Lucia in 'GTA 6' Image via Rockstar Games By Randy Rhodes Published Sep 1, 2026, 12:13 AM EDT Randy Rhodes' first gaming memory is Kirby's Adventure on the NES, and his love for gaming only rose from there. Playing games eventually wasn't enough for him. He began following the industry closely. In 2024, he finally started putting that to use by launching the Project Untitled Gaming Podcast and later the Dual-Wield Gaming Podcast . Covering the news week to week turned out to be something he loved, but a weekly show only has so much room in it, and writing was already something he wanted to do more of. Randy has written for Lords of Gaming since March 2025 and already has over 200 articles published to show for it. His coverage centers on Nintendo, Xbox, and indies, and runs across news, reviews, previews, and editorial. He enjoys writing about and critiquing the games that he's played, but analyzing the industry brings just as much enjoyment for him. He tends to write editorials that try to dig deeper into the news instead of just restating it. Randy reviews and previews games broadly across all genres. He has a soft spot for co-op games, 3D platformers, and the majority of Nintendo's first-party output, but he also adores cozy and niche titles that don't always get a serious look: visual novels, farming sims, life sims, etc. He's always looking for up-and-coming indie games worth writing about. Outside of games, Randy is into DnD, cooking, music and music production, which inspired one of his favorite pieces to write: 50 Songs Leveled Up By Video Game Samples . He also cares about Black representation in games and in the industry behind them, and he's always looking for opportunities to cover it. Sign in to your Collider account Add Us Add on Google Preferred Source Google News Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Listen Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap Grand Theft Auto VI will be the biggest game of the year, probably even the biggest of all time. However, history shows that may not be enough to be considered the best. Rockstar's last two blockbusters, Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2 , performed on a scale that most developers could only dream of. Yet there's one achievement that seems to keep slipping through their fingers: a Game of the Year award .
Now in 2026, three games have a high chance of making history repeat. Marvel's Wolverine arrives on September 15 with Insomniac's impressive Spider-Man pedigree behind it. Gears of War: E-Day releases a bit later on October 6, a return to form that looks to deliver an emotional campaign alongside a bombastic multiplayer suite. Lastly, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is the wildcard, a modern take on a game that still stands on top as Metacritic's highest rated game of all time . GTA VI will surely outsell all three titles combined, but one of them has the potential to block Rockstar from a total victory.
Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2 Image via Rockstar Games It may sound hard to believe with Rockstar's track record of massively successful and highly rated releases, but there's a precedent that is hard to ignore. At multiple big award ceremonies, Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2 came up short to The Last of Us and God of War (2018), respectively. Neither winner comes close to competing with the scope and ambitio…