With a dwindling presence on the jury, American games may start to struggle for recognition

It's been a long time since the U.S. held complete sway over voting in The Game Awards. In 2024 and 2025, American outlets took up just 24 seats on an international jury of more than 130. Since the awards began in 2014, there's been a consistent trend of internationalization as the jury has expanded. Even so, the U.S. has consistently had by far the biggest presence of any single country on the jury — at least 10 more votes than any other nation. But that era is over.

This week, as well as confirming details such as the eligibility cutoff date (yes, as predicted, Grand Theft Auto 6 sneaks in just under the wire), The Game Awards has revealed the composition of the 2026 jury. And the biggest change is the dramatically reduced presence of U.S. media.

There are now just 17 American outlets on the jury, a big drop compared to previous years. At the same time, the U.K. — always the second-biggest power in Game Awards voting — has increased its votes from 14 to 17, drawing level with the U.S. for the first time.

At first, this seems like a symbolic shift, rather than one that will have a meaningful impact on the nominations and winners at the awards. S. K. are pretty similar, give or take a FIFA or a Madden. But if you zoom in on the changes to the American voting body, and zoom out to consider changes elsewhere in the jury, it starts to look more significant.

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