GTA 6 has the fewest caveats to qualify for The Game Awards 2026 — but can it break Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's record?

The generation's mega game, Grand Theft Auto 6, will qualify for The Game Awards 2026 in one more day. Read more

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The mega game of this generation, Grand Theft Auto 6, will be eligible for The Game Awards 2026 in one day.

As pointed out at X by industry watcher Shinobi602, the deadline for this year's The Game Awards is November 20, meaning GTA 6 - which launches on November 19 - could be nominated and potentially win in various categories for the 2026 show. "Games must be commercially available to customers on or before Friday, November 20, 2026 at 9:00 p.m. local time," says The Game Awards website FAQ.

This fit is so convenient that it seems like an exception was made for a Rockstar game, but as Shinobi602 also pointed out, the end dates for each year are pretty much the same, only changing by a day or two.

With the discussion of GTA 6, the question arises as to how much it can dominate the proceedings. Go back to Rockstar's last big release — 2018's Red Dead Redemption 2 — and that game took home four awards: Best Narrative, Best Sound Design, Best Score/Music, and Best Performance (won by Roger Clarke for his portrayal of the protagonist, Arthur Morgan).

The current TGA record holder - the game to beat - is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which took home nine wins last year, including the Game of the Year award. Before Clair Obscur, the previous leader was Baldur's Gate 3, which had six wins. GTA 6 is an order of magnitude bigger in terms of budget, scope, and general anticipation than either game, especially Clair Obscur. The weight of expectation is on Rockstar, that's for sure.

The 2026 Game Awards takes place on December 10th and usually wraps up the year's industry action, after which we all frantically try to decide what our personal games of the year are. Eurogamer, for full disclosure, is a judging panel for The Game Awards, along with many other gaming websites.

Meanwhile, Rockstar released a new GTA 6 trailer this afternoon, highlighting Jason and Lucia's warm relationship — literally, as they frolic in the shower — and the stress of being in a high-risk crime environment like theirs.

Rockstar is also currently embroiled in an employment tribunal in Scotland over the sudden dismissal of 31 employees from Rockstar North last year. Those affected call it a union failure, while Rockstar insists the employees were fired for gross misconduct. The ruling is currently not expected until November, around the time of GTA 6's release.