The beloved Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is unsurprisingly up for yet more prizes, as it leads this year’s BAFTA Games Awards nominations with an impressive 12 nods.
Clair Obscur is up for the main Best Game award, as well as Debut Game for its studio Sandfall Interactive. It is the most nominated debut game ever at the BAFTAs, and has the third highest nomination total of all time (behind The Last of Us Part 2’s 13 nominations in 2021, and God of War: Ragnarok’s 14 nominations in 2023).
Dispatch, the highly-rated superhero workplace comedy made by former Telltale team members, is up for an impressive nine awards, including both Best Game and Debut Game. Ghost of Yōtei has eight nods, while Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has seven. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has six nominations, while Arc Raiders has five.
Individual performers up for awards include Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul for his role as Robert Robertson in Dispatch, Erika Ishii for her portrayal of Atsu in Ghost of Yōtei, and then a slew of nominations for the cast of Clair Obscur.
Ben Starr and Jennifer English are up against each other again for their roles as Verso and Maelle (English won out at last year’s Game Awards). Daredevil actor Charlie Cox has a supporting actor nomination for Gustave, as does Kirsty Rider for Lune.
Amusingly, Troy Baker is up for both Performer in a Leading Role and Performer in a Supporting Role this year, for his work as Indy in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and as Higgs in Death Stranding 2.
“Today’s nominations recognise 42 outstanding games that highlight the very best of the global games industry,” said Tara Saunders, chair of BAFTA’s Games Committee, in a statement sent to IGN.
“This year’s nominations reflect an industry reshaping itself – with a vibrant mix of established studios standing alongside a wide range of independent studios, and a number of development teams earning nominations for the first time. The exceptional craft, artistry and innovation behind these titles shines through. A nomination is an extraordinary achievement, and I extend my warmest congratulations to every nominee for their innovation, hard work and resilience.”
The BAFTA Games Awards 2026 will crown its winners on April 17, during a ceremony held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, that will also be available to watch online via YouTube. The full list of nominees lies below:
BAFTA Games Awards 2026 Nominees
ANIMATION
- BATTLEFIELD 6 Development Team – Battlefield Studios/Electronic Arts
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH Hideo Kojima, Masaaki Kawata, Laurie Jezequel – Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- DISPATCH Development Team – AdHoc Studio/AdHoc Studio
- GHOST OF YŌTEI Development Team – Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- HADES II Craig Harris, Nikita Taranduke, Jen Zee – Supergiant Games/Supergiant Games
- HOLLOW KNIGHT: SILKSONG Development Team – Team Cherry/Team Cherry
ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT
- CLAIR OBSCUR: EXPEDITION 33 Development Team – Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH Hideo Kojima, Yoji Shinkawa, Megan Tuckwell – Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- DISPATCH Derek Stratton – AdHoc Studio/AdHoc Studio
- GHOST OF YŌTEI Development Team – Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- HOLLOW KNIGHT: SILKSONG Development Team – Team Cherry/Team Cherry
- SOUTH OF MIDNIGHT Development Team – Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios
AUDIO ACHIEVEMENT
- ARC RAIDERS Bence Pajor, Olof Strömqvist, Simon Svanbäck – Embark Studios/Embark Studios
- CLAIR OBSCUR: EXPEDITION 33 Development Team – Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH Hideo Kojima, Hiroyuki Nakayama – Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- DISPATCH Development Team – AdHoc Studio/AdHoc Studio
- GHOST OF YŌTEI Development Team – Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE Development Team – MachineGames/Bethesda
BEST GAME
- ARC RAIDERS Aleksander Grøndal, Stefan Strandberg, Virgil Watkins – Embark Studios/Embark Studios
- BLUE PRINCE Development Team – Dogubomb/Raw Fury
- CLAIR OBSCUR: EXPEDITION 33 Development Team – Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
- DISPATCH Nick Herman, Dennis Lenart, Pierre Shorette – AdHoc Studio/AdHoc Studio
- GHOST OF YŌTEI Development Team – Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE Development Team – MachineGames/Bethesda
BRITISH GAME
- ATOMFALL Development Team – Rebellion/Rebellion
- CITIZEN SLEEPER 2: STARWARD VECTOR Gareth Damian Martin, Guillaume Singelin, Amos Roddy – Jump Over the Age/Fellow Traveller
- MAFIA: THE OLD COUNTRY Development Team – Hangar 13/2K
- MONUMENT VALLEY 3 Development Team – ustwo games/ustwo games
- POWERWASH SIMULATOR 2 Development Team – FuturLab/FuturLab
- TWO POINT MUSEUM Development Team – Two Point Studios/SEGA
DEBUT GAME
- BLUE PRINCE Development Team – Dogubomb/Raw Fury
- CLAIR OBSCUR: EXPEDITION 33 Development Team – Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
- CONSUME ME Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson – Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken & Snyder/ Hexecutable LLC
- DESPELOTE Development Team – Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena/Panic
- DISPATCH Nick Herman, Dennis Lenart, Pierre Shorette – AdHoc Studio/AdHoc Studio
- THE MIDNIGHT WALK Development Team – MoonHood/Fast Travel Games
EVOLVING GAME
- FALLOUT 76 Development Team – Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda
- HELLDIVERS 2 Development Team – Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- HITMAN WORLD OF ASSASSINATION Development Team – IO Interactive/IO Interactive
