Grand Theft Auto 6 is officially eligible for this year’s Game Awards, having just barely met the release date cutoff that had prompted doubts about its inclusion.
The game releases on November 16, while the awards ceremony takes place December 10. That left less than a month between launch and judging—enough to raise questions among fans and former voters over whether Rockstar’s title would qualify at all.
GTA 6 will be present at The Game Awards
The question of eligibility had been raised on stream by internet personality and writer Alanah Pearce, a former voter for the event. Pearce argued there simply would not be enough time to fairly judge GTA 6 for the awards.
However, The Game Awards appears to have bent its own rules to fold Grand Theft Auto 6 into this year’s competition. As stated on the official Game Awards FAQ page, “Games must be made commercially available to customers on or before Friday, November 20, 2026, at 9 p.m. PT. In the Players’ Voice category, games must ship on or before November 30, 2026.”
Will GTA 6 sweep the awards?
If it lives up to more than a decade of hype, GTA 6 is widely expected to win Game of the Year—though it faces stiff competition in other categories.
Titles such as Resident Evil: Requiem, 007 First Light, and The Blood of Dawnwalker are all contenders for major honors, alongside indie entries like Mewgenics and Big Walk.
In categories including Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, and Best Performance, GTA 6 could well lose. That outcome depends on the game itself—and whether judges have enough time to fairly evaluate it before their votes are due ahead of the ceremony.
brought up the question on her stream
in 2025
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