The Recording Academy has officially released the full list of nominees for the 2026 Grammy Awards, and one of the categories drawing increasing attention is Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media. Over the past few years, the Grammys have shown a growing recognition of the artistic and technical achievements in video game music, acknowledging that the medium now rivals film and television in terms of compositional ambition and cultural impact. The 2026 nominations continue this trend, highlighting a range of AAA titles crafted by some of the industry’s most respected composers.

Grammy Nominees for Best Video Game Score in 2026

This year’s nominees represent a blend of cinematic orchestration, high-intensity action scoring, and atmospheric sound design. The five titles competing in the category are Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Secrets of the Spires (composed by Pinar Toprak), Helldivers 2 (Wilbert Roget), Indiana Jones and The Great Circle (Gordy Haab), Star Wars Outlaws, Wild Card & A Pirate’s Fortune (Cody Matthew Johnson and Wilbert Roget II), and Sword of the Sea (Austin Wintory).

Each nomination carries its own narrative. Pinar Toprak’s Secrets of the Spires expands upon the lush musical identity of Pandora with sweeping orchestration and thematic layering that fans of the Avatar franchise have come to expect. Wilbert Roget’s Helldivers 2 score, meanwhile, brings intense rhythmic energy and militaristic motifs befitting one of the most played cooperative shooters of the year. Interestingly, Helldivers 2 qualifies despite releasing outside the initial eligibility window because its soundtrack album launched later, which allowed it to meet the Academy’s formal requirements.

The Surprising Absence of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Gordy Haab’s work on Indiana Jones and The Great Circle channels classic adventure scoring with a modern sensibility, echoing the heritage of John Williams while carving out its own musical personality. For Star Wars Outlaws, Cody Matthew Johnson and Wilbert Roget II blend gritty outlaw textures with the grand musical tradition of the Star Wars universe. The result is an album praised for its balance of novelty and franchise continuity. Austin Wintory’s Sword of the Sea offers a more introspective and ethereal entry, continuing the composer’s legacy of emotionally evocative and atmospheric game scores.

Despite the strength of this roster, the conversation surrounding the category has largely centered on a surprising omission: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The game is widely considered one of the standout releases of the year and has earned critical acclaim for its gameplay, narrative, and especially its music. Composed by Lorien Testard, the Clair Obscur soundtrack achieved remarkable success both commercially and critically. It held the top position on the Billboard Classical chart for ten consecutive weeks, a rare and notable accomplishment for a video game score.

The surprise grew even larger when Testard recently won the World Soundtrack Awards Game Music Award, a recognition that reinforced the score’s reputation as a landmark achievement. With such momentum, many industry analysts and fans believed Clair Obscur would be a strong contender, perhaps even a frontrunner, for at least one Grammy nomination.

Publisher Kepler confirmed that it submitted the title for two categories: Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Best Song Written for Visual Media. Although the game met the eligibility requirements and enjoyed widespread acclaim, it ultimately did not appear on the nomination list. The Recording Academy has not provided any explanation for its omission, which has led fans and commentators to speculate on possible factors including the tight competition, category interpretation, or simply the voting dynamics within the Academy.

Even so, the absence of Clair Obscur has not diminished the enthusiasm surrounding its music. Many fans continue to praise the soundtrack as one of the most artistically significant video game scores of the modern era. Its influence is expected to continue regardless of whether it receives formal awards recognition.

As the 2026 Grammy Awards approach, discussions about video game music are becoming more prominent in both the entertainment industry and the wider public. Whether through celebrated nominees or overlooked masterpieces, the category reflects a creative field that is thriving and increasingly shaping the broader landscape of entertainment music.