Resident Evil Requiem and its publisher swept the Golden Joystick Awards, which celebrate the year's most popular games, the BBC reported. The latest instalment of the 30-year-old survival-horror series, released in February, won ultimate game of the year, console game of the year, best game trailer, and best lead performer for Angela Sant'Albano, who plays protagonist Grace Ashcroft. Japanese studio Capcom was named studio of the year and was also recognized for other games, including Onimusha: Way of the Sword and Pragmata.
Grace Ashcroft, an FBI agent and a new lead character, investigates a series of mysterious deaths alongside returning fan favourite Leon S. Kennedy, including in familiar settings such as Raccoon City's police department. The game took 17% of the public vote for ultimate game of the year, ahead of Phantom Blade Zero, Crimson Desert, Control Resonant, and The Blood of Dawnwalker. The ceremony had prizes in 25 categories; 22 were decided by a public vote, while streamers' choice, critics' choice, and developers' choice were decided by critics.
Two of those critic- or industry-voted prizes went to the indie hit Meccha Chameleon, a multiplayer hide-and-seek game in which players paint themselves to blend into their surroundings. It also won best multiplayer game and best indie game (self-published) in the public vote. Big Walk, a co-operative online game from Australian developer House House, was named critics' choice. The studio faced criticism this week after reports that it used generative AI in the final stretch of development, something it did not disclose at release. The company said the tool produced a tiny amount of code.
Other 2026 winners listed by the BBC included Dispatch for best storytelling and Onimusha for best audio design. The Golden Joysticks are a long-running, fan-facing awards show, not an industry academy in the Oscars sense. The verified result is a public-vote sweep for Capcom's latest Resident Evil, plus a side controversy about undisclosed AI use on the critics' choice winner, which the studio has described as limited. The awards remain a snapshot of what paying players and some critics liked this year, and a Capcom sweep does not settle debates about the wider quality of 2026 releases. Requiem's public-vote win, with 17% in a split field, also shows how a long-running franchise can still dominate a crowded ballot. House House's explanation, that only a small amount of code was involved, has not ended the argument about disclosure, which is now part of the awards-week story alongside the trophies themselves.