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The basic Pocket Gamer Awards 2027 eligibility rule
The central test is the candidate’s release date and category. A game released from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026 is eligible as a new release for most 2027 categories. The same period generally governs qualifying updates and experiences when the category is based on something released during the year.
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The dates define a 12-month eligibility period, not the calendar year 2026 alone. A launch on 1 October 2025 falls at the beginning of the window, while a launch on 30 September 2026 falls at the end. A game first released before 1 October 2025 does not become a qualifying new release simply because it remains popular in 2026; it needs to fit an exempt category or be considered through a catalogue-based developer or publisher award.
Pocket Gamer describes the program as having 22 categories. The date rule is not identical across all of them, so choosing the correct subject and category matters as much as checking the launch date.
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Which categories accept older games?
Several categories deliberately cover mobile gaming’s back catalogue or an ongoing element of a game. These categories are not required to follow the 1 October 2025–30 September 2026 new-release window:
| Category | What can qualify | Date treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Best Game We’re Still Playing | An older game that continues to attract active players and attention | Not limited to a first release in the main window |
| Best Community | A game community or player base with notable ongoing activity | Back-catalogue titles can be considered |
| Best Webshop | A game’s webshop or associated in-game commerce experience | Not required to follow the new-release cutoff |
| Best Character | A character from a qualifying mobile-game universe | The character may come from an older title |
| Best Game Update | A substantial update to an existing game | The original launch can be older; the update should fall within the period where possible |
| Best In-Game Collab | A collaboration delivered inside a game | Not required to use the new-release window in the same way as a new game |
The practical consequence is that a five- or ten-year-old game is not automatically disqualified. Pocket Gamer specifically notes that older games with active players may need to be considered for categories such as Best Game We’re Still Playing. An old title with no current activity is a weaker fit for an ongoing category than an older title with a demonstrably active community, regular play and current relevance.
The update category has a separate timing consideration. The game itself may have launched years ago, but the update being nominated should have been delivered during the 2025–26 period where possible. For a collaboration, character, webshop or community nomination, assess the nominated subject rather than applying the new-release rule mechanically to the game’s original launch.
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How to classify a candidate before nominating it
Use these questions in order. They prevent a common mistake: treating every nomination as if it were a newly released game.
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- Identify the subject. Decide whether you are nominating a game, an update, an experience, a character, a community, a webshop, an in-game collaboration, a developer, an indie developer or a publisher.
- Check the relevant date. For a new game, check its first release against 1 October 2025–30 September 2026. For an update or collaboration, check when that content was delivered. For a character or community, consider its current relevance instead of assuming the game’s original launch date controls.
- Separate a title from a catalogue. A game award normally concerns one title or one in-game element. Developer, indie-developer and publisher awards concern the organisation’s catalogue, with recent releases kept in mind.
- Check continuing relevance for an exempt category. An older game is a stronger candidate for Best Game We’re Still Playing or Best Community when players remain active and the subject is still meaningful during the awards period.
- Nominate the best-fitting category. Do not use a new-release category for an older game when one of the expressly exempt categories describes the achievement more accurately.
Developer, indie-developer and publisher eligibility
The developer and publisher awards are not restricted to a single game released inside the 2025–26 window. Pocket Gamer asks readers to nominate their favourite Indie Developer, Publisher and Developer based on the organisation’s catalogue, while keeping recent releases in mind.
That means a studio can be a credible nominee because of a body of work rather than one launch. A recent release can strengthen the case, but the category is not reduced to a release-date test. Consider the organisation’s catalogue as a whole, then explain why its recent work is relevant to the 2027 awards.
The word “indie” should be applied to the organisation being nominated, not to an individual game’s art style or budget. The published eligibility wording does not provide a separate employee-count, ownership or revenue threshold for indie status. Do not assume that a particular company-size test, geography rule or corporate structure is required unless Pocket Gamer publishes one for this edition.
Who can nominate?
Pocket Gamer’s process invites the world, including readers and their communities, to nominate favourite games, developers, characters and other subjects. Multiple entries may be nominated. The published material does not limit nominations to developers, publishers, journalists or people who worked on a game.
For a useful nomination, provide the exact name of the game, organisation or in-game subject and select the category that matches it. If the candidate is an older game, make clear whether you are nominating it for a back-catalogue category, an update, a community or another continuing element rather than claiming it is a new release.
The 2027 nomination phase opened on 15 October 2026 and is scheduled to close on 15 November 2026. Because the window is date-bound, a nomination submitted after the closing date may not be counted even if the game itself is eligible.
How the Pocket Gamer Awards selection process works
- Public nominations create a longlist. Readers and communities submit candidates during the nomination phase. Multiple nominations are allowed.
- Pocket Gamer totals the responses. The publication uses the nominations to build a longlist and then creates a shortlist.
- Fans vote on the shortlist. The shortlisted candidates move into the public voting stage rather than winning automatically from the nomination totals.
- Voting closes on the scheduled date. The 2027 announcement gives 20 December 2026 as the voting endpoint.
