GTA 6 Won't Officially Break Clair Obscur's Big GOTY Record

Published Sep 28, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT Oli Welsh has been covering the business and culture of video games for two decades. He started out writing for Edge and other publications (specializing in MMOs and Blizzard, as cover for his World of Warcraft playtime) before joining Eurogamer, where he worked for 14 years as reviews editor, deputy editor, and editor-in-chief; Eurogamer won many Games Media Awards during his tenure. At Polygon, he writes about film and TV as well as games, and provides news, analysis, and criticism on the entertainment we love and the industries that make it, all from his home in London. He loves role-playing, racing, puzzles, tactics, exploration, storytelling, Nintendo, mysteries, spies, fantasy, reality, cars, and classic cinema. He wanted to be a movie critic when he grew up, and now he’s definitely grown up, and occasionally is one. He considers this a win. Rockstar's behemoth is ineligible for the Golden Joystick Awards, meaning a Big Five slam is off the cards Image: Rockstar Games Sign in to your Polygon.com account Grand Theft Auto 6 is still the overwhelming favorite to win Game of the Year at The Game Awards in December — and, indeed, at all the other awards ceremonies that will follow it through the early months of 2027. But GTA 6 will miss out at The Game Awards' sole precursor, the Golden Joystick Awards. Rockstar Games' latest is ineligible at the U.K. awards ceremony for a simple reason: It's released on Nov. 19, a week after the fan-voted Joystick Awards are doled out on Nov. 11. Voting takes place between now and the end of October. There would be no way for the community to play it and judge it. This means that, while a GTA 6 sweep of the other major awards ceremonies seems more inevitable by the day, one major feat will elude it. It can't complete a win of all the Big Five game of the year awards — the Joysticks, The Game Awards, the DICE Awards, the GDC Awards, and the BAFTA Game Awards — in a single year. This GOTY grand slam has only ever been achieved twice, both recently: by Baldur's Gate 3 in 2023 and by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 last year. If GTA 6 can score GOTY wins at TGA, DICE, GDC, and BAFTA, it can still technically complete the set with a win at the 2027 Golden Joystick Awards in a year's time. Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim did this in similar circumstances back in 2011/2012, although it was denied a Big Five sweep by BAFTA (it's always BAFTA), which picked Portal 2 instead. GTA 6 could be Rockstar's first GOTY win since 2013, when Grand Theft Auto 5 won Game of the Year at the Golden Joysticks and the Game Awards predecessor VGX. In 2018, Red Dead Redemption 2 was edged out at all major awards by God of War and, at the Joysticks, Fortnite. Voting is now open in all categories of the Golden Joystick Awards save Ultimate Game of the Year, which will go to the polls from Oct. 26 to Oct. 30. You can check out the full list of nominees here. While the Joysticks isn't a particularly strong predictor for success at The Game Awards, the strength of two games in its nomination field is notable: James Bond adventure 007 First Light and indie co-op game Big Walk are tied in first place with five nominations apiece. The place of both among the 2026 Game Awards GOTY front-runners now looks that little bit more secure.