WHAT ARE THE GOLDEN JOYSTICKS?
The Golden Joystick Awards are often called the ‘people’s awards’, which is why they hold such a special significance in the gaming calendar. As the show enters its 44th year, we’re consistently humbled by the millions of fans worldwide who vote to show their support for their favourite games.
 
HOW DO WE DECIDE WHICH GAMES TO INCLUDE?

Voting is keenly contested, with some of 2026’s key awards being decided by a handful of votes. However, the competition begins even earlier, when the Golden Joystick judging panel meets to compile our shortlist of nominees - and we need your help.

As hard as we strive to create a diverse list of categories and nominees which represent the best that gaming has to offer, we’re almost inevitably forced to omit some much-loved and popular titles. Perhaps you’ve sent us an email to ask why a certain game or developer hasn’t made the shortlist - and we’d like to make that process even more transparent.

HOW CAN YOU NOMINATE A GAME FOR CONSIDERATION?

How can you help? We’d love you to nominate the games, people and studios that you represent for this year’s categories. The final shortlist will still be chosen by the Golden Joystick Awards judging panel, comprising of Future editors and our trusted network of journalists, and we want to make sure that as wide a pool of potential nominees is being considered as possible.

Simply nominate your choices in the drop-down form below, which will be added to our long list of potential nominations. We can’t guarantee that every nominated game will make the shortlist… but you can be assured that it will be considered and debated by our judging panel.

WHAT IS THE CRITERIA FOR NOMINATION?

The deadline for nominations is 28th August at 10am PDT/ 1pm EDT/ 6pm BST

CRITERIA FOR NOMINATION:

  • To be eligible for core voting across 22 categories, the game must have been released between 1st November 2025 and 25th September 2026.
  • Exceptions are sometimes made for games that release early in the public voting window, which might have already been extensively played or tested by our judges (for example, if we received a copy weeks earlier for an embargoed review)
  • Ongoing / online games which launched before this period are eligible for the ‘Still Playing’ and ‘Best Game Expansion’ categories.
  • Games set for release after 11th November 2026 will be eligible for the Most Wanted award.
  • Games released between 25th September 2026 and 26th October 2026 will be considered for Ultimate Game of the Year.
  • Exceptions are sometimes made for games that release early in the Ultimate Game of the Year voting window (e.g. 27th October 2026), which might have already been extensively played or tested by our judges (for example, if we received a copy weeks earlier for an embargoed review).
  • Games released between 20th November 2025 and 11th November 2026 will be considered for our 2026 critically selected categories.
WHEN IS THE DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS?
The deadline for nominations is 28th August at 10am PDT/ 1pm EDT/ 6pm BST. Don’t hesitate to reach out to kate.smith@futurenet.com if you have any further questions about the nomination process. The final shortlist will be announced on 25th September, with the vote opening on the same date.