Bafta Games 2026 nominees announced and it’s another Clair Obscur sweep

Bafta Games 2026 nominees announced and it’s another Clair Obscur sweep

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 main party stood together in fantasy forest
Hope Sandfall’s bought a bigger trophy cabinet (Sandfall Interactive)

Dispatch and Arc Raiders are up for Game of the Year at the Baftas, but they’re competing against critical darling Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Considering it was nominated for no less than 12 categories at The Game Awards 2025 (the most nominations in the event’s history), it should come as no surprise that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is set to sweep this year’s Bafta Game Awards as well.

In fact, just like The Game Awards, it’s up for another 12 awards, making it the most nominated game of the event, as well as the most nominated Debut Game in the category’s history.

It’s not the most nominated game in Bafta history, though, as God Of War Ragnarök saw 14 nominations in 2023, followed by The Last Of Us Part 2 in 2021 with 13 nominations.

Fans of Telltale-esque superhero drama Dispatch will be happy to know that, after only seeing one nomination at The Game Awards 2025, it stands to win up to nine Baftas, although it is facing Clair Obscur in eight of those categories.

This includes the Best Game award, with the rest of the nominees consisting of extraction shooter Arc Raiders, puzzle game Blue Prince, PlayStation 5 exclusive Ghost Of Yōtei, and Xbox’s Indiana Jones And The Great Circle.

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Aside from Clair Obscur, that’s a completely different line-up to The Game Awards 2025’s Game of the Year category, which including Death Stranding 2, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hades 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

Most of those have seen Bafta nominations in other categories, although there are some surprising omissions, with titles such as Silent Hill f, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Ninja Gaiden 4 nowhere to be seen.

Bafta has a tendency not to recognise Japanese-made games though, while also showing a general preference for narrative-based titles over gameplay-focused ones.

In case you’re wondering how the Indy game was nominated, when it launched in December 2024, Bafta accepts nominations for any games released between November 16, 2024, and November 14, 2025.

The one exception is the Evolving Game category, since that covers ongoing titles that receive consistent content updates.

You can read the full list of nominees below, with the awards show scheduled to take place on Friday, April 17.

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 “coda” 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 “coda” 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

‘Today’s nominations recognise 42 outstanding games that highlight the very best of the global games industry,’ says Tara Saunders, chair of Bafta’s Games Committee.

‘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.’

Dispatch gameplay of Robert and Blonde Blazer talking outside building at sunset
Can Dispatch swipe some awards of its own from Clair Obscur? (Adhoc)

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