Hades 2 leads the charge at the 2026 Gayming Awards with three nominations

20th March 2026

The nominees for the 2026 Gayming Awards have just been revealed and it’s Hades 2 and Date Everything that have scooped up the most nominations.

Both titles are nominated in three out of 14 categories, with Hades 2 being up for Game of the Year, the Gayming Magazine Fan Favorite Award, and the Best LGBTQ+ Character Award. Other rogues that have received nominations at the ceremony include Ball x Pit and Blue Prince.

Now in its sixth year, the Gayming Awards is an annual ceremony that celebrates LGBTQ+ representation and excellence in gaming. The 2026 ceremony is planned for June 8th on World of Wonder’s streaming service, WOW Presents Plus. The host for this year will be last year’s LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year winner Erika Ishii and drag artist Dawn.

Here are the full list of nominations:

Game of the Year

Ball x Pit (Kenny Sun/Devolver Digital)
Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Hades 2 (Supergiant Games)
Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)
South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios)

Gayming Magazine Fan Favorite Award

Date Everything (Sassy Chap Games/Team17)
Dead by Daylight: Steady Pulse (Behaviour Interactive)
Hades 2 (Supergiant Games)
Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver)
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage (Don’t Nod)

Best LGBTQ+ Character Award

Sir Hans Capon – Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Eddie & Volt – Date Everything
Kat Mikaelsen – Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
Melinoë – Hades 2
Orela Rose – Dead by Daylight
Samar – Spirit Swap (Soft Not Weak)

Best LGBTQ+ Indie Game Award

Date Everything (Sassy Chap Games/Team17)
Monster Prom 4: Monster Con (Beautiful Glitch)
Quantum Witch (NikkiJay)
Spirit Swap
Tales of Seikyu (Ace Entertainment/Fireshine Games)
The Beekeepers Picnic (Wonder Room Games)

Industry Diversity Award

Behaviour Interactive
Don’t Nod
Out Making Games (OMG)
Riot Games

Community Impact Award

Boston Gaymers
Gaymers iNC
Gaymer Nights
NYC Gaymers
Qweerty Gamers
SlayStation

Best LGBTQ+ Contribution to Esports Award

British Esports Federation
Cora Kennedy
Team Liquid
Valorant Game Changers

LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year Award

Allegra Clark
Jay Taylor
Jennifer English
Michael Lorz
Robyn Holdaway
Tobias Weatherburn

Queer Geek Entertainment of the Year Award

Dimension 20: Dungeons & Drag Queens, Season 2 (Dropout)
Harley Quinn: Season 5 (DC)
Hazbin Hotel: Season 2 (Amazon)
Stranger Things: Season 5 (Netflix)
The Mighty Nein (Amazon MGM Studios, Critical Role & Titmouse)
The Last of Us: Season 2 (HBO)

LGBTQ+ Content Creator of the Year Award

ArtemirGaming
Blizz
BoyeFran
GhCoffee
Hyjules
KoiJay
Phaun
Ravynia

LGBTQ+ Breakout Creator of the Year Award

Devoglaer
HaiMoonX
KyaColosseum
OllieDreamer
PhilipCroft
Retrowolve
TheFunkoBeard
WillJinkies

Would you like to know more?

Still with us? Of course you are! If you want to keep reading about great hand-picked rogues, the following articles represent a huge collection of the best roguelike games ever made.

The Best Roguelike Games: great roguelites, deckbuilders, RPGs, bullet heavens, and more

Next, there are genre-specific lists that delve into the best roguelike games of all types. I’ve pulled out the best examples from each category, alongside the links to more in-depth articles!

The best turn-based roguelikes: Caves of Qud | There are some seriously incredible turn-based roguelikes out there. Of all the modern games, these are the closest to the original Rogue.

Great bullet heavens and auto-shooters: Vampire Survivors | There could be only one choice for this category, given how all other games are called survivors-likes for a reason!

Awesome first-person rogues: Gunfire Reborn | We almost went with Blue Prince for this spot, but most people checking out first-person rogues probably want to wield a gun, you know?!

Cool roguelike deckbuilders: Balatro | Sorry, Slay the Spire fans, but this poker-solitaire deckbuilder has stolen Mike’s heart and won’t give it back.

Brilliant roguelite top-down and third-person shooters: Returnal | Bit of a broad one, but with our other favourite action-roguelites featured elsewhere, we were obliged to mention Returnal here.

Exciting roguelike platformers: Spelunky | Now, don’t get us wrong, Dead Cells is an incredible game, especially with all the DLC switched on. But when it comes to impact, you just can’t beat Spelunky.

Strategy Roguelikes: FTL Faster Than Light | Another classic roguelike that we’re still playing years after launch.

Amazing action-roguelites: Hades 2 | And finally, let’s wrap things up with our favourite of them all. There’s no beating the original Hades, although Hades 2 comes pretty close!

Rogueliker