Grand Theft Auto VI hasn’t even hit store shelves yet, but it’s already sitting on a small trophy case. That’s not something most video games can claim. Usually, awards come after release, once critics and players have actually spent time with a game. GTA VI broke that pattern before a single player has touched a controller.
If you’re searching for the awards won by Grand Theft Auto VI, here’s the short version: as of mid-2026, the game has picked up honors purely on the strength of its trailers and the sheer scale of public anticipation. No gameplay has been shown publicly yet, and the game itself hasn’t launched, so every award so far reflects hype, marketing, and fan excitement rather than a finished product.
Let’s break down exactly what it has won, why, and what might still be coming once the game actually releases.
Quick Answer: What Has GTA VI Won So Far?
Here’s a simple table summarizing the confirmed wins:
| Award Show | Category | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Game Awards | Most Anticipated Game | 2024 | Won |
| The Game Awards | Most Anticipated Game | 2025 | Won |
| Golden Joystick Awards | Most Wanted Game | 2024 | Won |
| Golden Joystick Awards | Most Wanted Game | 2025 | Won |
| Golden Joystick Awards | Best Game Trailer | 2025 | Won (for the second trailer) |
That’s five wins in total, spread across two of the most-watched award shows in gaming: The Game Awards and the Golden Joystick Awards. None of these are gameplay or story awards. They’re all built around anticipation, marketing, and public voting.
The Game Awards: Most Anticipated Game, Two Years Running
The Game Awards, hosted by Geoff Keighley, is the biggest annual event in gaming and draws millions of live viewers every December. GTA VI won the Most Anticipated Game award in both 2024 and 2025, back to back.
That double win puts it in rare company. Only one other game has managed the same feat: Elden Ring, which won Most Anticipated Game in 2020 and again in 2021, before finally releasing in 2022. The pattern is almost identical. A long, delayed development cycle kept the game eligible for the “anticipated” category two years straight, and fans kept voting for it anyway.
At the 2025 ceremony, held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, GTA VI beat out a genuinely strong field, including The Witcher 4, Marvel’s Wolverine, Resident Evil Requiem, and 007 First Light. That’s not a weak group of competitors. Winning against titles like those shows the anticipation for GTA VI hasn’t cooled down, even after two delays.
Why This Matters for Rockstar
Winning the same award twice isn’t just a nice headline. It’s a signal that public interest in the game has stayed strong despite the wait, which is exactly what a publisher wants to see heading into a launch. Delays can sometimes hurt momentum, but in this case, the opposite seems to be happening.
Golden Joystick Awards: Most Wanted Game and Best Trailer
The Golden Joystick Awards is one of the oldest gaming award shows still running, dating back to 1983, and it’s entirely voted on by the public. GTA VI won the Most Wanted Game category in both 2024 and 2025, mirroring its Game Awards success.
In 2025, it also picked up Best Game Trailer for its second cinematic trailer. This is a slightly different kind of win because it’s judged purely on the trailer itself as a piece of marketing and filmmaking, not on the anticipation surrounding the whole game. Rockstar’s trailers have historically been treated almost like cultural events, and this win reflects that reputation continuing.
Why Is an Unreleased Game Winning Awards?
This is probably the question most people actually want answered. It comes down to a few things:
- Category design. Award shows like The Game Awards and Golden Joystick Awards include categories specifically for anticipation and public interest, not just finished games. These categories are meant to capture buzz, so an unreleased game is completely eligible.
- Public voting. Both shows rely heavily on fan votes for these particular categories. GTA has one of the largest and most devoted fanbases in gaming, so it has a natural advantage.
- Marketing execution. Rockstar’s trailers are produced at a level closer to a movie trailer than a typical game reveal. That’s part of why the trailer itself won its own award.
- A decade-long wait. GTA V released in 2013. That’s an unusually long gap between mainline entries, and it has built up enormous pent-up demand.
None of this means GTA VI is guaranteed to be a great game. It means people are very excited to find out.
Will GTA VI Win More Awards After Launch?
This is where things get uncertain, and it’s worth being honest about that instead of guessing.
GTA VI is currently scheduled to release on November 19, 2026, after two delays. It was originally planned for fall 2025, pushed to May 26, 2026, and then pushed again to its current date. Whether that date holds is not something anyone can predict with confidence, given the history so far.
If the game does release on schedule, timing becomes important for awards eligibility. The Game Awards typically sets an eligibility cutoff in mid-to-late November for that year’s Game of the Year categories. Based on patterns from the 2025 show, the cutoff for 2026 could fall right around November 20. A release on November 19 would be extremely close to that line, and it’s genuinely unclear whether GTA VI would qualify for Game of the Year consideration at The Game Awards 2026 or get pushed into the following year’s eligibility window instead.
Some prediction markets have shown Grand Theft Auto VI as a strong but not overwhelming favorite for Game of the Year 2026, with competitors like Resident Evil Requiem and Crimson Desert also getting real consideration. That’s a useful reminder that even with all this pre-release hype, nothing about post-launch awards is guaranteed.
GTA VI vs. Other Games That Won Before Release
Very few games have managed pre-release award wins at this scale. Elden Ring remains the closest comparison, having won Most Anticipated Game twice before its 2022 release, and it went on to win Game of the Year that same year. Whether GTA VI follows that same path depends entirely on how the finished game turns out, since anticipation awards and quality awards measure completely different things.
Key Things to Remember
- GTA VI has won five awards so far, all tied to anticipation, voting, and trailer quality, not gameplay.
- It won Most Anticipated Game at The Game Awards in both 2024 and 2025, matching Elden Ring’s earlier feat.
- It also won Most Wanted Game at the Golden Joystick Awards in 2024 and 2025, plus Best Game Trailer in 2025.
- The game is currently scheduled to release on November 19, 2026, after two delays.
- Whether it becomes eligible for Game of the Year style awards this year is genuinely uncertain and depends on exact eligibility cutoffs.
- No gameplay-based or critical awards exist yet, since the game hasn’t launched.
Final Thoughts
Winning awards before release is unusual, but GTA VI has done it twice over, across two major shows, purely by keeping the internet talking. That says a lot about Rockstar’s marketing and the franchise’s staying power, but it doesn’t tell us anything about how the actual game will play. The real test comes after November 19, 2026, when critics and millions of players finally get their hands on it. Until then, these awards are a measure of anticipation, not achievement.
FAQs
Has GTA VI actually been released yet?
No. As of mid-2026, it is scheduled to release on November 19, 2026. All awards won so far are based on trailers and anticipation, not the finished game.
How many awards has GTA VI won in total?
Five, as of the most recent count: two Most Anticipated Game wins at The Game Awards (2024, 2025), two Most Wanted Game wins at the Golden Joystick Awards (2024, 2025), and one Best Game Trailer win (2025).
Is GTA VI the first game to win Most Anticipated Game twice?
No. Elden Ring won it in 2020 and 2021 before its 2022 release. GTA VI is only the second game to repeat the win.
Will GTA VI win Game of the Year in 2026?
It’s uncertain. Eligibility depends on whether its November 19 release date falls before The Game Awards’ cutoff for that year, and even then, it would compete against other strong titles.
Why does an unreleased game qualify for awards?
Some award categories, like Most Anticipated Game and Most Wanted Game, are specifically designed to measure public excitement rather than final quality, so unreleased games are eligible.
Where can I check for updates on GTA VI’s release date or new awards?
Official updates come from Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive, along with major gaming outlets covering award shows like The Game Awards and Golden Joystick Awards.
For more updates visit: GAME TYPES
