There's a New GOTY 2026 Contender — and Many More Around the Corner
The 13th Game Awards, set for Dec. 10, will surely be dominated by Grand Theft Auto 6. Or will they? If the release date for Rockstar's game slips by more than one day, it will be ineligible, and even if it doesn't, it's cutting things fine in terms of the jury having time to play and consider it. It's not like other developers can't get the upper hand in the Game of the Year race, as well: just look at 2018's God of War and 2013's The Last of Us, which defeated Rockstar behemoths Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 5 at many award shows. This still has the potential to be an exciting race.
At this point, we have a clear idea of what to expect from The Game Awards' voting body, which is composed of a wide range of international games media (Polygon included), with a 10% contribution from fan voting. There are a number of strong indicators for what will perform well in the Game of the Year category. 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). Unlike the film industry, where most titles are known quantities well in advance, you never really know what kind of impact a video game will have, or how good it will be, until it's out (and release date slippage is much more common, too). 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.
1 Resident Evil Requiem
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): Requiem is no longer at the top of the critics' ranking for the year. But its broad appeal and position in a genre sweet spot for the awards mean it clings on to its lead for now.
Read Giovanni Colantonio's full review of Resident Evil Requiem.
2 Big Walk
Why it could win: House House's co-op puzzle adventure has a fantastic critical reputation — it currently sits at 92 on Metacritic, higher than any other game on this list. The developer has pedigree: Untitled Goose Game was a dark horse GOTY contender in 2019, and even won the overall award at DICE. It's a refined design in a currently voguish genre. Co-op games go down well at The Game Awards (It Takes Two won in 2021). And there's a good chance jury members have had a good time playing it together.
Weaknesses: As an online multiplayer game, best experienced with a group of friends, Big Walk requires time and social organization to experience properly, which may be tricky for many jury members. Also, it might get market-checked by Orbitals, another indie co-op adventure, which is easily playable in local co-op.
Momentum (new entry): Big Walk is currently enjoying its post-release honeymoon period, and sales are strong. It's the top indie contender — for now.
Read Giovanni Colantonio, Julia Lee, and Johnny Yu's full review of Big Walk.
3 Crimson Desert
Why it could win: An action-RPG with huge scope, variety, and amazing technical polish, Crimson Desert is exactly the sort of game that does well at The Game Awards. It sold extremely well globally, and it has the kind of passionate "outsider AAA" following that propelled Black Myth: Wukong to a GOTY nomination in 2024 despite mediocre reviews and also served Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 well in 2025.
Weaknesses: It just didn't review well enough. There's no precedent for a game with a Metascore below 80 getting nominated for Game of the Year, and Crimson Desert sits at 77. Among its many weaknesses in the eyes of critics are story and game design, both of which the jury prizes highly.
Momentum (holding steady): It's hard to believe, and it flies in the face of all precedent, but Crimson Desert has survived a tough critical reception and is quickly establishing a No Man's Sky-style phoenix narrative as developer Pearl Abyss piles on the updates. It feels like it's going the distance.
Read Marloes Valentina Stella's full review of Crimson Desert.
4 Pokémon Pokopia
Why it could win: There's an extraordinary warmth to Pokopia's critical reception, fueled by a combination of deep nostalgia and surprise that a Pokémon spinoff turned out to be so high-quality. It just makes people feel good.
Weaknesses: No Pokémon game has ever been nominated for Game of the Year — though very widely played, there's a sense that they're not taken fully seriously by critics. The life-sim genre isn't particularly favored by the jury, and Pokopia's storytelling style is a little oblique.
Momentum (holding steady): Pokopia still looks like an awkward fit in the GOTY race, but its reputation with critics and players persists, and it's selling a lot of Switch 2 consoles.
Read Giovanni Colantonio's full review of Pokémon Pokopia.
5 Mina the Hollower
Why it could win: Yacht Club Games' follow-up to the Shovel Knight series has received universal acclaim from critics. It's loved for its design, story, and sense of mystery, and smartly references many hallowed touchpoints of the medium, like Zelda and Dark Souls. It's this year's Hollow Knight: Silksong.
Weaknesses: Like Silksong, it's a difficult game, which might dissuade some jury members from giving it enough time. The retro graphical style, as charming and well-executed as it is, seldom finds favor at The Game Awards, too.
Momentum (📉 from No. 2): Mina the Hollower is still beloved by the critical community, but it hasn't resonated with a broad spectrum of players. And in the indie race, it's been edged out by Big Walk. Its days as a likely nominee may be numbered.
Read Giovanni Colantonio's full review of Mina the Hollower.
6 007 First Light
Why it could win: IO Interactive's debut James Bond game has made a confident splash with critics, earning a decent 87 Metascore. This kind of slick, cinematic action-adventure usually goes down well with the jury, while the inclusion of some of Hitman developer IO's trademark "social stealth" gameplay lends it additional gamer cred.
Weaknesses: Licensed games very rarely get nominated for Game of the Year, and First Light's critical reception is a little soft, with some reviewers unimpressed by IO's shift in a more commercial direction. It's liable to be outclassed in its field by the likes of Marvel's Wolverine.
Momentum (new entry): First Light has done enough to elbow out other action games like Pragmata and Saros, but much will depend on how the competition pans out and if it's a hit with players.
Read Ford James' full review of 007 First Light.
GOTY 2026 dark horses
Pragmata: Capcom's endearingly old-school sci-fi action game has some strong sentiment behind it, and gameplay that's innovative enough to register.
Forza Horizon 6: No racing game has ever been nominated for Game of the Year, but if one ever stood a chance, it would be Playground Games' consummate sequel with its fabulous, emotive Japanese setting.
Saros: Housemarque's hard-as-nails action games always go down well with critics, and Saros is both more welcoming and legible in its storytelling, but it hasn't generated much conversation.
Mixtape: This heartfelt indie with outstanding production values was an outside bet even before it suffered from poisonous discourse, but it will have strong advocates on the jury all the same.
Mewgenics: Edmund McMillen's twisted cat-breeding tactics game has been a big hit on Steam and with critics. It stands a chance of breaking through with its upcoming console versions.
Upcoming GOTY 2026 contenders
Grand Theft Auto 6: The presumptive Game of the Year looks like a dead cert… as long as it makes its release date, which is only days before The Game Awards' eligibility deadline.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Remakes are rarely considered worthy by the jury, but Nintendo's lavish remounting of what many consider to be the greatest game of all time will surely be the exception that proves the rule.
Control Resonant: Alan Wake 2 was popular with the jury in 2023, Control is a critics' fave, and Remedy has the rare combination of blockbuster chops and indie cred. A real threat.
The Blood of Dawnwalker: Ex-Witcher 3 devs looking to follow up their GOTY winner with a similarly textured, story-forward, dark fantasy RPG in the "outsider AAA" space: it's a recipe for a GOTY nomination at least.
Marvel's Wolverine: Licensed games are at a disadvantage at The Game Awards, but Insomniac's brand of assured mainstream storytelling and spectacular production can (and has) overcome that.
Also: Slay the Spire 2 (if it emerges from early access this year), Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, Orbitals, The Duskbloods, Phantom Blade: Zero, and Gears of War: E-day