Is 2026 the last year of the big headliner Game of the Year?

Game of the Year is one of the few conversations that’s constant in gaming, no matter how much the medium or the industry changes. When December rolls around, everyone sits down and argues about what game best tickled their fancy. Over the years, it’s become less of a consensus, and smaller games like The Outer Wilds, Inscryptions, or Blue Prince have gone toe-to-toe with big triple-A hits with tremendous budgets. After this year, I wonder if it’ll have any relevance at all.

Throughout all of 2026, any conversation around gaming has a giant elephant in the room: Grand Theft Auto 6. Other developers have scrambled to avoid that game’s release window, lest they be forced to compete. The hype has built over years, and unless Rockstar releases an unprecedented stinker, this game is inevitably going to rack up award after award. Grand Theft Auto has always had more commercial appeal than its Western cousin Red Dead, and part of that is the fact that the modern setting allows for more high-octane scenarios and an arsenal of sophisticated weaponry. 

So when December and January rolls around, every outlet and critic is likely going to either grant Grand Theft Auto 6 the big prize, or they’ll pick something in deliberate contrast to it. It’s wild that the game is so anticipated, and yet most people I know aren’t that excited in discussing the campaign or speculating about the characters. Even the whole leaks brou ha ha that’s been playing out during the promotional circuit barely seems to register. Grand Theft Auto 6 is so inevitable that we’re all just waiting for it to arrive.