Polygon.com - GOTY Watch

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

Oli Welsh — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 15:00:16 GMT

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.

Control Resonant Has a Secret Weapon in the GOTY Race

Oli Welsh — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:00:15 GMT

In 2019, the first Control received an amazing eight nominations, including for Game of the Year, despite only mild acclaim from critics. (It has a Metacritic rating of 82.) It went on to win Best Art Direction. Then, in 2023, Alan Wake 2 converted three of its eight nominations into wins, including in the key Game Direction and Narrative categories.

Game Awards 2026: All Game of the Year Front-Runners and Predictions

Oli Welsh — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 21:42:06 GMT

At this point, we have a clear idea of what to expect from The Game Awards' voting body, which is composed of a wide range of international games media (Polygon included), with a 10% contribution from fan voting. There are a number of strong indicators for what will perform well in the Game of the Year category. A high Metacritic rating (preferably over 90) is a must; role-playing games and action-adventures are strongly favored, as are games with strong narrative elements; indie and multiplayer games struggle harder for recognition than AAA single-player adventures. We used these metrics to correctly predict last year's winner, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and the 2024 winner, Astro Bot. In 2025, we also predicted all six GOTY nominees and correctly called 20 other categories.

Fire Emblem Is Officially Nintendo’s Strongest GOTY 2026 Contender

Oli Welsh — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 17:00:15 GMT

I don't think I had "Fire Emblem gets a Game of the Year nomination at The Game Awards" on my bingo card for 2026 — or for any other year, for that matter. But I think it's a possibility. In fact, I think it's almost definitely going to happen. Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weaveis a contender.

Marvel's Wolverine Set To End Sony's Historic 11-Year GOTY Run

Oli Welsh — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 13:00:14 GMT

Reviews of Marvel's Wolverinewere published this week, and they're on the lukewarm side. Currently, the Insomniac Games title sits at a middling 78 on Metacritic. Critics found its relentless combat action wears thin and were divided on the strength of its storytelling. Polygon's review called it "the biggest disappointment of the PS5 era."

GOTY 2026 is the Weakest Field in Years

Oli Welsh — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 12:00:14 GMT

It was always going to be a strange year. There was a presumptive winner before the year even began: Grand Theft Auto 6. That remains the case, although, given Rockstar's apparent reticence to let anybody play it, we may be waiting until the eleventh hour for its assumed coronation to be confirmed.

Big Walk just became Metacritic's highest-rated game of 2026 (so far)

Giovanni Colantonio — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 15:36:26 GMT

The best game of the year contenders are the ones you don't see coming. That describes Big Walk, the latest game from Untitled Goose Game developer House House. There has been plenty of buzz behind the co-op puzzle game since it was first announced, but even its biggest admirers probably didn't expect it to become the best reviewed game of 2026. With 13 scored reviews in, plus a handful of unscored praise, Big Walk sits at a 93 on Metacritic. That makes it the best reviewed new release of 2026, beating Forza Horizon 6and Mina the Hollower.

GTA 6 reviews plan could throw GOTY race into chaos at The Game Awards

Oli Welsh — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:30:19 GMT

Last year, I noted that Grand Theft Auto 6's Nov. 19 release date, immediately before The Game Awards' eligibility cutoff, had the potential to throw the 2026 Awards into chaos. It's late enough to potentially play havoc with the TGA jury's usual nomination deadlines.

The best indie games of 2026 are lining up for their own GOTY race

Oli Welsh — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 10:00:25 GMT

This is a tough category to predict early, because both critical and commercial hits are harder to see coming, release dates aren't shared that far in advance, and there's always the potential for a game with zero pedigree and little hype to break through. It's more than possible that something unheralded will come out and upend the apple cart. Still, it's worth running down the strongest contenders that have come out to date and some of the hottest upcoming prospects.

Summer Game Fest made two big changes to the 2026 GOTY race

Oli Welsh — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 11:00:22 GMT

In summary: not that much. Although we do have one major new entrant and one significant withdrawal.