The gamescom award 2026 nomination list has been unveiled today, ahead of Opening Night Live.
Video game awards season kicks off, as the gamescom award 2026 have been announced! The international jury of leading games journalists and content creators has selected the most exciting titles from a large number of submissions, all of which will be playable in the entertainment area at gamescom 2026. Leading the pack with five nominations, Metro: 2039 from 4A Games and Deep Silver is being nominated for Best Visuals and Most Epic categories. It is also being nominated across all platforms the game will be released on.
Second on the list is the indie game that premiered at gamescom Opening Night Live last year, Denshattack!—developed and published by Undercoders and Fireshine Games. Denshattack! received four nominations, but so has the horror-survival action game Alien: Isolation 2. Creative Assembly and SEGA hope that their efforts will hit on the same notes as its predecessor game that released almost 12 years ago.
Total War: Warhammer 40,000, also from Creative Assembly, and RGG Studio’s Stranger Than Heaven each got two nominations. Surprisingly, SEGA, as a publisher, received eight total nominations this time around—leaving plenty of room to win at this year’s gamescom award. It is also great to see Forza Horizon 6, from Playground Games and Xbox Game Studios, get its recognition representing the best of recent racing games. Forza Horizon 6 is up for three nominations. The beautiful adventure-climbing sim Cairn is up for two nominations, coming from The Game Bakers.
Most excitingly, there are still gamescom award 2026 categories open for gamescom fans and visitors. From Wednesday, August 26 until Thursday August 27 at 7:00 AM EST, cast your votes for favourite games in the ARTS and PLATFORM categories, as well as Best Booth (Consumer Award), Best Merch and Best Trailer/Announcement. Voting will take place in-person via QR code, and the official gamescom website.
CGMagazine’s very own Editor-in-Chief serves as a member of the official international judging panel and expert jury for the gamescom award. CGMagazine will be on the gamescom 2026 show floor, so be sure to stay tuned in for all the exciting video game updates coming out of Cologne, Germany!
Here is the full list of the gamescom award 2026 nominees:
ARTS Group:
Best Visuals
- Alien: Isolation 2 – Creative Assembly/SEGA
- DEPERSON – Error Thing/Parco Games
- Forza Horizon 6 – Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
- Inkblood – HeyBird!/Critical Reflex
- METRO: 2039 – 4A Games/Deep Silver
Best Audio
- Alien: Isolation 2 – Creative Assembly/SEGA
- Cairn – The Game Bakers
- Denshattack! – Undercoders/Fireshine Games
- Forza Horizon 6 – Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
- There are No Ghosts at the Grand – Friday Sundae
Best Gameplay
- Alien: Isolation 2 – Creative Assembly/SEGA
- Cairn – The Game Bakers
- Denshattack! – Undercoders/Fireshine Games
- Onimusha: Way of the Sword – Capcom
- The Blood of Dawnwalker – Rebel Wolves/Bandai Namco Entertainment
Most Entertaining
- Bad Magpie – Milktooth
- Denshattack! – Undercoders/Fireshine Games
- Escape from Duckov – Team Soda/bilibili
- There are No Ghosts at the Grand – Friday Sundae
- Wanderburg – Randwerk/Sidekick Publishing
Most Epic
- Crimson Desert – Pearl Abyss
- METRO: 2039 – 4A Games/Deep Silver
- STRANGER THAN HEAVEN – RGG Studio/SEGA
- Tides of Annihilation – Eclipse Glow Games
- Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 – Creative Assembly/SEGA
Most Wholesome
- Age Twisters – Piccolo Studio/KRAFTON
- Book Nook – Malapata Studios/Wings
- Finding Polka – lidlocks/Parco Games
- Garden Ink – Kranich Games
- OPUS: Prism Peak – Sigono/ Shueisha Games
Games for Impact
- Fishbowl – imissmyfriends.studio/Wholesome Games Presents
- Media Circus – Papercoda Games
- OPUS: Prism Peak – Sigono/ Shueisha Games
- SOKO 1977: Anti-Terror Task Force – Paintbucket Games/Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung
- The Regreening – Positive Impact Games/ByteRockers’ Games
PLATFORM Group:
Best Microsoft Xbox Game
- Forza Horizon 6 – Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
- Gears of War: E-Day – The Coalition/ Xbox Game Studios
- Halo: Campaign Evolved – Halo Studios/Xbox Game Studios
- METRO: 2039 – 4A Games/Deep Silver
- STRANGER THAN HEAVEN – RGG Studio/SEGA
Best PC Game
- Alien: Isolation 2 – Creative Assembly/SEGA
- Crimson Desert – Pearl Abyss
- Guns of Eschaton – Eschatology Entertainment/ 4Divinity
- METRO: 2039 – 4A Games/Deep Silver
- Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 – Creative Assembly/SEGA
Best Sony PlayStation Game
- Dragon’s Dogma 2 Dark Arisen – Capcom
- METRO: 2039 – 4A Games/Deep Silver
- Onimusha: Way of the Sword – Capcom
- The Blood of Dawnwalker – Rebel Wolves/Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Tides of Annihilation – Eclipse Glow Games
Best Nintendo Switch 2 Game
- Denshattack! – Undercoders/Fireshine Games
- Mega Man: Dual Override – Capcom
- Nintendo Switch Sport Resort – Nintendo
- OPUS: Prism Peak – Sigono/Shueisha Games
- Rayman Legends Retold – Ubisoft
Best Mobile Game
- Arknights: Endfield – Hypergryph
- Genshin Impact – HoYoverse
- Silver Palace – Silver Studio/Elementa Games
- Where Winds Meet – Everstone Studio/NetEase Games
- Zenless Zone Zero – HoYoverse
