Animal Hospital Wins Four Awards at the 2026 Roblox Innovation Awards, and RIVALS Takes Two
Animal Hospital was the big winner at the 2026 Roblox Innovation Awards. It took four trophies, including Best New Game, People's Choice and the Builderman Award. According to the official Roblox newsroom, the awards closed out RDC 2026 with 20 categories. The winners range from competitive shooters and survival horror to word puzzles, licensed football and a plugin for UGC makers.
Roblox's own write-up says the variety is the point: there's no single definition of a great Roblox game anymore. We mostly agree with that. We also think the winners list says more than Roblox spelled out, about where players spend their time and where the platform is heading as it turns 20.
Who Won the 2026 Roblox Innovation Awards?
Animal Hospital by Animal Anomaly won four of the 20 awards, and Nosniy Games won two: Best Shooter for RIVALS and Best Studio. The other 14 awards went to 14 different winners across genres, tools and content creation. Here's the full list as published by Roblox.
- Best Shooter: RIVALS (Nosniy Games)
- Best Use of Audio: DOORS (LSPLASH)
- Best Plugin: UGC Makers Toolbox (Onogork)
- Best Puzzle Game: Finish The Word (Table Game X)
- Best Innovation in a Branded Game: Steal a Brainrot x GOAT (Do Big)
- Best Party & Casual Game: +1 Speed Keyboard Escape (SecretVerse Studio)
- Best Innovation in Tech: TTK (Sable Digital)
- Best Sports Game: FIFA Super Soccer (Play! Football)
- Best Action Game: Jujutsu Shenanigans (Tze's Shenanigans)
- Best UGC Creator: Valkenheim
- Best Innovation in Creative Direction: Animal Hospital (Animal Anomaly)
- Best Survival Game: 99 Nights in the Forest (Grandma's Favourite Games)
- Best Strategy Game: Mini War (M&M Community)
- Best RPG: Piggy: Intercity (Piggy: Intercity)
- Best Classic Game: Natural Disaster Survival (Stickmasterluke)
- Best Video Star: Laughability (YouTube)
- Best New Game: Animal Hospital (Animal Anomaly)
- People's Choice: Animal Hospital (Animal Anomaly)
- Best Studio: Nosniy Games
- The Builderman Award: Animal Hospital (Animal Anomaly)
If you're planning what to play this weekend, many of these already appear on our best Roblox games list. The rest are worth a look now that they have an official award behind them.
Why Did Animal Hospital Win So Many Awards?
Animal Hospital won because it impressed both the judges and the players. It took Best New Game and Best Innovation in Creative Direction, won People's Choice from the community vote, and received the Builderman Award, Roblox's top honor. Winning both the juried and fan-voted awards in the same year is rare, and it's the real story of this year's show.
The newsroom post never names the game in its intro, but it teases "one particularly suspicious medical facility." That almost certainly refers to Animal Hospital. When Roblox uses your game as a punchline in its own recap, you've clearly made an impression inside the company too.
The creative direction award matters most here. Roblox has plenty of games that grow through clever monetization or copying whatever is trending. A new game winning for its creative vision tells developers that a strong identity can still compete with the algorithm.
Is the Builderman Award a Bigger Deal Than People's Choice?
Yes, in terms of prestige inside the industry. The Builderman Award is named after the account of Roblox co-founder David Baszucki and is the platform's signature honor. People's Choice shows fan support, while the Builderman Award shows Roblox's own endorsement. Animal Hospital won both, which means the players and the company agree.
Is RIVALS Really the Best Shooter on Roblox?
By Roblox's official judgment, yes: RIVALS won Best Shooter, and its developer Nosniy Games won Best Studio. That makes Nosniy the only developer besides Animal Anomaly with more than one trophy this year. The studio award is arguably the bigger win, because it recognizes a whole team's output and consistency rather than one game.
RIVALS has become the default competitive shooter for many Roblox players, thanks to quick matches and gunplay that feels closer to a mainstream arena shooter than a typical Roblox game. For a platform that was long mocked for clunky combat, that's a meaningful change. It also shows that a serious competitive audience is building on the platform, not just casual players.
What Do the Genre Winners Say About Roblox in 2026?
The genre winners show that Roblox no longer revolves around one kind of game. Horror, survival, anime action, strategy, word puzzles and licensed sports all won awards in the same year. Taken together, the list looks less like a kids' platform and more like a general-purpose game store.
Horror and Survival Are Still Strong
DOORS won Best Use of Audio, and we think that's exactly right. LSPLASH's horror game depends on sound: you listen for cues to tell when a monster is coming, and the tension comes as much from what you hear as what you see. Audio design rarely gets credit on Roblox, and it's good to see it recognized.
99 Nights in the Forest won Best Survival Game, which confirms that the "terrifying forest" the newsroom mentioned is more than a passing trend. Along with Piggy: Intercity winning Best RPG, horror-related games took three awards. If that's your genre, our best Roblox horror games guide covers the scene in more depth.
