The nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards have been announced, with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 missing out in the Best Video Game Soundtrack category.
The Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games And Other Interactive Media category was added in 2023 to “recognise excellence in score soundtrack albums comprised predominantly of original scores and created specifically for, or as a companion to, a current video game or other interactive media.”
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla won the inaugural award at the 2023 Grammys, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor picked up the trophy at the 2024 event and this year’s Grammy went to role-playing title Wizardry: Proving Grounds Of The Mad Overlord.
The 2026 Grammy Awards are due to take place February 1 and the nominations were shared on Friday evening (November 7).
The nominations for Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games And Other Interactive Media at the 2026 Grammy are as follows:
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – Secrets of the Spires (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 & Wilbert Roget)
- Sword Of The Sea (Austin Wintory)
Grammy Nominations for Best Video Game Soundtrack.
Laced Records was trying to get Clair Obscur nominated for a few categories, but unfortunately it didn't seem to work out. pic.twitter.com/PTSCvCjIu8
— Stealth (@Stealth40k) November 7, 2025
The shortlist has sparked backlash from a number of video game fans. Some are annoyed that an expansion for Star Wars Outlaws has been nominated, when the original game was shortlisted for the 2025 awards. Others are furious Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been snubbed.
For your GRAMMY consideration
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Original Soundtrack)
⭐️ Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media – OST by Lorien Testard
⭐️ Best Song Written For Visual Media – "Lumière" by Lorien Testard & Alice Duport-PercierListen now:… pic.twitter.com/AVbFFNiT3N
— Laced (@Laced_audio) October 2, 2025
The game is one of the best-reviewed of the year, Lorien Testard’s score topped the Billboard Classic Album Chart and a live orchestral concert recently played four sold-out shows in France ahead of a 2026 international run. The music of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 also won big at the World Soundtrack Awards 2025.
“The Grammys are definitely out of touch if THOSE are the nominees and not Expedition 33. Absolute insanity,” wrote one fan. “It’s a complete and utter disgrace. This feels like a slap in the face of every gamer out there,” added another.
Even the composer of Sword Of The Sea has called out the lack of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 at the 2026 Grammys. “Congrats to my friends and thank you to Recording Academy for including Sword Of The Sea at the ’26 Grammys,” Austin Wintory wrote on social media. “I’m sad at the lack of Expedition 33 among them. I would happily trade places. That score is the *definition* of worthy!”
In other news, Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo has mocked the recent Grand Theft Auto 6 delay.