The Game Awards 2026 Date Is Now Set: Can GTA 6 Squeeze in for Game of the Year?

The Game Awards is officially returning this December, and the announcement has already triggered a familiar conversation, which you might have guessed by now. Yes, here we’re talking about GTA 6. But before we dive into that part, let’s not forget The Game Awards 2026 will take place on Thursday, December 10. The event will once again be hosted at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

The Game Awards 2026 date now locked in, with chatter around GTA 6 getting much louder

As with previous years, the show will air globally and stick to its traditional early-December window. Beyond the date and venue, Keighley said more details will be revealed later this year. As soon as the announcement went live, chatter around Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) spread across the internet.

Online reactions quickly turned into memes and speculation, with fans wondering how Rockstar’s long-awaited release could factor into the 2026 show. GTA 6 already won Most Anticipated Game at The Game Awards in both 2024 and 2025, helped by repeated delays that kept it eligible. Some are now joking that the streak could continue if the game slips again.

There’s also a more serious question on the table. Will GTA 6 be eligible for awards at The Game Awards 2026? Last year’s cutoff required games to launch by the third Friday of November, which landed on November 21. If the same rule applies in 2026, the cutoff would fall on November 20. Rockstar currently has GTA 6 scheduled for November 19, placing it just inside the eligibility window.

Take-Two Interactive’s earnings report might shed some light on GTA 6’s future

As a side note, Rockstar’s parent company will release its latest earnings report today, February 3, which could offer details on GTA 6’s release plans. For now, The Game Awards 2026 has its date, and once again, GTA 6 is looming large over the conversation.