- Winners are revealed after voting. The awards winners are scheduled to be announced at the ceremony early in the following year.
A nomination therefore puts a candidate into consideration; it does not guarantee a shortlist place or a win. The process has a separate nomination stage and fan-voting stage, so supporters should act before both relevant deadlines.
Release-date decision table
| Candidate situation | Likely eligibility treatment | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Game first released between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026 | Eligible as a new release for most 2027 categories | Confirm the first release date and choose a category that judges a game, update or experience |
| Game first released before 1 October 2025 | Not a new-release candidate for most categories | Check Best Game We’re Still Playing, Best Community or another listed exemption |
| Older game received a major update during the period | Potentially eligible for Best Game Update | Confirm when the update was delivered and describe the update, not merely the old launch |
| Character from an older game | Potentially eligible for Best Character | Show why the character remains relevant; the original game date is not the sole test |
| Game with an active long-running player base | Potentially eligible for Best Game We’re Still Playing or Best Community | Identify the continuing play or community activity supporting the nomination |
| Developer or publisher with several releases | Considered on catalogue strength, with recent releases in mind | Nominate the organisation, not only one title, and select the matching catalogue category |
Common edge cases and how to handle them
A game launched in September 2025
A September 2025 launch is outside the new-release window because it predates 1 October 2025. It may still be a strong nomination for one of the expressly exempt categories if its community, character, webshop, update or ongoing play fits that category.
A game launched on 30 September 2026
That date is the final day of the stated main period, so it falls within the window for most new-release categories. Keep documentation of the launch date in your own records in case the date needs to be clarified, but Pocket Gamer has not published a separate proof-of-release requirement for 2027.
An update to a game released years ago
The old launch does not by itself rule out Best Game Update. The relevant subject is the update. Pocket Gamer says updates should be within the period where possible, so identify the update’s delivery date and explain what changed.
A collaboration that began before the period and continued afterward
Best In-Game Collab is expressly outside the ordinary new-release restriction. Describe the collaboration as the nominated subject and make its timing clear rather than presenting the underlying game as a 2025–26 launch.
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A developer with no single breakout release
A catalogue-based award can still fit. The published wording asks readers to consider an Indie Developer, Publisher or Developer based on the catalogue, while keeping recent releases in mind. A nomination should therefore point to the organisation’s body of work and its current output.
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A game available only in one market or on one platform
The official 2027 material does not publish a separate platform-availability or geography checklist. Do not infer a universal regional or platform requirement. State the actual availability when describing the candidate and rely on any edition-specific rule Pocket Gamer later publishes.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Requirements Pocket Gamer has not specified
The published 2027 eligibility information does not set out a technical checklist for platform availability, geographic eligibility, company size, entry fees or proof-of-release documents. It also does not establish a special form of evidence that every nominee must upload.
That absence is important: do not tell nominees that a game must be available worldwide, that a studio must meet a particular headcount, that an entry fee is required or that release documentation is mandatory unless Pocket Gamer announces those conditions in a later edition-specific rule page. You can still prepare accurate release dates, update dates and catalogue information so the nomination is clear, but those preparations are practical safeguards rather than published eligibility rules.
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| Stage | Date or period | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Main release-eligibility period | 1 October 2025–30 September 2026 | Applies to new games and most release-based categories |
| Nominations open | 15 October 2026 | Public nomination phase begins |
| Nominations close | 15 November 2026 | Last scheduled day to submit a nomination |
| Voting ends | 20 December 2026 | Fan-voting period is scheduled to finish |
| Winner announcement | Early 2027 | Winners are revealed after voting, at the awards ceremony |
A practical nomination checklist
- Write down the candidate’s first release date, using the exact day, month and year where available.
- For an update or collaboration, record the date that the nominated content went live.
- Decide whether the subject is a title, an in-game element, a community or an organisation’s catalogue.
- Compare the candidate with the 1 October 2025–30 September 2026 window before choosing a new-release category.
- If the game is older, test it against Best Game We’re Still Playing, Best Community, Best Webshop, Best Character, Best Game Update and Best In-Game Collab.
- For a developer, indie developer or publisher, describe the catalogue and keep recent releases in view rather than presenting only one game.
- Submit during the 15 October–15 November 2026 nomination period.
- If shortlisted, follow the fan-voting stage through its scheduled 20 December 2026 close.
What “eligible” means in practice
Eligibility is category-specific. A game inside the main release window is the straightforward case, but an older game can qualify when the nomination concerns an exempt category or a catalogue-based award. The strongest nomination states exactly what is being judged, gives the relevant release or update timing, and avoids applying a new-release rule to a category designed for continuing games, communities, characters, webshops or collaborations.
For 2027, the safest reading is therefore: check the date, check the subject, check whether the category is exempt, and distinguish a single title from an organisation’s catalogue. Anyone can nominate, but the nomination must arrive by 15 November 2026 to enter Pocket Gamer’s longlist process.
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