Pokémon Pokopia wins first Game Of The Year award of 2026

The Japan Game Awards took place last night (September 15) and Pokémon Pokopia walked away with the first Game Of The Year trophy of the season.

• READ MORE: The best games of 2026… so far!

Pokémon Pokopia is a cutesy life simulation game that sees you restoring a run-town island to encourage Pokémon to return. It’s a cross between Animal Crossing, Minecraft and Stardew Valley.  When it launched in March, it became the best-reviewed Pokémon game of all time and remains one of the highest-rated games released this year (according to Metacritic).  

Last night, The Japan Games Awards took place to “honour outstanding computer entertainment software works.”

Pokémon Pokopia won the Grand Award, with judges looking for games that “incorporate new ideas that set it apart from previous works” and offer users “new ways to enjoy and play, expanding the possibilities of what a video game can be,” according to the official website.

WATCH

Pokemon Pokopia won Game of the Year at the Japan Game Awards!

Shigeru Ohmori accepted the award on behalf of Game Freak. pic.twitter.com/0YwoBxquBj

— Stealth (@Stealth40k) September 15, 2026

“In a world that is synchronised with real time, players can enjoy a carefree slow-life experience while interacting with various Pokémon, and it has received overwhelming support from not only Pokémon fans but also many game users, with comments such as “It was relaxing” and “I can’t stop playing,” leading to it winning the grand prize. In the public vote, it received votes from people aged 5 to 79,” said organisers.

Elsewhere, Pragmata won the Breakthrough Award and Meccha Chameleon won the Movement Award. 14 titles received trophies for excellence, including Silent Hill f, Kirby Air Riders, Death Stranding 2 and Donkey Kong Bananza. 

All the winners of The Japan Game Awards 2026:

• Pokémon Pokopia – Grand Award
• Pragmata – Breakthrough
• Mecca Chameleon – Movement
• The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – Special Award
• Wordplay – Game Designers Award
• Pokémon Pokopia – Award For Excellence
• Death Stranding 2 – Award For Excellence
• Donkey Kong Bananza – Award For Excellence
• Inazuma Eleven Victory Road – Award For Excellence
• Kirby Air Riders – Award For Excellence
• Magical Girl Witch Trials – Award For Excellence
• Silent Hill f – Award For Excellence
• Ghost of Yōtei – Award For Excellence
• Digimon Story Time Stranger – Award For Excellence
• Inazuma Eleven Victory Road – Award For Excellence
• Kirby Air Riders – Award For Excellence
• Paranormasight The Mermaid’s Curse – Award For Excellence
• Resident Evil Requiem – Award For Excellence
• Pragmata – Award For Excellence

Many gaming fans are expecting Grand Theft Auto 6 to sweep the various Game Of The Year awards later this year but its late release date (November 19) and huge open-world may mean it gets overlooked for titles organisers have more time to play with.

In other news, Microsoft has confirmed the second wave of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass this September – check out the full list here.