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‘Grand Theft Auto 6’ Is Officially Eligible for the 2026 Game Awards

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‘Grand Theft Auto 6’ Is Officially Eligible for the 2026 Game Awards

With 2026’s most anticipated game, Grand Theft Auto 6, releasing so late in the year, many have wondered whether it would make the cutoff for the game industry’s biggest celebration of pomp and circumstance. We now have an answer.

The Game Awards updated an FAQ on its website, revealing that games must be commercially released before midnight ET Nov. 20 to qualify for awards in 2026. This date is close to last year’s cutoff of Nov. 21, 2025. To be eligible for the Player’s Voice category (the fan vote), games must ship on or before Nov. 30. GTA 6 releases at Nov. 19, so it gets in just under the wire.

Game industry insider NateTheHate recently claimed that Rockstar is sending critics review codes before the end of October, which would give judges ample time to play the game before they cast their votes. Last year, nominees for the 2025 Game Awards were announced on Nov. 17, four days before the cutoff. If Rockstar delays sending out codes because it's concerned about leaks, the judges would have very little time to decide whether it should be Game of the Year.

While The Game Awards is undeniably the most popular gaming-focused awards show, it has been criticized over the years for coming across more like a mini-E3 than the Oscars. Instead of focusing on accolades and speeches that celebrate the past year, it has historically been full of trailers for games that haven’t even been released yet. Last year’s version of the show was more positively received because it left far more time for winners to reflect, as Jennifer English did in a lovely acceptance speech for Best Performance .


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