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Move over, Geoff Keighley, there's a new awards show in town. Pixel Helix, the marketing company behind August's Pixel Arcadia, has just announced a trio of live broadcasts for next year, including the inaugural Pixel Arcadia Retro Awards, which is set to take place in January.
As the name suggests, this will be a new awards show aimed at "celebrating upcoming retro releases, independent achievements, and the everpresence of physical media throughout the year," and will include categories like "Best New Game for Retro Hardware," "Best Retro-Remaster or Remake of the Year," and "Best Retro Reboot or Sequel of the Year." The company announced the award show yesterday in a press release, alongside Pixel Arcadia: Bonus Stage (scheduled for May) and Pixel Arcadia: The Future of Retro Showcase (August 2027), with all three events envisioned as becoming future "cornerstones" for the retro community.
Whether or not this will happen, of course, won't be down to Pixel Helix themselves, but based on how the community react, and whether they decide to get behind them.
Developers, publishers, and creators have until November 26th, 2026 to submit their games for award consideration, with eligible entries for these award categories including games or hardware first released between December 1st, 2025 and November 30th, 2026 (except in the case of the "Most Wanted" award, which will understandably operate slightly differently). The public will judge three of these awards, while a panel assembled by the organisers will decide the rest.
Here are the award categories in full:
- Best Nu-Retro Game of the Year
- Best New Game for Retro Hardware
- Retro Hardware Innovation
- Physical Game Release of the Year
- Most Wanted Award
- Retro-Remaster or Remake of the Year
- Games Preservation Hero
- Retro Soundtrack of the Year
- Best Retro Visuals
- No Network Required - The Couch Multiplayer Award
- Retro Reboot or Sequel of the Year
- Retro Creator of the Year [By Public Vote]
- Bring it Back Award [By Public Vote]
- Pixel Arcadia - Players Choice [By Public Vote]
Pixel Helix is also accepting "exclusive announcements, world premieres, and new trailers to be broadcast live during the show" and can request more information via the Pixel Arcadia website.
The broadcast is scheduled to take place at 20:00 CET / 19:00 GMT / 14:00 ET / 11:00 PT on January 12th.
What do you make of this announcement? Is a retro award show a welcome addition to the calendar? Or are you reserving your judgment for the time being?