’s performance was recognized accordingly.
The indie story: Meccha Chameleon
The night’s surprise was Meccha Chameleon, which several outlets describe as a two-person indie project. It matched Requiem with four awards, including Developers’ Choice, a peer-voted category that tends to signal real industry respect rather than just fan enthusiasm.
How it compares to last year
In 2025, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 swept seven Golden Joysticks, equaling Baldur’s Gate 3‘s record, and went on to dominate awards season. This year’s results are spread much more widely, and GamesRadar, which runs the show, noted that 2026 hasn’t had the same runaway frontrunner. That makes The Game Awards on December 10 far harder to call. With Zelda: Ocarina of Time‘s remake and GTA 6 landing late in the year, expect fierce debate.
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Sources: Insider Gaming, GamesRadar+, Dot Esports, EGW News, KeenGamer