4 Trophies and 2026's First GOTY With 17% of the Vote: How Resident Evil Requiem Led Capcom's Golden Joystick Awards Sweep
Award season has officially delivered its first major verdict in London, and the final tally came down to the wire. At the 44th annual Golden Joystick Awards 2026 held on November 11, Resident Evil Requiem claimed the ceremony's top prize as Ultimate Game of the Year. Coming out on top of a fiercely contested race among all 12 Ultimate Game of the Year nominees at the Golden Joystick Awards 2026, director Koshi Nakanishi's survival horror blockbuster secured 17% of the public vote, narrowly edging out runner-up Phantom Blade Zero (16%) and third-place finisher Crimson Desert (15%).
Four Golden Joysticks for Grace Ashcroft and a Seven-Trophy Sweep for Capcom
Released on February 27, 2026, the ninth mainline entry in Capcom's flagship survival horror series did far more than just capture the main event trophy. Splitting its campaign between rookie FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft and seasoned agent Leon S. Kennedy, the title walked away with four major awards during the London ceremony:
- Ultimate Game of the Year: Resident Evil Requiem (17% of the public vote)
- Console Game of the Year: Resident Evil Requiem
- Best Lead Performer: Angela Sant'Albano for her performance as Grace Ashcroft in Resident Evil Requiem
- Best Game Trailer: Resident Evil Requiem for the live-action short film "Evil Always Has a Name"
That four-trophy haul anchored a landmark night for the Osaka publisher, which was officially crowned Studio of the Year. Combined with Best Audio Design for Onimusha: Way of the Sword and Best Supporting Performer for Grace Saif's portrayal of the android companion Diana in Pragmata, Capcom closed out the evening with an impressive total of seven Golden Joysticks across its 2026 lineup.
Crimson Desert, Dispatch, and Meccha Chameleon Stand Out Across the 2026 Winners List
While the three-way photo finish between Resident Evil Requiem (17%), Phantom Blade Zero (16%), and Crimson Desert (15%) headlined the final vote count, Pearl Abyss's massive open-world action RPG still secured a major platform victory by winning PC Game of the Year. Meanwhile, Dispatch pulled off a notable narrative and musical double, taking home both Best Storytelling and Best Soundtrack.
In the multiplayer and independent categories, breakout hit Meccha Chameleon scored a hat-trick across Best Multiplayer Game, Best Indie Game (Self-Published), and the Streamer's Choice Award, while Big Walk earned both the press-voted Critics' Choice Award and the peer-voted Developer's Choice Award. Elsewhere, CD Projekt celebrated wins spanning both ends of its dark fantasy timeline, with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered taking Best Remake / Remaster and The Witcher 4 winning Most Wanted Game.
| Category (Golden Joystick Awards 2026) | Official Winner |
|---|---|
| Ultimate Game of the Year | Resident Evil Requiem (17% of the vote) |
| Console Game of the Year | Resident Evil Requiem |
| PC Game of the Year | Crimson Desert |
| Studio of the Year | Capcom |
| Best Lead Performer | Angela Sant'Albano (Grace Ashcroft in Resident Evil Requiem) |
| Best Supporting Performer | Grace Saif (Diana in Pragmata) |
| Best Storytelling & Best Soundtrack | Dispatch |
| Best Visual Design | Control: Resonant |
| Best Audio Design | Onimusha: Way of the Sword |
| Best Game Expansion | DOOM: The Dark Ages - Revelations |
| Best Multiplayer & Best Self-Published Indie | Meccha Chameleon (also won Streamer's Choice) |
| Critics' Choice & Developer's Choice Award | Big Walk |
| Best Indie Game & Best Early Access Game | Valheim (Indie) / Subnautica 2 (Early Access) |
| Best Remake / Remaster | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered |
| Best Gaming Hardware & Best Adaptation | Steam Controller (Hardware) / Iron Lung (Adaptation) |
| Most Wanted Game | The Witcher 4 |
For Koshi Nakanishi, who previously directed Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, the four-award victory validates the gamble of pairing Grace Ashcroft's claustrophobic first-person tension with Leon S. Kennedy's high-stakes combat sequences, even as fans eagerly track community mods and preparations for Resident Evil Requiem's upcoming story DLC.
My Field Notes
Tracking the London results as they rolled in tonight, one number stood out above everything else: having the top three games separated by just two percentage points (17% for Resident Evil Requiem, 16% for Phantom Blade Zero, and 15% for Crimson Desert) shows just how fiercely Asian studios dominated player voting in 2026. Yet Capcom's biggest achievement tonight is portfolio depth. Taking home four trophies for Resident Evil Requiem alongside wins for Pragmata, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and Studio of the Year proves that the publisher is firing on all cylinders across veteran franchises and brand-new IP alike.
Resident Evil Requiem
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Originally from Lyon, France, gaming journalist Bastien "Orion" relocated nearly a decade ago to Quebec City's Saint-Roch district, right in the heart of eastern Canada's development studio hub. Before crossing the Atlantic, he honed his versatile reporting style across classic French gaming web portals and specialist television outlets in the 2000s and 2010s, notably with JeuxVideo.fr and JeuxNews. Equally passionate about AAA blockbusters, North American studio culture, retro preservation, and community modding projects, he anchors Pro-Gamer's transatlantic desk and real-time coverage of US and Japanese industry announcements.
