South Of Midnight Dominates Canadian Game Awards 2026 With 7 Wins Including Game Of The Year

The Canadian Game Awards 2026 have officially closed the awards season for 2025, and this year’s show had one clear winner. South of Midnight from Compulsion Games dominated the night with 7 awards, including Game of the Year, making it the standout Canadian developed title of the ceremony. While the regional focus of the Canadian Game Awards meant global awards favorite Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was not part of the conversation, the show still delivered a strong celebration of Canada’s gaming industry. South of Midnight won almost every category in which it was nominated, only missing Innovation in Accessibility, which went to Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Compulsion Games also won Studio of the Year, beating strong nominees such as Digital Extremes, Rogue Factor, Tribute Games, and Yellow Brick Games. That made the night not only a victory for South of Midnight as a game, but also a major recognition of Compulsion Games as one of Canada’s leading creative studios.

Rogue Factor also had a strong showing with Hell is Us, which won Best Game Design, while lead actor Elias Toufexis won Best Performance for his role as Rémi. The wins helped give the ceremony more balance, even with South of Midnight clearly leading the night. The event also recognized broader contributions to the Canadian games industry. Red Barrels, the studio behind Outlast, celebrated its 15 year anniversary, while the newly introduced Game Changer Award was presented to longtime games media creator and host Victor Lucas. Lucas, known for decades of work in video game media, shared the moment through his official X post.

Last night was one of the most surreal and beautiful events I’ve ever experienced. Thank you to the @cgameawards for putting it together and for honouring me and our collective efforts at EP in such a profoundly moving and meaningful way.

My life flashed before my eyes at the…

— Victor Lucas (@Victor_Lucas) May 22, 2026

The full winners and nominees are listed below.

• Best Art Direction

  • Eternal Strands

  • Lost Records: Bloom and Rage

  • Marvel Cosmic Invasion

  • 33 Immortals

  • South of Midnight (Winner)

• Best Audio Design

  • Assassin’s Creed Shadows

  • Battlefield 6

  • Eternal Strands

  • Hell is Us

  • South of Midnight (Winner)

• Best Score And Soundtrack

  • Assassin’s Creed Shadows

  • Eternal Strands

  • Lost Records: Bloom and Rage

  • Marvel Cosmic Invasion

  • South of Midnight (Winner)

• Best Performance

  • Erica Luttrell as Melissa Mills in Battlefield 6

  • Olivia Lepore as Swann Holloway in Lost Records: Bloom and Rage

  • Momona Tamada as Oni yuri in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

  • Peter Shinkoda as Fujibayashi Nagato in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

  • Elias Toufexis as Rémi in Hell is Us (Winner)

• Best Console Game

  • Assassin’s Creed Shadows

  • Battlefield 6

  • Hell is Us

  • Marvel Cosmic Invasion

  • South of Midnight (Winner)

• Best PC Game

  • Aloft

  • Ambrosia Sky: Act One

  • Battlefield 6 (Winner)

  • Eternal Strands

  • Foundation

• Best Mobile Game

  • EA Sports FC 26 Mobile

  • Elsewhere Electric

  • LHEA and the Word Spirit

  • Rainbow Six Mobile (Winner)

• Best VR And AR Game

  • Chronostrike

  • Elsewhere Electric (Winner)

  • Fruit Golf

  • Prison Boss Prohibition

  • Verse VR

• Best Esports Event

  • Battle of BC 7

  • Call of Duty Champs

  • Electric Clash

  • Raptors GC Tournament (Winner)

  • Valorant Masters Toronto 2025

• Best Esports Player

  • Adam “mada” Pampuch

  • Brandon “Dashy” Otell

  • Keith “NAF” Markovic

  • Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken (Winner)

  • Troy “Canadian” Jaroslawski

• Best Esports Coach

  • Antonin “AEC” Tran

  • Kurtis “Aui 2000” Ling

  • Loic “Effys” Sauvageau (Winner)

  • Mervin Angelo “Dayos” Lachica

  • Shaun Byrne

• Best Esports And Gaming Organization

  • Raptors GC

  • Shopify Rebellion (Winner)

  • Toronto Ultra, KOI, OverActive Media

  • Vancouver Surge

• Best Content Creator

  • Alex “Vansilli” Nguyen

  • Ashley Roboto

  • Nicholas “NickEh30” Amyoony

  • Stef Sanjati

  • Victor Lucas and Electric Playground (Winner)

• Innovation In Accessibility

  • Assassin’s Creed Shadows (Winner)

  • EA Sports FC 26

  • South of Midnight

  • Squeekross

  • Wanderstop

• Best Narrative

  • Assassin’s Creed Shadows

  • Hell is Us

  • Lost Records: Bloom and Rage

  • South of Midnight (Winner)

  • Wanderstop

• Best Game Design

  • Assassin’s Creed Shadows

  • Battlefield 6

  • Hell is Us (Winner)

  • Eternal Strands

  • South of Midnight

• Best Indie Game

  • Ambrosia Sky: Act One

  • Ctrl Alt Deal

  • Fresh Tracks

  • Marvel Cosmic Invasion

  • Wanderstop (Winner)

• Studio Of The Year

  • Compulsion Games (Winner)

  • Digital Extremes

  • Rogue Factor

  • Tribute Games

  • Yellow Brick Games

• ESAC Fan Choice Award

  • Lost Records: Bloom and Rage (Winner)

• Game Of The Year

  • Assassin’s Creed Shadows

  • Hell is Us

  • Lost Records: Bloom and Rage

  • South of Midnight (Winner)

  • Wanderstop

South of Midnight’s success at the Canadian Game Awards 2026 reinforces the strength of Compulsion Games’ creative direction and the growing visibility of Canadian studios in the global market. With its art direction, audio work, soundtrack, narrative, console experience, and overall production all recognized, the game became the defining winner of the ceremony.

For Canada’s gaming industry, the night also showed impressive range. Major publishers, indie studios, esports organizations, performers, creators, and legacy media figures all shared the spotlight. South of Midnight may have taken the biggest honors, but the full winners list reflects an industry with strong talent across console, PC, mobile, VR, esports, and narrative driven development.

Do you think South of Midnight deserved its Game of the Year win, or was another nominee your personal favorite from the Canadian Game Awards 2026?