- Three trophies each go to CD PROJEKT RED and SEGA.
- Capcom and Ubisoft each won two awards
- Games Done Quick (GDQ) honored with the HEART OF GAMING Award.
The winners of the 2026 gamescom awards have been announced: on Friday 28 August, the coveted trophies were presented across a total of 19 categories at the gamescom studio powered by IGN.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt made a strong impression with its gamescom presence and picked up three awards. Fans voted the trailer for the remaster and the ‘Songs of the Past’ DLC as the Best Trailer / Announcement at gamescom Opening Night Live, as well as the pin and medallion – available at the DLC booth – as the Best Merch. The jury was also impressed by the Witcher’s show presence and honored it with the Jury Award for Best Booth.
SEGA also took home three trophies. The publisher’s titles won in the categories Best Audio – Alien: Isolation 2 – and Best PC Game – Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000. Furthermore, SEGA’s diverse range of titles was recognized as the Best Lineup of gamescom.
Two of the coveted prizes each went to Capcom for Onimusha: Way of the Sword, which won the Best Gameplay and Best Sony PlayStation Game categories, and to Ubisoft, which can celebrate winning the Best Nintendo Switch 2 Game award for Rayman Legends Retold and the Jury Award for Best Business Booth.
This year’s HEART OF GAMING Award, the Special Jury Award, goes to Games Done Quick (GDQ). The charity speedrun event has already raised over 50 million dollars for good causes in the past. Games Done Quick will take place in Europe for the first time as part of gamescom as gamescom GDQ from 28 to 30 August 2026. This time all proceeds from donations and sponsorship will go to Gaming for Democracy, an initiative that promotes democratic values and social engagement through gaming culture.
Overview of the 2026 gamescom award winners:
ARTS Group
- Best Visuals: METRO 2039 – 4A Games/Deep Silver
- Best Audio: Alien: Isolation 2 – Creative Assembly/SEGA
- Best Gameplay: Onimusha: Way of the Sword – Capcom
- Most Entertaining: Wanderburg – Randwerk/Sidekick Publishing
- Most Epic: Tides of Annihilation – Eclipse Glow Games
- Most Wholesome: Finding Polka – lidlocks/Parco Games
- Games for Impact: SOKO 1977: Anti-Terror Task Force – Paintbucket Games/Federal Agency for Civic Education
PLATFORM Group
- Best Microsoft Xbox Game: Forza Horizon 6 – Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
- Best PC Game: Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 – Creative Assembly/SEGA
- Best Sony PlayStation Game: Onimusha: Way of the Sword – Capcom
- Best Nintendo Switch 2 Game: Rayman Legends Retold – Ubisoft
- Best Mobile Game: Where Winds Meet – Everstone Studio/NetEase Games
GLOBAL Group
- Best Lineup (Jury Award): SEGA
- Best Booth (Jury Award): The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past – CD PROJEKT RED
- Best Booth (Consumer Award): Arknights: Endfield – GRYPHLINE
- Best Business Booth (Jury Award): Ubisoft Business Lounge
- Best Merch (Consumer Award): The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past – Pin & Medallion – CD PROJEKT RED
- Best Trailer / Announcement (Consumer Award): The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered & Songs of the Past DLC – CD PROJEKT RED
- HEART OF GAMING Award (Special Jury Award): Games Done Quick (GDQ)
The gamescom award recognizes the best playable games, trailers and presentations at gamescom. For more information on the gamescom award, visit www.gamescom.de/en/gamescom/gamescom-award
About gamescom:
gamescom is the world’s biggest gaming event and the most important business platform for the international games industry. From 24 to 30 August 2026, it brings together developers, trade visitors, companies and millions of fans from around the world – on site in Cologne and digitally across the globe. The week opens on 24 August with the developer conference gamescom dev. gamescom then opens to the public on the evening of 25 August with the major opening show gamescom Opening Night Live. Throughout the week, gamescom offers a unique blend of entertainment, business and community experience. Alongside gamescom in Cologne, gamescom latam in São Paulo and gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show in Bangkok have established themselves as further successful international gamescom editions.
Koelnmesse – industry trade fairs for the gaming sector:
Koelnmesse is an international leader in organising trade fairs in the gaming and entertainment segments. Hosted at the trade fairgrounds in Cologne, Germany, gamescom is the world’s largest event for computer and video games and Europe’s largest business platform for the games industry. gamescom brings together passionate gamers, business visitors, and exhibitors from across the world with a highly effective approach – in person at the venue and digitally from anywhere in the world. This makes gamescom the premier B2C, B2B, and B2G gaming event. In addition to the event at its Cologne headquarters, Koelnmesse is strategically expanding its portfolio internationally: In Southeast Asia, gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show provides an additional powerful industry platform for the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific games market, comprehensively combining supply and demand. For Brazil and Latin America, gamescom latam is a major event designed to stimulate dynamic growth in this market.
game – The German Games Industry Association
We are the association of the German games industry. Our members represent the entire video game ecosystem, from development studios and publishers to esports event organisers, educational institutions and other related entities. We are co-organisers of gamescom, the world’s biggest event for video games. We are a shareholder in the Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK), the Foundation for Digital Games Culture, the esports player foundation, game events and the collecting society VHG, as well as co-host of the German Computer Game Awards. Serving as a central point of contact for media, as well as political and social institutions, we provide comprehensive expertise in areas including market development, game culture and media literacy, and address any inquiries or concerns. Together we are making Germany the heart of gaming worldwide. With games, we enrich the lives of all people.
Further information:
www.gamescom.global
