Golden Joysticks voting closes Friday, and Crimson Desert is up for PC Game of the Year but missed the console list

You’ve got until Friday to vote. The 44th Golden Joystick Awards, the long-running awards show where the public picks most of the winners, closes its main vote at 4 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. ET on Friday, October 23, according to the official announcement on Games Press. The Golden Joysticks account pushed the Console Game of the Year shortlist again this morning, and that list has fans arguing about who got left off.

Console Game of the Year nominees:

• 007 First Light
• Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave
• Forza Horizon 6
• LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight
• Nioh 3
• Onimusha: Way of the Sword
• Pokémon Pokopia
• PRAGMATA
• Resident Evil Requiem
• SAROS

The Crimson Desert question: Pearl Abyss’s open-world game isn’t on the console list, and Destructoid’s Andrej Barovic says fans of Crimson Desert and CONTROL Resonant are “very upset” about it. He reviewed Crimson Desert himself and called it “a huge game, and one that appreciates the player’s intellect,” while noting that what players get now is very different from what he played at review time. Crimson Desert isn’t shut out, though. It’s nominated for PC Game of the Year and Best Soundtrack, per the full nominee list.

PC Game of the Year nominees: Big Walk, Crimson Desert, Escape from Tarkov, Esoteric Ebb, MECCHA CHAMELEON, Mewgenics, Order of the Sinking Star, STAR WARS Zero Company, The Blood of Dawnwalker and Valheim.

Other names worth knowing: 007 First Light and Big Walk lead the field with six nominations each, and Resident Evil Requiem has four. CONTROL Resonant still shows up for Best Visual Design and Best Supporting Performer, and STAR WARS: Galactic Racer is up for Best Audio Design. If you’re wondering about our usual beat, Star Citizen and Starfield aren’t nominated in any category this year.

What’s next: Voting for Ultimate Game of the Year is separate. Its shortlist is revealed Monday, October 26, and that vote runs through October 30, according to the event’s key dates. Winners are announced at a live, streamed ceremony at the Troxy in London on Wednesday, November 11, which Radio Times notes is about a week before GTA VI launches. Last year Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took home seven awards.

PPR take: A console list with no room for Crimson Desert says more about how stacked 2026 has been than about the game. Since the PC Game of the Year category is public-voted, this is the one place where Crimson Desert fans can actually change the result, so if you’ve been playing it, now’s the time to vote.