GamingOnPhone Awards 2026 Concludes in Bangkok, Honoring the Best in Mobile Gaming And Esports
The sixth edition of the GamingOnPhone Awards took place on October 28, 2026, in Bangkok, Thailand. The live ceremony gathered industry leaders, developers, publishers, and PR professionals to recognize achievements across the mobile gaming sector. Notably, this year's event was held alongside the inaugural The Mobile Premiere, featuring a dedicated showcase of 22 exclusive mobile game reveals and updates. Supported by partners such as KRAFTON India, which sponsored the Indie Segment via the KIGI Indie Excellence Honors, the event expanded its scope to celebrate various facets of global mobile game development and competitive play.
The Evolution of the Awards
The GamingOnPhone Awards launched its inaugural edition in December 2021 in a fully online format. Initially, the event featured just five overarching categories, which included the Mobile Esports Game of the Year award. The awards themselves are hosted by GamingOnPhone, a Kolkata (India) based digital media publisher founded in August 2019 by Tousif Hasan Biswas. Over the past six editions, the GamingOnPhone Awards have expanded significantly, growing into 28 distinct categories of gaming and esports for the 2026 edition.
Celebrating the Breadth of Mobile Gaming
To provide a holistic view of the industry, the 2026 ceremony recognized an array of genres, formats, and professional contributions. NetEase Games’ Where Winds Meet secured the Mobile Game of the Year, while Garena's Free Fire took home On-going Mobile Game of the Year. Other notable winners included Gameloft's Carmen Sandiego for Premium Mobile Game of the Year and Don't Starve Together for Innovative Mobile Game of the Year. This broad slate highlights how mobile competitive titles operate alongside narrative, premium, and independent games within a much larger, maturing ecosystem.
Mobile Esports Game of the Year
Within the competitive sector, the Mobile Esports Game of the Year award recognized the top ecosystems in mobile gaming. The finalists included Magic Chess: Go Go, Clash Royale, Honor of Kings, PUBG MOBILE, Brawl Stars, Pokémon UNITE, and Free Fire.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), developed and published by MOONTON Games, won the category for a fifth time. The MOBA title maintained a strong viewership presence in global esports this year; Its Mid Season Cup (MSC) at the Esports World Cup 2026 reached over 2.89 million peak viewers, and the M7 World Championship in January 2026 recorded a peak of 5.68 million concurrent viewers. Additionally, the MOONTON Games PR Team was recognized for the PR/Marketing Team of the Year award.
Mobile Esports Team of the Year
This award recognized competitive consistency and tournament results. Finalists across various game ecosystems included Kuaishou Gaming (Honor of Kings), Team Vitality (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang), Team Flash (PUBG Mobile), GodLike Esports (BGMI), AG Super Play (Honor of Kings), Tribe Gaming (Clash of Clans), HMBLE (Brawl Stars), Qing Jiu Club (Call of Duty: Mobile), and Buriram United Esports (Free Fire).
Taking home the top honor was Team Spirit, securing the Mobile Esports Team of the Year award. Team Spirit made history as the first non-Southeast Asian team to win an official international Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) major tournament by capturing the MLBB Mid Season Cup (MSC) 2026 at the Esports World Cup in Paris, France.
The transition from a small online broadcast in 2021 to a comprehensive live ceremony for the 2026 Edition of the GamingOnPhone Awards in Bangkok underscores the rapid maturation and permanent, expanding footprint of the global mobile gaming industry.