- NO MAN’S SKY Development Team – Hello Games/Hello Games
- VAMPIRE SURVIVORS Development Team – poncle/poncle
- WARHAMMER 40,000: SPACE MARINE 2 Dmitry Grigorenko, Oliver Hollis-Leick, Anatolii Koruka – Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment Publishing
FAMILY
- DONKEY KONG BANANZA Development Team – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
- IS THIS SEAT TAKEN? Ausiàs Dalmau, Sergi Pérez – Poti Poti/Wholesome Games Presents
- LEGO PARTY! Development Team – SMG Studio/Fictions
- MARIO KART WORLD Development Team – Nintendo/Nintendo
- POWERWASH SIMULATOR 2 Development Team – FuturLab/FuturLab
- TWO POINT MUSEUM Development Team – Two Point Studios/SEGA
GAME BEYOND ENTERTAINMENT
- THE ALTERS Development Team – 11 bit studios/11 bit studios
- AND ROGER Yona, Yasuhiro Nakashima – TearyHand Studio/Kodansha
- CITIZEN SLEEPER 2: STARWARD VECTOR Gareth Damian Martin, Guillaume Singelin, Amos Roddy – Jump Over the Age/Fellow Traveller
- CONSUME ME Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson – Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken & Snyder/ Hexecutable LLC
- DESPELOTE Julian Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena, Gabe Cuzzillo – Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena/Panic
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: HEART OF CHORNOBYL Development Team – GSC Game World/GSC Game World
GAME DESIGN
- BALL X PIT Kenny Sun – Kenny Sun & Friends/Devolver Digital
- BLUE PRINCE Tonda Ros – Dogubomb/Raw Fury
- CLAIR OBSCUR: EXPEDITION 33 Development Team – Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
- GHOST OF YŌTEI Development Team – Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- HADES II Amir Rao, Gavin Simon, Greg Kasavin – Supergiant Games/Supergiant Games
- SPLIT FICTION Development Team – Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
MULTIPLAYER
- ARC RAIDERS Aleksander Grøndal, Virgil Watkins – Embark Studios/Embark Studios
- DUNE: AWAKENING Marcos Pereira, Paul Vallet, Hugo Gonçalves – Funcom/Funcom
- ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Development Team – FROMSOFTWARE INC./BANDAI NAMCO
- LEGO PARTY! Development Team – SMG Studio/Fictions
- PEAK Development Team – Aggro Crab & Landfall/Aggro Crab & Landfall
- SPLIT FICTION Development Team – Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
MUSIC
- CLAIR OBSCUR: EXPEDITION 33 Lorien Testard, Alice Duport-Percier – Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH Hideo Kojima, Woodkid, Ludvig Forssell – Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- DISPATCH Andrew Arcadi, Skyler Barto – AdHoc Studio/AdHoc Studio
- GHOST OF YŌTEI Toma Otowa, Peter Scaturro, Keith Leary – Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- HOLLOW KNIGHT: SILKSONG Christopher Larkin – Team Cherry/Team Cherry
- INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE Gordy Haab, Pete Ward, Christoffer Larsson – MachineGames/Bethesda
NARRATIVE
- THE ALTERS Tomasz Kisilewicz, Katarzyna Tybinka – 11 bit studios/11 bit studios
- BLUE PRINCE Tonda Ros – Dogubomb/Raw Fury
- CLAIR OBSCUR: EXPEDITION 33 Guillaume Broche, Jennifer Svedberg-Yen – Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH Hideo Kojima, Kenji Yano, Ray Khalastchi – Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE Development Team – MachineGames/Bethesda
- KINGDOM COME: DELIVERANCE II Development Team – Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver
NEW INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
- THE ALTERS Development Team – 11 bit studios/11 bit studios
- ARC RAIDERS Aleksander Grøndal, Stefan Strandberg, Robert Sammelin – Embark Studios/Embark Studios
- CLAIR OBSCUR: EXPEDITION 33 Development Team – Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
- DISPATCH Pierre Shorette, Dennis Lenart, Nick Herman – AdHoc Studio/AdHoc Studio
- SOUTH OF MIDNIGHT Development Team – Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios
- SPLIT FICTION Development Team – Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
PERFORMER IN A LEADING ROLE
- AARON PAUL as Robert Robertson in Dispatch – AdHoc Studio/AdHoc Studio
- BEN STARR as Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
- ERIKA ISHII as Atsu in Ghost Of Yōtei – Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- JENNIFER ENGLISH as Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
- TOM MCKAY as Henry Of Skalitz in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II – Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver
- TROY BAKER as Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle -MachineGames/Bethesda
PERFORMER IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
- ALIX WILTON REGAN as Lea Florence Monad in Lies Of P: Overture – NEOWIZ/NEOWIZ
- CHARLIE COX as Gustave in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
- JANE PERRY as Lia Cain in Dead Take – Surgent Studios/Pocketpair Publishing
- JEFFREY WRIGHT as Chase in Dispatch – AdHoc Studio/AdHoc Studio
- KIRSTY RIDER as Lune in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
- TROY BAKER as Higgs in Death Stranding 2: On The Beach – Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
- ARC RAIDERS Robert Träffe, Martin Singh-Blom – Embark Studios/Embark Studios
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH Hideo Kojima, Akio Sakamoto, Neil Johnson – Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- DOOM: THE DARK AGES Development Team – id Software/Bethesda
- GHOST OF YŌTEI Development Team – Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE Development Team – MachineGames/Bethesda
- SPLIT FICTION Development Team – Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
