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There is no confirmed “last” nominee for The Game Awards 2026 yet. As of October 4, the awards’ official nominee page still shows the 2025 list, so any prediction about the final Game of the Year slot is speculative. Resident Evil Requiem, Crimson Desert, 007 First Light, Forza Horizon 6, Slay the Spire 2, PRAGMATA and others have plausible cases—but neither review averages nor another awards show’s shortlist reveals what The Game Awards jury will choose.
What “the final nomination” means right now
The Game Awards has not confirmed its 2026 nominees on the official page available as of October 4, 2026; that page displays the 2025 list. “Final nomination” therefore means a prediction about the last place on a future shortlist, not an announced slot. The awards’ voting jury comprises more than 100 media and influencer outlets around the world, but no cited source establishes a formula that turns review scores into nominations.
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That distinction matters when using “8/10” as shorthand. The evidence here does not establish that every leading contender has an exact 8/10 score, nor that a particular score predicts jury support. Treat the label as a description of a crowded field of games with varied levels of critical and audience enthusiasm—not as a verified score for every title.
Which games look like contenders?
A June 26 PC Gamer reader poll offers one snapshot of interest, not a representative survey or a prediction model. Its options were limited to nine games, and the largest response was for none of them.
#1 Best Overall
| Game or response | Share of PC Gamer poll |
|---|---|
| Resident Evil Requiem | 16% |
| Crimson Desert | 12% |
| 007 First Light | 9% |
| Slay the Spire 2 | 8% |
| Forza Horizon 6 | 8% |
| PRAGMATA | 7% |
| Mewgenics | 5% |
| None of the nine options | 29% |
These are percentages from PC Gamer’s reader poll published June 26, 2026, not critics’ scores, a vote by all players, or an estimate of the eventual jury result. The 29% selecting none of the listed games also signals that the poll’s choices did not capture everyone’s likely pick.
Why the poll leaders have visibility
Resident Evil Requiem led the poll, with Crimson Desert second. 007 First Light followed, while Forza Horizon 6 and Slay the Spire 2 tied behind it. PRAGMATA and Mewgenics also drew votes. This ordering can help identify games that attracted attention among PC Gamer readers, but it cannot establish which titles have the broadest support among The Game Awards’ voting outlets.
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What a separate awards shortlist adds
The September 29 Golden Joystick report shows just how wide the conversation is across platforms and genres. Its console Game of the Year nominees include 007 First Light, Forza Horizon 6, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, Nioh 3, Pokémon Pokopia, PRAGMATA, Resident Evil Requiem and Saros. Its PC nominees include Big Walk, Crimson Desert, Escape from Tarkov, Esoteric Ebb, Mewgenics, Order of the Sinking Star, Star Wars Zero Company and Valheim. Those are Golden Joystick nominations, not The Game Awards’ shortlist.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Golden Joystick content director Daniel Dawkins described that awards field as unusually open: “This year, no single game dominates the field, this is one of our most open and unpredictable years yet – making your vote more influential than ever in deciding our winners.” His comment refers to the Golden Joystick field and public voting, not The Game Awards’ jury process.
Why review averages cannot settle the last slot
Review-score roundups have their own dates and inclusion rules. Metacritic’s midyear 2026 ranking used scores available as of July 1 and required at least seven professional reviews. It excluded ports of older games, expansions and downloadable content, mobile games, compilations, and definitive or Game of the Year editions. That makes it a dated, filtered snapshot—not an October ranking or a guide to The Game Awards nominations.
A fair comparison between contenders can consider several lenses, without pretending they are official jury criteria:
Rank #4
- Breadth of critical support: whether approval is spread across multiple outlets rather than concentrated in a few especially positive reviews.
- High-end enthusiasm: whether some critics champion a game strongly, even if its overall reception is more mixed.
- Audience visibility: whether players are talking about the game, while remembering that reader polls are not jury ballots.
- Genre and platform reach: a broad audience may help a game stay in the conversation, but does not guarantee a nomination.
- Release and review timing: when a game becomes eligible and when coverage appears can affect how much attention it receives. The available sources do not establish the outcome for any specific contender on this basis.
None of these lenses supplies a reliable ranking of the final slot. The jury process, the poll and the Golden Joystick lists measure different things.
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Not necessarily. Awards can use one year for the event and another for the games being honored. The Game Developers Choice Awards, for example, describes its 2026 event as honoring the best games of 2025. When comparing programs, check the eligibility year as well as the ceremony year; the word “2026” alone does not establish that both lists cover 2026 releases.
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How to read the forecast
For now, the best-supported conclusion is that the field is broad and the final Game of the Year lineup is unknown. The PC Gamer poll puts several recognizable titles in its leading group, while the Golden Joystick lists show additional contenders across PC and console. Neither establishes a frontrunner for The Game Awards’ last nomination. Once the official 2026 nominees are published, the forecast should give way to the actual shortlist.
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