Metro 2039 Leads Gamescom Award 2026 With Five Nominations
4A Games’ Metro 2039 is the most-nominated game at the Gamescom Award 2026, appearing in five categories across two groups — and it achieved that without a platform holder backing it. The post-apocalyptic shooter also dropped a gritty new gameplay trailer at Opening Night Live, cementing its status as the show’s frontrunner.
Metro 2039’s Five Nominations
- Best Visuals — up against Alien: Isolation 2, Forza Horizon 6, Inkblood, and DEPERSON
- Most Epic — alongside Crimson Desert, Stranger Than Heaven, Tides of Annihilation, and Total War: Warhammer 40,000
- Best Xbox Game — with Forza Horizon 6, Gears of War: E-Day, Halo: Campaign Evolved, and Stranger Than Heaven
- Best PC Game — against Alien: Isolation 2, Crimson Desert, Guns of Eschaton, and Total War: Warhammer 40,000
- Best PlayStation Game — with Dragon’s Dogma 2 Dark Arisen, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, The Blood of Dawnwalker, and Tides of Annihilation
That’s nominations across both the Arts and Platform groups — the closest thing Gamescom has to a frontrunner signal.
What the Gameplay Trailer Showed
The new Metro 2039 gameplay trailer showcased the series’ signature blend of survival horror and first-person shooting:
- Claustrophobic tunnel combat — the Metro franchise’s bread and butter, rendered with stunning detail
- Gas masks, ammunition as currency, and resource scarcity — all the survival mechanics fans expect
- A darker, more ambitious narrative scope than previous entries
- Visual fidelity that explains the Best Visuals nomination
The Bigger Picture: Gamescom Award 2026 Standouts
Beyond Metro 2039, a few patterns emerged from the full nominee list:
- SEGA and Creative Assembly are everywhere — Alien: Isolation 2 alone landed four nominations (Best Visuals, Best Audio, Best Gameplay, Best PC), plus Total War: Warhammer 40,000 and Stranger Than Heaven
- Denshattack! is the surprise outlier — four nominations (Best Audio, Best Gameplay, Most Entertaining, Best Switch 2) for a game that plays great rather than photographs great
- Forza Horizon 6 landed three nominations, continuing the series’ streak of technical excellence
- Alien: Isolation 2 from Creative Assembly is the only game matching Metro 2039’s nomination count
Community voting opened on August 26 at 9:00 AM on the official Gamescom Award page, with winners decided by a combined vote of the expert jury and the public.
What Should You Do?
- Wishlist Metro 2039 on your platform of choice — it’s the one to watch
- Vote in the Gamescom Award community voting if you attended or watched the show
- Keep an eye on Alien: Isolation 2 — it’s tied for the most nominations and is shaping up to be a horror masterpiece
- Try the Denshattack! demo if you’re at Gamescom — it’s the sleeper hit of the show floor