Quick answer: The Game Awards 2026 nominees are revealed live on Tuesday, November 17 at 11 AM CT (noon ET) on The Game Awards’ YouTube and other channels. The show itself is Thursday, December 10 at 6:30 PM CT, free on all major streaming platforms, on Disney+ for the first time, and inside Roblox for fans 18 and older. Fan voting closes December 9 at 8 PM CT. Current as of November 13, 2026.
Awards season has an official start date. The Game Awards confirmed on November 13 that Geoff Keighley will reveal every 2026 nominee in a live special next Tuesday, and the same day it announced the December show will stream inside Roblox for the first time. Here is every date, time and viewing option in one place, in US time zones.
When are The Game Awards 2026 nominees announced?
The nominee announcement streams live on Tuesday, November 17 at noon ET, 11 AM CT, 9 AM PT (5 PM GMT), hosted by Keighley. The official account has already posted a YouTube reminder link for the special.
That timing creates an odd wrinkle. Grand Theft Auto 6 launches on November 19, two days after the reveal, yet it is still eligible because the official cutoff is Friday, November 20 at 9 PM PT. We covered that in GTA 6 makes The Game Awards 2026 cutoff by one day. The show’s FAQ also lets publishers give jurors advance access to games, so a GTA 6 nomination is possible, but nothing has been confirmed either way.
When and where to watch The Game Awards 2026
- Date and time: Thursday, December 10, opening act at 7:30 PM ET, 6:30 PM CT, 4:30 PM PT.
- Venue: the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. A limited number of public tickets go through the Peacock Theater box office.
- Free streams: the official FAQ says the show streams free across all major streaming services, and co-streaming is welcome.
- Disney+: new this year, the show also streams live on Disney+, per the official account on November 12.
- Roblox: also new, a live stream inside Roblox where fans 18 and older can watch, vote and interact during the show. The Game Awards says more details are coming soon.
IGN reports the Roblox broadcast will run in The Block, Roblox’s virtual event venue, with virtual merchandise to claim. Neither The Game Awards nor Roblox has shown that merch yet, and the 18+ limit means a big part of Roblox’s audience will not get in.
How voting works and how fans can vote
Nominees in most categories are picked by an international jury of more than 100 media and creator outlets. Each outlet submits an unranked top five per category, and the five games on the most ballots are nominated, with six in a category if there is a tie. Keighley does not vote.
Winners come from a blend of the jury (90%) and fan voting (10%) on TheGameAwards.com, or Bilibili in China. Fan voting closes Wednesday, December 9 at 6 PM PT, which is 8 PM CT. The FAQ does not list an opening time; in recent years voting has gone live shortly after the nominee reveal. The fan-only Players’ Voice category has a later eligibility cutoff of November 30.
Our take
Adding Disney+ and Roblox shows how hard The Game Awards is chasing reach after the 2025 show, which the organizers say drew 171 million livestreams. The more interesting fight is on Tuesday, though. With GTA 6 arriving two days after the nominee reveal, the Game of the Year list will tell us how much jurors trust a game most of them may have only seen early. If you only plan around one date, make it Tuesday at 11 AM CT, then check our Golden Joystick Awards 2026 winners for an early read on this year’s contenders.
Featured image: The Game Awards 2026 nominee announcement, The Game Awards.
