If Rockstar does manage to release Grand Theft Auto VI on the 19th of November, 2026, thenit seems like the GOTY conversation is about as wrapped up as 2025's was with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sweeping everything. However, there is a dark horse that former Rockstar senior animator Mike York believes could overtake the most-anticipated game potentially of all-time.
That game is Pearl Abyss' Crimson Desert. A fantasy action RPG that grabs the attention of more and more gamers with each trailer. In a new video on York's YouTube channel (caught by Wccftech), he claims that it could even swipe GOTY from GTA's nose.
"If GTA VI wasn't here at all this year, [Crimson Desert] would probably take Game of the Year, from what it looks like," York said, commenting that Crimson Desert's ability to make a player get lost in the world can make it as strong of a contender for Game of the Year as Grand Theft Auto VI.
<social>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_0Nk-3ygOs</social>
York does admit that it would require Rockstar to "drop the ball" on GTA VI for Crimson Desert to stand tall, something that feels unlikely to happen. But hey, stranger things have happened as we all know. Neither Crimson Desert nor Grand Theft Auto VI are out at the time of writing, so we'll have to see if both games can stick their landings at the start and end of the year respectively, then the GOTY race is on.