The Game Awards has officially announced its cutoff dates for 2026 nominations, and Grand Theft Auto 6 is in luck. To the surprise of some, Grand Theft Auto 6 will officially be eligible for The Game Awards 2026.
For the last six years, the cutoff date for nominations for that year’s Game Awards ceremony has been the third Friday of November. For example, The Game Awards 2019’s cutoff date was November 15, 2023’s cutoff date was November 17, and last year’s Game Awards cutoff date was November 21. But while The Game Awards has stuck to a fairly predictable schedule, there was still uncertainty over whether Grand Theft Auto 6 would make this year’s cutoff date. That uncertainty ends today.
Grand Theft Auto 6 Will Be Eligible for The Game Awards 2026
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The Game Awards has just updated the FAQ page of its official website. In the section titled ‘The Awards Process’, the cutoff date for Game Awards 2026 nominations has been confirmed. Any video game made commercially available to the public on or before Friday, November 20 at 9pm PT will be eligible for this year’s Game Awards. If Grand Theft Auto 6 sticks to its November 19 release date, then it’ll be officially eligible for the 2026 Game Awards.
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Of course, there”s no guarantee that Grand Theft Auto 6 will end up being nominated for this year’s Game Awards or end up actually taking home any trophies. GTA 6 is already rumored to be an unprecedented commercial success based solely on its pre-orders and projected sales figures, and the long-awaited open-world crime game is sure to break all kinds of records in the days, weeks, and months following its release. But there’s no certainty that Grand Theft Auto 6 will live up to its lofty expectations, or be enough of a hit with critics that it ends up getting nominated for any of the Game Awards’ categories.
That said, it’s very likely Grand Theft Auto 6 receives at least one or two Game Awards nominations, at least if Rockstar’s track record is any indication. Rockstar’s last major release, Red Dead Redemption 2, was tied with God of War for The Game Awards 2018’s most nominated game, and it ended up taking home a total of four awards including Best Narrative, Best Performance, and Best Audio Design. And even though its original release was a year too early, Grand Theft Auto 5 still received a Best Remaster win at the very first Game Awards ceremony in 2014.
Grand Theft Auto 6 Already Has Two Game Awards
While it’s good to know that Grand Theft Auto 6 will officially be eligible for The Game Awards 2026, the game technically already has two Game Awards trophies in the bank. In both 2024 and 2025, GTA 6 won The Game Awards’ Most Anticipated Game award. With these two already under its belt, GTA 6 is one step closer to potentially dethroning Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and its record-breaking 9 wins.
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November 19, 2026
- ESRB
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Rating Pending – Likely Mature 17+
