The ambition to win all five major Game of the Year awards in the same season for Grand Theft Auto VI was premature. The new Rockstar Games kolossal, destined to dominate the discussions on the best games of the year, will have to settle for a more modest finish: the title debut, set for November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, will coincide with the Golden Joystick Awards ceremony, held on November 11, eight days before the launch in stores. The timing makes it impossible for GTA VI to participate in this year's competition, since public voting for most categories takes place between 25 September and 23 October, while the one for the Ultimate Game of the Year is scheduled from 26 to 30 October. When the audience is called to choose, the Rockstar title will not be available yet. The great slam of the five GOTYs – including the Golden Joystick Awards, The Game Awards, DICE Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards and BAFTA Games Awards – is then blurred. Although GTA VI could impose itself on the Golden Joystick of 2026 after winning elsewhere, this recognition would belong to a subsequent cycle and would not produce the same statistical result. The primacy of the sweep in the same season has already been reached by Baldur's Gate 3 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Although GTA VI was to impose itself in other contexts, this success would be attributed to a subsequent cycle. The exclusion from the Golden Joystick 2026 is a consequence of the calendar, not a rejection. The game will be able to compete in the next edition, when it will already be in the hands of the public for almost a year and its impact will be evaluated with greater perspective. Meanwhile, the focus around the project continues to grow: a recent closed-door test further fueled expectations on the density of Vice City and the technical ambitions of the new open world. The paradox is evident: one of the most anticipated games of the generation could arrive in time for some of the major prizes of 2026, but too late to try the complete chinquina. VERDETTO: CRITICO Il paradosso descritto è innegabilmente frustrante. Il timing dell’uscita di GTA VI coincide esattamente con la fase finale delle votazioni per i Golden Joystick Awards, rendendo impossibile qualsiasi tentativo di “sweep” nel 2026, anche se Rockstar ha già annunciato un’ambizione smisurata. Si tratta di una questione puramente logistica, una conseguenza della frenesia del ciclo di sviluppo e marketing dell'industria videoludica; il fatto che l’impatto del gioco possa essere valutato con maggiore prospettiva nel 2026 non altera il fatto che, al momento, non potrà competere per la vittoria assoluta. Il riferimento a Baldur's Gate 3 e Clair Obscur come esempi di successi passati, aggiunge un ulteriore strato di ironia alla situazione: anche quei titoli hanno beneficiato di un lancio tempestivo per massimizzare le loro opportunità di successo nei premi. La "prova a porte chiuse" citata non fa altro che alimentare ulteriormente l'attesa e quindi, indirettamente, la delusione.
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