From six judged categories to six People's Choice awards, here are the photographers and games that took home the 2026 PMAs.
More than 2,800 photographs were entered into the 2026 Photo Mode Awards, sent from over 80 countries and captured across 243 different games. Six of them won.
Two processes got us there. Our judges worked the shortlists in six categories and chose a winner and a runner-up in each. The community voted separately, on the games themselves, casting over 5,850 votes for the photo modes that gave them the most to work with.
One name came out of both.
The show is below. Every result follows.
The Judged Categories
Six categories, judged by our panel from a shortlist of finalists. One winner and one runner-up in each.
People
The PMAs goes to @niinakaniin.vp of Finland, for a portrait taken in Ghost of Yōtei.
Runner-up is @Photomode.enjoyer of Italy, working in Pragmata.
Architecture
The PMAs goes to @Gamer_XI of Saudi Arabia, shooting upward into Night City.
Runner-up is @Stancing of Canada, in Matrix Awakens.
Action
The PMAs goes to @Horizon_VP of the United Kingdom, in Senua's Saga: Hellblade II.
Runner-up is @summers458.bsky.social, also from the United Kingdom, with a Gran Turismo 7 capture that gets close enough to read the tyre wall behind the wheel.
Close Up
The PMAs goes to @amich_vp of the United States, in Alan Wake 2. Hold that name for a moment.
Runner-up is @FoxPurple of Australia, in Valor Mortis.
Nature
The PMAs goes to @Axelis_online of Indonesia, in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands. A game that launched in 2017 and still holds a category in 2026.
Runner-up is @im_faisaI of Saudi Arabia, in Black Myth: Wukong.
Indie
The PMAs goes to @JB_Jawbreaker of Japan, in Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.
Runner-up is @madduke_ingame of Australia, in Sword of the Sea.
People's Choice
These awards go to the games and the teams who built the tools. The community cast more than 5,850 votes across five genre categories and one creator award.
Best Action Photo Mode
The PMAs goes to Resident Evil Requiem, Capcom.
Resident Evil Requiem took nearly half the category and doubled the next name on the sheet.
Resident Evil Requiem Capcom | 46.7% |
Stellar Blade (PC Port) SHIFT UP | 22.8% |
Crimson Desert Pearl Abyss | 13.6% |
Dying Light: The Beast Techland | 4.0% |
Atomic Heart: Blood on Crystal Mundfish | 3.3% |
Best Adventure Photo Mode
The PMAs goes to Ghost of Yōtei, Sucker Punch Productions.
The only game on the night to place in both halves of the awards. Ghost of Yōtei also took the judged People category with @niinakaniin.vp behind the camera.
Ghost of Yōtei Sucker Punch Productions | 37.1% |
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Kojima Productions | 22.5% |
Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 Enhanced Ninja Theory | 10.6% |
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, From the Ashes Ubisoft | 8.3% |
Hell is Us Rogue Factor / Nacon | 4.3% |
Best RPG Photo Mode
The PMAs goes to Assassin's Creed Shadows, Ubisoft.
The most evenly spread category of the six. Four nominees cleared 8%, and the top three carried more than 75% between them.
Assassin's Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji Ubisoft | 35.4% |
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2: Mysteria Ecclesiae DLC Warhorse Studios | 23.5% |
Where Winds Meet Everstone Studio | 16.9% |
Starfield: Terran Armada DLC Bethesda | 8.9% |
The Division 2: Battle for Brooklyn Ubisoft | 5.3% |
Best Simulation Photo Mode
The PMAs goes to Forza Horizon 6, Playground Games.
The largest margin of the night. Forza Horizon 6 took 68.5%, more than eight times the second-placed nominee.
Forza Horizon 6 Playground Games | 68.5% |
Mario Kart World Nintendo | 8.3% |
Skate. Electronic Arts | 4.6% |
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 Iron Galaxy Studios & Activision | 4.0% |
Train Sim World 6 Dovetail Games | 3.0% |
Best Indie Photo Mode
The PMAs goes to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Sandfall Interactive.
More than half the category outright, and the widest gap to second place of any result bar Simulation.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Sandfall Interactive | 51.7% |
The Alters 11 Bit Studios | 8.9% |
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Switch) Ember Lab | 7.6% |
Cairn The Game Bakers | 7.3% |
Sword of the Sea Giant Squid | 5.3% |
Creator of the Year
The PMAs goes to Amich, @amich_vp.
This was the closest result of the night. Amich finished on 20.9% against Artenpixels_ on 19.5%, a gap of 1.4 points, in the only category where no nominee cleared a quarter of the vote.
He also won the judged Close Up category for his Alan Wake 2 capture. A judging panel and a public vote arrived at the same photographer, by two completely separate routes.
Amich @amich_vp | 20.9% |
Artenpixels_ | 19.5% |
saskia.s.photo.world | 15.6% |
khaals.vp | 10.9% |
spideytwoshoes | 8.6% |
Until Next Season
Congratulations to all twelve photographers, and thank you to the judges who worked the shortlists to get to them.
Entries for the next Photo Mode Awards open on 1 June. Plenty of time to go find the shot.
Until then, the Hall of Winners holds every result from 2024 onward. Our games database tracks which photo modes are worth your time, updated as new titles land. And the Discord is where this lot argue about focal length between seasons.
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