The New York Videogame Critics Circle (NYVGCC) has revealed the New York Game Awards 2026 winners at the conclusion of a two-day festival, with some surprises during a special 15th anniversary celebration.
The awards season isn’t over just yet, as the New York Videogame Critics Circle has the New York Game Awards 2026 winners in tow to conclude the season. The New York Game Awards is an annual award show produced by the nonprofit NYVGCC to recognize outstanding achievement in video games. The first New York Game Awards were held in 2012 to honour the previous year’s contributions to the video game industry, and heading into its 15th year celebration (14th showcase), the show seeks to elevate games higher than ever.
The New York Game Awards 2026 was broadcast live from New York City for the world to see (fans can rewatch the entire celebration on the official YouTube channel). The nominees and winners (alongside their New York-ified award names) can be seen listed below.
All Nominees and Winners from the 2026 New York Game Awards!
Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Winner)
- Blue Prince
- Split Fiction
- Despelote
- Sword of the Sea
- Silent Hill f
- Hades II
- Ghost of Yōtei
Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game
- Blue Prince (Winner)
- Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist
- Despelote
- Deltarune Chapters 3+4
- Consume Me
- No, I’m not a Human
- Tiny Bookshop
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
Herman Melville Award for Best Writing in a Game
- Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
- Avowed
- The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy-
- Mafia: The Old Country
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Blippo+ (Winner)
Statue of Liberty Award for Best World
- Hades II (Winner)
- Split Fiction
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Baby Steps
- Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
- Keeper
Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game
- South of Midnight (Winner)
- Lumines Arise
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Mario Kart World
- Deltarune Chapters 3+4
- Sword of the Sea
- Hades II
- Ghost of Yōtei
Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game
- Jennifer English as Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Winner)
- Adriyan Rae as Hazel in South of Midnight
- Jennifer English as Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Amelia Sargisson as Nora in Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
- Alex Jordan as Jan Dolski in The Alters
- Judy Alice Lee as Melinoë in Hades II
- Erika Ishii as Atsu in Ghost of Yōtei
Excelsior Award for Best NY Game
- Ball x Pit (Winner)
- Despelote
- Baby Steps
- Consume Me
- Old Skies
- Skate Story
Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best AR/VR Game
- Ghost Town
- V-Racer Hoverbike
- The Midnight Walk
- Marvel’s Deadpool VR
- Arken Age
- Lumines Arise (Winner)
Central Park Children’s Zoo Award for Best Kids Game
- Sunderfolk
- Koira
- Donkey Kong Bananza (Winner)
- Lego Party!
- Pokémon Legends: Z-A
- Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
A-Train Award for Best Mobile Game
- Is This Seat Taken? (Winner)
- Skate City: New York
- What The Clash?
- Umamusume: Pretty Derby
- Spooky Express
- Chaos Zero Nightmare
High Line Award for Best Remake
- The Talos Principle: Reawakened
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (Winner)
- Story Of Seasons: Grand Bazaar
- Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
- Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake
- Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection
Chumley’s Speakeasy Award for Best Hidden Gem
- News Tower (Winner)
- Keep Driving
- Nubby’s Number Factory
- Many Nights a Whisper
- Xenotilt: Hostile Pinball Action
- and Roger
- Look Outside
- Shujinkou
NYC GWB Award for Best DLC
- Lies of P: Overture (Winner)
- Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land: Star-Crossed World
- The Sims 4 Adventure Awaits
- Star Wars Outlaws: A Pirate’s Fortune
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure – Wheatflour Wonderland
Knickerbocker Award for Best Games Journalism
- People Make Games (Winner)
- Duncan Fyfe
- Felipe Pepe
- Jackson Tyler
- Joseph Earl Thomas
- Lewis Gordon
- Nicanor Gordon
Lastly, The NYVGCC presents the Andrew Yoon Legend Award to recognize industry icons and organizations that exhibited a significant, sustained body of work demonstrating exceptional artistic achievement and innovation. To round out the winners of the New York Game Awards 2026 celebration, the Andrew Yoon Legend Award Recipient this year is The Pokémon Company. The Pokémon Company joins an elite group of winners to don the award, as the award is named for Andrew Yoon, a founding member of the New York Game Critics Circle. Past recipients of the award include Sam Lake, Neil Druckmann, Reggie Fils-Aimé, Phil Spencer, Tim Schafer, Jerry Lawson, Jade Raymond, Richard Garriott, Todd Howard, Ralph Baer and Hideo Kojima.
That wraps up the entire New York Game Awards 2026 celebration. Fans can head to the official NYVGCC website for more information on the entire celebration, including music from Supergiant Games composer Darren Korb.
