Golden Joystick Awards 2026 SHOCK! Resident Evil Requiem Dominates the Winners

The Golden Joystick Awards 2026 brought another big night for video games on November 11. Held in London, the 44th edition honored games, studios, performers, hardware and upcoming releases. Resident Evil Requiem took home the ceremony’s top prize, Ultimate Game of the Year. At the same time, Dispatch and MECCHA CHAMELEON also left with multiple wins.

Capcom’s survival horror game collected four awards, including the night’s top prize. It won Ultimate Game of the Year, Console Game of the Year, Best Game Trailer and Best Lead Performer for Angela Sant’Albano’s performance as Grace Ashcroft. MECCHA CHAMELEON also won four awards, while Dispatch picked up two. That makes the results more interesting than a simple one-game sweep.

The awards took place in London and were streamed online. The ceremony marked the 44th edition of the Golden Joystick Awards, which give players a direct say in most of the results. Of the 25 categories, 22 were decided by public votes. Three awards, Streamers’ Choice, Developers’ Choice and Critics’ Choice, were selected by critics or industry figures.

Resident Evil Requiem Wins Ultimate Game of the Year

Resident Evil Requiem claimed the award that every major title wanted: Ultimate Game of the Year. The game received 17% of the public vote. Phantom Blade Zero came close with 16%, while Crimson Desert finished third with 15%. Just two percentage points separated first and third place.

That result makes the top award one of the closest races of the ceremony. Requiem won, but it did not run away with the vote. Phantom Blade Zero and Crimson Desert both had enough support to keep the final result tight. The gap between first and third place was just two percentage points, which gives a clearer picture of how competitive the final vote became.

The win also gave Capcom three other awards connected directly to Resident Evil Requiem. The game took Console Game of the Year with 27% of the vote and Best Game Trailer for “Evil Has Always Had a Name,” which also received 27%. Angela Sant’Albano won Best Lead Performer for playing Grace Ashcroft, earning 36% of the vote.

Sant’Albano’s award recognised the performance behind one of the game’s central characters. She received 36% of the vote, a higher share than Requiem earned in either the trailer or console categories. The win also gave Resident Evil Requiem recognition across several different parts of its release, from its trailer and console category to its lead performance and overall game award.

MECCHA CHAMELEON Matches the Four-Award Haul

Resident Evil Requiem was not the only game to collect four trophies. MECCHA CHAMELEON also won four categories, making it one of the ceremony’s biggest success stories.

The game won Best Multiplayer Game and Best Indie Game – Self-Published through public voting. It also received the Streamers’ Choice and Developers’ Choice awards. The latter two were selected by critics or industry figures rather than through the public vote.

This is an important detail when comparing the biggest winners. Requiem and MECCHA CHAMELEON finished with the same number of awards, but their wins came from different categories. Requiem claimed the top overall prize, while MECCHA CHAMELEON collected awards across multiplayer, independent development and industry-led picks.

Dispatch Wins Best Storytelling and Best Soundtrack

Dispatch enjoyed a strong evening, winning Best Storytelling and Best Soundtrack. The two awards recognise different parts of the experience: the writing and narrative on one hand, and the music on the other.

Its soundtrack received 26% of the vote, according to the published results. That gave Dispatch a second trophy after winning Best Storytelling.

The result also placed Dispatch among the night’s leading titles, even though it did not take one of the overall game-of-the-year awards. Its two wins show that the Golden Joystick voters recognised games for more than their technical scale or release profile.

Other Major Winners from the 2026 Ceremony

Several other games and studios earned recognition across the 25 categories. Capcom was named Studio of the Year. The publisher also earned seven awards across the ceremony, including four wins for Resident Evil Requiem, Onimusha: Way of the Sword’s Best Audio Design award, and Grace Saif’s Best Supporting Performer win for her role as Diana in PRAGMATA.

Crimson Desert won PC Game of the Year, while Control Resonant took Best Visual Design. Valheim won Best Indie Game, and Subnautica 2 received Best Early Access Game. The Steam Controller won Best Gaming Hardware. The platform awards went to different titles: Crimson Desert won on PC, while Resident Evil Requiem took the console category. That split matters because the PC and console awards recognised separate voting fields rather than forcing one game to win across every platform.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered won Best Remake/Remaster. Iron Lung received Best Game Adaptation, while Big Walk took Critics’ Choice. The Witcher 4 was named Most Wanted Game.

The awards also recognised games that continue to attract players. Minecraft won Still Playing for PC and console, while Balatro won the mobile category. These awards sit apart from the new-release categories and recognise titles that players keep returning to. Onimusha: Way of the Sword earned Best Audio Design, while the hardware category went to Valve’s Steam Controller. The Most Wanted award looked ahead to The Witcher 4, giving an upcoming game a place in the results too.

Complete Golden Joystick Awards 2026 Winners List

Here are all 25 category winners from the 44th Golden Joystick Awards, based on the published results.

What the 2026 Results Tell Us

The Golden Joystick Awards 2026 gave Resident Evil Requiem the night’s biggest honour. Still, the full results were spread across several games. Requiem and MECCHA CHAMELEON each won four categories. Dispatch added two awards, and Capcom received the Studio of the Year title.

The Ultimate Game of the Year vote was especially close. Requiem finished only one percentage point ahead of Phantom Blade Zero, with Crimson Desert two points behind the winner. Those figures show how narrow the final margin was among the leading nominees.

The public-vote format is also worth keeping in mind. Most categories let players choose their winners, while three awards came from critics or industry figures. The results therefore reflect a mix of player opinion and selected industry choices, rather than one voting method across the board.

For Capcom, the evening brought recognition for more than one game. Resident Evil Requiem won four awards, while Onimusha: Way of the Sword and PRAGMATA also appeared among the winners. That gave the company a strong showing across several categories.

Final Verdict

Resident Evil Requiem won the 2026 Golden Joystick Awards’ top prize and four awards overall. MECCHA CHAMELEON matched its four-award total, while Dispatch earned praise for its story and soundtrack. The close Ultimate Game of the Year vote gave Phantom Blade Zero and Crimson Desert a strong finish too.

Did Resident Evil Requiem deserve Ultimate Game of the Year, or would you have picked Phantom Blade Zero or Crimson Desert? Share your choice in the comments.