The Game Awards 2026 are on Thursday, December 10, and the nominees still aren't out. Here's everything the show has confirmed so far, from the start time to how the winners get picked.
When are The Game Awards 2026?
The show streams live on Thursday, December 10 from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The official FAQ says the opening act starts at 7:30 p.m. ET, which is 4:30 p.m. PT.
How to watch The Game Awards
It's free. The FAQ says the show is available "to stream for free across all major streaming services." It hasn't posted a platform by platform list for this year.
Streamers can carry it too. "We welcome and encourage co-streaming," the FAQ says, and there's a sign-up on the site for official co-streamers.
If you want to be in the room, the August announcement said a limited number of public tickets would go on sale October 29 at AXS. The FAQ now points people to the Peacock Theater box office.
When do the nominees come out?
There's no exact date yet. As of November 11, the official homepage only says "2026 nominees coming mid-November."
The last two years, the list dropped on a Monday, November 18 in 2024 and November 17 in 2025. The show hasn't said it's keeping that pattern, so mid-November is a window until it posts a day.
How the voting works
Nominees in most categories come from a jury of more than 100 media and influencer outlets. Each outlet turns in one confidential, unranked ballot with its top five picks in a category. The five games that show up on the most ballots become the nominees, and a tie can push a category to six or more. Specialized juries handle categories like esports, accessibility and best adaptation.
Geoff Keighley produces the show, but he isn't on the jury and doesn't vote on nominees or winners. The FAQ says the Advisory Board has no involvement either and learns the results at the same time as the public.
Winners come from a blended vote, 90% jury and 10% fans. Fan voting is on TheGameAwards.com, and on Bilibili in China, and it closes Wednesday, December 9 at 6 p.m. PT.
Which games are eligible?
A game has to be commercially available on or before Friday, November 20, 2026 at 9 p.m. PT. Players' Voice has a later cutoff, November 30.
There's no entry fee and no submission process. The FAQ says "all games are automatically eligible for nomination." Early access games, DLC, expansions, remakes and remasters can get in as well if the jury thinks the work earned it.
Is GTA VI eligible?
Yes. Rockstar's launch date is November 19, one day inside the cutoff.
Eligible doesn't mean nominated, though. The jury still has to put the game on enough ballots, and a mid-November nominee list would land before launch day. The FAQ says publishers "may provide advance or pre-release access to games" so outlets can meet balloting deadlines. There's more on that in GTA VI Made the Game Awards Cutoff by One Day.
Who won Game of the Year last year?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025. It also took Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music and Best Independent Game.
This page gets updated when the nominees land. Who's your Game of the Year pick? Come tell us in the CXM Discord.
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