This is a new development in a story we reported earlier: Crimson Desert won PC Game of the Year at 2026 Golden Joystick Awards. Earlier in this story: Golden Joystick Awards reveals 2026 shortlist voting open until Oct 23.
Key facts
- Phantom Blade Zero placed second with 16% of the public vote, while Crimson Desert placed third with 15%.
- Resident Evil Requiem collected four awards at the ceremony: Ultimate Game of the Year, Console Game of the Year, Best Game Trailer, and Best Lead Performer.
- Angela Sant'Albano received Best Lead Performer for playing Grace Ashcroft in Resident Evil Requiem.
- Capcom received the Studio of the Year award at the 2026 Golden Joystick Awards.
The latest development from the 44th Golden Joystick Awards is an Ultimate Game of the Year win for Resident Evil Requiem, which took the top prize in London on November 11, 2026, with 17% of the public vote.
Phantom Blade Zero finished second with 16% of the vote, while Crimson Desert placed third with 15%. KeenGamer said CONTROL Resonant came fourth and The Blood of Dawnwalker fifth.
KeenGamer reported 12 nominees for Ultimate Game of the Year and described the contest as close. The list included 007 First Light, Dispatch, Forza Horizon 6, Pokémon Pokopia, PRAGMATA, Big Walk, and STAR WARS: Galactic Racer.
Resident Evil Requiem collected four awards at the ceremony: Ultimate Game of the Year, Console Game of the Year, Best Game Trailer, and Best Lead Performer. Angela Sant’Albano received Best Lead Performer for playing Grace Ashcroft.
Capcom also received Studio of the Year. Nintendo Life reported six awards for Capcom, while GamesIndustry.biz reported seven. GamesIndustry.biz credited the studio with Studio of the Year alongside wins for Resident Evil Requiem, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and Pragmata.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword earned Best Audio Design, and Grace Saif earned Best Supporting Performer for playing Diana in Pragmata. MECCHA CHAMELEON matched Requiem’s four-award total. HappyGamer stated that no game won more than four awards, though MECCHA CHAMELEON matched that total. KeenGamer said it won Best Multiplayer Game and Best Indie Game – Self-Published, while GamesIndustry.biz also listed Streamer’s Choice and Developer’s Choice for the title.
Other major winners included The Witcher 4 for Most Wanted Game and AdHoc’s Dispatch for Best Storytelling and Best Soundtrack. KeenGamer credited Remedy’s Control Resonant with Best Visual Design and Pearl Abyss’s Crimson Desert with PC Game of the Year.
Nintendo Life and GamesIndustry.biz both named Steam Controller the Best Gaming Hardware winner and Valheim the Best Indie Game winner. They also gave Best Early Access Game to Subnautica 2.
Nintendo Life and GamesIndustry.biz named Minecraft the Still Playing (PC & Console) winner and Balatro the Still Playing (Mobile) winner. The outlets also gave Best Remake/Remaster to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered, Best Game Adaptation to Iron Lung, and Critics’ Choice to Big Walk. KeenGamer said the show included 25 categories, with 22 winners picked by public vote and three chosen by industry judges.
Nintendo Life observed that no first-party Nintendo games received awards because Ocarina of Time launched too late to be eligible. The outlet also gave Best Game Expansion to Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations.
HappyGamer reported that the official Resident Evil X account confirmed three wins but omitted Ultimate Game of the Year from its list. Fan account Genki_JPN added that Requiem also took the top prize. The account posted, “We’re pleased to reveal that Resident Evil Requiem has won several @GoldenJoysticks Awards”
Fan account Genki_JPN posted on X that Resident Evil Requiem won the most awards at the ceremony with four, HappyGamer also reported. Genki_JPN listed Capcom’s 2026 output as Resident Evil Requiem, Monster Hunter Stories 3, Pragmata, Onimusha Way of the Sword, and Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen.
Yahoo Tech reported that Nick Apostoledes, the actor who plays Leon Kennedy, told the audience on stage that Resident Evil has lasted 30 years. He said, “Capcom, you cannot fail.”
Director Koshi Nakanishi offered pre-recorded remarks, saying he was thrilled to accept the award and calling it encouraging for a single-player game in a crowded field, Yahoo Tech also reported.
Resident Evil Requiem is the ninth mainline entry in Capcom’s horror franchise. GamesIndustry.biz and KeenGamer said it stars Grace Ashcroft and Leon S. Kennedy and combines traditional survival horror with action-focused gameplay. HappyGamer cited a Metacritic score of 92 on PC, a $69.99 Steam price with no discount, and three DLC entries.
HappyGamer dates the Steam launch to February 26, 2026, while KeenGamer dates it to February 27, 2026. HappyGamer reported that Resident Evil Veronica was revealed at Summer Game Fest in June 2026 and is scheduled for 2027 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2.
The official Resident Evil YouTube banner changed to Claire Redfield artwork from Veronica on November 7, a switch noticed by fan account kathyanhy, HappyGamer reported. Fans read it as a tease for The Game Awards, though Capcom has not confirmed anything.
HappyGamer noted that the 2025 Game Awards previously revealed Resident Evil Requiem’s Leon trailer. HappyGamer and KeenGamer identified Thursday, December 10 as the date for the 2026 Game Awards.
Yahoo Tech noted that three of Capcom’s four major releases in 2026 claimed award wins, contributing to its Studio of the Year prize, with Pragmata and Onimusha joining Requiem as winners. The outlet also said the last time a new Capcom release slipped below a Metacritic score of 80 was 2023’s Exoprimal, and that performance issues plagued Monster Hunter Wilds.
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