The full list of nominees for the 2026 Grammys was announced on Friday, and that includes the category dedicated to video games and interactive media. This will be the fourth year that the award for Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media will be given after it was introduced for the 2023 awards.
This year’s nominees include games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Star Wars Outlaws, and even Helldivers 2.
You may be asking, “How is Helldivers 2 nominated?” Well, that’s because of the timing of nominations and when soundtracks were actually released. The soundtrack for Helldivers 2 was officially released on September 20, 2024. To be eligible for the 2026 Grammys, the soundtrack had to be released between August 31, 2024, and August 30, 2025.
The 68th annual Grammy Awards takes place on February 1, 2026. You can check out the five games up for the award below.
2026 Grammys: Video Games and Other Interactive Media Nominees
Of this year’s nominees, only two were from games that originally released during the nomination window. Helldivers 2’s eligibility was already covered above, but what about Avatar and Star Wars Outlaws? That’s pretty simple, as well, because they were for story expansions that released within the required timeframe.
The full nomination list is:
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – Secrets of the Spire: Pinar Toprak, composer
- Helldivers 2: Wilbert Roget, II, composer
- Indiana Jones And The Great Circle: Gordy Haab, composer
- Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card & A Pirate’s Fortune: Cody Matthew Johnson & Wilbert Roget, II, composers
- Sword of the Sea: Austin Wintory, composer
Past Soundtrack Winners
As mentioned, this will be the fourth year in a row for the Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media. In 2023, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok by Stephanie Economou took home the first award after beating out Aliens: Fireteam Elite, Call of Duty Vanguard, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and Old World.
In 2024, it was Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab winning for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Other nominees that year included Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, God of War Ragnarök, Hogwarts Legacy, and Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical.
Last year, Winifred Phillips won for Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord. Wizardry beat out Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Star Wars Outlaws.
Which nominee do you think should win the Grammy Award for the best video game soundtrack? Leave your thoughts down in the comments and join the official Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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How is expedition 33 not included in this list. Is Grammy genuinely just payed for because that’s the only game with a very small team and low budget comparatively and they can’t pay for their awards but every single person would agree their soundtrack is literally the most superior out of this list.
Last year they skipped a clear winner: Black Myth: Wukong. This year they skip Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Just shows that Grammys are completely irrelevant from a consumer perspective.
Mainstream media that disregard these glaring omissions are equally irrelevant.
Imagine the hollow feeling the “winner” must have, after not competing with what should have been the actual winner.