Metro: 2039 Leads Gamescom Awards 2026 as Xbox Lands Three Nominations
With Gamescom 2026 about to kick off, organizers have released the complete lineup for the Gamescom Awards 2026—already shaping up to be a headline-heavy affair. The biggest spotlight goes to Metro: 2039, which leads all games with the most nominations, while Xbox lands three separate entries in a top-tier “best Xbox game” race.
Metro: 2039 tops Gamescom Awards 2026 with five nominations
- Metro: 2039 (4A Games / Deep Silver) leads the field with five nominations, including Best Visuals and Most Epic, and it appears across categories tied to the platforms it will release on.
- Alien: Isolation 2 and Denshattack! follow closely with four nominations each.
- SEGA stands out for its broader presence: Alien: Isolation 2, Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000, and STRANGER THAN HEAVEN combine for eight nominations total across its releases.
The “Best Microsoft Xbox Game” contest: three Xbox titles among five
The category Best Microsoft Xbox Game is set to be one of the most closely watched during the ceremony. The five nominees are:
- Forza Horizon 6 — Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios
- Gears of War: E-Day — The Coalition / Xbox Game Studios
- Halo: Campaign Evolved — Halo Studios / Xbox Game Studios
- METRO: 2039 — 4A Games / Deep Silver
- STRANGER THAN HEAVEN — RGG Studio / SEGA
Xbox’s lineup is strong: three of its own productions are competing inside the same five-game shortlist, though they’ll still need to topple external challengers like Metro: 2039 and STRANGER THAN HEAVEN.
Where the Xbox presence shows up beyond the main category
- Forza Horizon 6 is also nominated for Best Visuals and Best Audio.
- Other notable releases are spread across multiple awards, including The Blood of Dawnwalker, Crimson Desert, and Alien: Isolation 2.
Major category nominations and when fans can vote
The nominations for several of the headline awards include the following matchups:
- Best Visuals: Alien: Isolation 2, DEPERSON, Forza Horizon 6, Inkblood, METRO: 2039
- Best Audio: Alien: Isolation 2, Cairn, Denshattack!, Forza Horizon 6, There are No Ghosts at the Grand
- Best Gameplay: Alien: Isolation 2, Cairn, Denshattack!, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, The Blood of Dawnwalker
- Most Epic: Crimson Desert, METRO: 2039, STRANGER THAN HEAVEN, Tides of Annihilation, Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000
- Best PC Game: Alien: Isolation 2, Crimson Desert, Guns of Eschaton, METRO: 2039, Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000
Fans will also get a say in part of the process. Voting runs from Wednesday, August 26 through Thursday, August 27 at 14:00 CEST, available both online and in-person via QR codes at Gamescom.
With Xbox’s slate facing off against itself in the top Xbox category—Forza Horizon 6, Gears of War: E-Day, and Halo: Campaign Evolved—the “Best Microsoft Xbox Game” race is poised to be especially competitive as the event begins.
