The Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) 2026, held on the evening of Thursday, March 12, as part of the annual Games Developers Conference, recognized outstanding achievements in the video game industry. These prestigious awards are particularly significant as the winners are chosen directly by game developers themselves. Below, we reveal all the winning titles from this year’s ceremony.
Best Audio
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive, Kepler Interactive) – WINNER
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Rift of the NecroDancer (Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toe Games, Klei Publishing)
- South of Midnight (Compulsion Games, Xbox Game Studios)
Honorable Mentions: ARC Raiders (Embark Studios), Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD, Nintendo), Doom: The Dark Ages (id Software, Bethesda Softworks), Lumines Arise (Enhance, Monstars Inc.), To a T (uvula LLC, Annapurna Interactive)
Best Debut
- BALL X PIT (Kenny Sun & Friends, Devolver Digital)
- Blue Prince (Dogubomb, Raw Fury)
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive, Kepler Interactive) – WINNER
- Dispatch (Adhoc Studio)
Honorable Mentions: ARC Raiders (Embark Studios), Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia), Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry), The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy (Too Kyo Games, Media. Vision Inc., Aniplex), The Roottrees are Dead (Evil Trout Inc.)
Best Design
- BALL X PIT (Kenny Sun & Friends, Devolver Digital)
- Blue Prince (Dogubomb, Raw Fury) – WINNER
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive, Kepler Interactive)
- Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD, Nintendo)
- Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios, Electronic Arts)
Honorable Mentions: Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment), Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment), Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios, Deep Silver), The Alters (11 Bit Studios)
Innovation Award
- BALL X PIT (Kenny Sun & Friends, Devolver Digital)
- Baby Steps (Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, Devolver Digital)
- Blue Prince (Dogubomb, Raw Fury) – WINNER
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive, Kepler Interactive)
- Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD, Nintendo)
Honorable Mentions: CloverPit (Panik Arcade, Future Friends Games), Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia), REPO (Semiwork Studios), Sunderfolk (Secret Door, Dreamhaven), To a T (uvula LLC, Annapurna Interactive)
Best Narrative
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive, Kepler Interactive) – WINNER
- Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastián Valbuena, Panic)
- Dispatch (AdHoc Studio)
- Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios, Electronic Arts)
Honorable Mentions: Lost Records: Bloom & Rage (DON’T NOD Montréal, DON’T NOD), South of Midnight (Compulsion Games, Xbox Game Studios), The Outer Worlds 2 (Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios), The Séance of Blake Manor (Spooky Doorway, Raw Fury)
Best Technology
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive, Kepler Interactive)
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment) – WINNER
- Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD, Nintendo)
- Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios, Electronic Arts)
Honorable Mentions: ARC Raiders (Embark Studios), Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios, Electronic Arts), Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry), Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (Warhorse Studios, Deep Silver), PEAK (Team PEAK, Aggro Crab, Landfall)
Best Visual Art
- Absolum (Guard Crush Games, Dotemu, Supamonks, Dotemu)
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive, Kepler Interactive) – WINNER
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Hades II (Supergiant Games)
- Keeper (Double Fine Productions, Xbox Game Studios)
Honorable Mentions: Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry), South of Midnight (Compulsion Games, Xbox Game Studios), Sword of the Sea (Giant Squid), The Midnight Walk (MoonHood, Fast Travel Games)
Social Impact Award
- And Roger (TearyHand Studio, Kodansha)
- Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder, Hexecutable) – WINNER
- Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastián Valbuena, Panic)
- Dispatch (Ad hoc Studio)
Honorable Mentions: Herdling (Okomotive, Panic), Lost Records: Bloom & Rage (DON’T NOD Montréal, DON’T NOD), PEAK (Team PEAK, Aggro Crab, Landfall), To a T (uvula LLC, Annapurna Interactive)
Game of the Year
- Blue Prince (Dogubomb, Raw Fury)
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive, Kepler Interactive) – WINNER
- Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD, Nintendo)
- Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)
- Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios, Electronic Arts)
Honorable Mentions: Absolum (Guard Crush Games, Dotemu, Supamonks, Dotemu), BALL X PIT (Kenny Sun & Friends, Devolver Digital), Hades II (Supergiant Games)
As widely anticipated, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was the dominant force at the GDCA, clinching an impressive five awards. Following closely was Blue Prince, which earned two accolades.