Viral Hits and Branded Games Are Getting More Ambitious
Steal a Brainrot x GOAT won Best Innovation in a Branded Game, and that category deserves attention. Branded collaborations on Roblox have often been lazy ads with an obby attached. An innovation award in this category suggests brands are finally working with games that already have audiences instead of building empty showrooms.
FIFA Super Soccer winning Best Sports Game points the same way. Big licenses are coming to Roblox and apparently shipping playable games rather than marketing stunts. Players should judge those games on how they play, not on the logo.
Old Classics and Creative Tools Still Get Recognized
Natural Disaster Survival by Stickmasterluke won Best Classic Game, a nice nod to the platform's history in its 20th year. The game has lasted for years with a very simple idea: survive whatever disaster comes next. It's a good reminder that simple, replayable designs can outlast most trends.
The tools awards got less attention but matter just as much. Onogork's UGC Makers Toolbox won Best Plugin, Valkenheim won Best UGC Creator, and TTK by Sable Digital won Best Innovation in Tech. These winners power the avatar items and features that players use across the entire platform, not just in one game.
What Is The Hunt: Roblox 20?
The Hunt: Roblox 20 is a special event celebrating Roblox's 20th anniversary, and it starts on September 17. Roblox announced it during the RIAs broadcast. The newsroom post hasn't shared details yet on how it works, which games take part or what the rewards are.
Past Hunt events have sent players across many participating games to complete challenges and collect rewards, so a similar format seems likely. That's our guess from earlier events, though, and Roblox hasn't confirmed it. We'll cover the full details in our Roblox news section as soon as Roblox publishes them, and we'll add walkthroughs to our Roblox guides once the event goes live.
Why This Matters for Players
For players, the RIAs are useful mostly as a recommendation list. Award winners usually get more visibility on the platform afterward, so expect Animal Hospital, RIVALS and the other winners to show up more often on your home screen. If you've been ignoring Animal Hospital, four trophies is a good reason to try it.
The winners also hint at where developers will put their effort next. When a new game wins for creative direction and an audio-driven horror game gets recognized for sound design, other studios take note. Over the next year, that could mean more games with a distinct style and fewer copies of whatever topped the charts last month.
There's also a benefit for older players. A list that includes tactical shooters, strategy games and licensed football shows the platform increasingly caters to teens and adults, not just younger kids. Our best Roblox games for adults roundup follows the same trend.
The tools awards affect players in a less obvious way. Better plugins and better UGC creators lead to better avatar items, smoother games and more polished features. You may never install UGC Makers Toolbox yourself, but you'll probably wear something made with it.
What We Think
This is one of the more believable winners lists Roblox has put out. Too often, platform award shows simply give trophies to whatever makes the most money. This year's list does include big money-makers like RIVALS and the Steal a Brainrot collaboration, but it also includes a word game, a classic from years ago and a plugin, which suggests the judges looked beyond revenue.
Our main concern is concentration. Giving one game four of the 20 awards is a strong statement, and Animal Hospital may deserve it. Still, stacking Best New Game, People's Choice, Creative Direction and the Builderman Award on the same winner reduces how many developers get recognized in a year Roblox itself called unusually diverse. We'd have liked to see the Builderman Award, in particular, go to someone who didn't already have three trophies.
We also want more transparency. Roblox's post talks about creative risk-taking but doesn't explain how winners were picked, how many nominees there were or how the People's Choice vote was counted. If the RIAs are meant to be the platform's version of the Game Awards, publishing the process would make them more credible.
Overall, though, the 2026 RIAs got most of the big calls right. DOORS for audio, Nosniy for studio and Natural Disaster Survival for classic are hard to argue with. Check our game reviews for our take on how the individual winners actually play.
Frequently Asked Questions
What won the Builderman Award at the 2026 Roblox Innovation Awards?
Animal Hospital by Animal Anomaly won the 2026 Builderman Award. It also won Best New Game, People's Choice and Best Innovation in Creative Direction, for four awards in total, the most of any winner this year.
Which studio won Best Studio at the 2026 RIAs?
Nosniy Games won Best Studio. The developer also won Best Shooter for RIVALS, making it the only winner other than Animal Anomaly with more than one award.
How many categories were there at the 2026 Roblox Innovation Awards?
Roblox handed out 20 awards. They covered game genres, creative tools, a branded game, the People's Choice vote, Best Studio, Best Video Star and the Builderman Award.
When does The Hunt: Roblox 20 start?
The Hunt: Roblox 20 starts on September 17, 2026, to celebrate Roblox's 20th anniversary. Roblox announced it at the Innovation Awards but hasn't yet shared how it works or what the rewards are.
Which horror games won at the 2026 Roblox Innovation Awards?
DOORS by LSPLASH won Best Use of Audio, and 99 Nights in the Forest by Grandma's Favourite Games won Best Survival Game. Piggy: Intercity, part of the long-running Piggy horror series, won Best RPG.
