Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Ghost of Yōtei secure most nominations at DICE Awards 2026

The 29th Annual DICE Awards nominations have been revealed, with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Ghost of Yōtei leading the charge. Both games secured eight nominations, including Game of the Year.

Clair Obscur actors Jennifer English and Maxence Cazorla were recognised for their performances as Melle and Esquie, while Erika Ishii was nominated for their portrayal of Atsu in Yōtei.

Embark Studios’ Arc Raiders and Adhoc Studios’ Dispatch had six nominations, both also appearing in the Game of the Year category.

Dogubomb’s Blue Prince earned five nominations (also GOTY), while Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding 2: On the Beach received four nominations and Warhorse Studios’ Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 had three.

Dispatch and Blue Prince were also recognised in the Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game category, alongside Devolver Digital’s Baby Steps, Hexecutable’s Consume Me, and Panic Inc.’s Despelote.

Former Naughty Dog co-CEO Evan Wells will be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) Hall of Fame during the ceremony, presented by Neil Druckmann.

The 29th Annual DICE Awards takes place at 8pm PT alongside the conference on February 12, 2026, at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas.

Here is the full list of nominees for the 2026 DICE Awards:

Game of the Year

• Arc Raiders (Embark Studios)
• Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
• Dispatch (Adhoc Studio)
• Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Role-Playing Game of the Year

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector (Jump Over the Age/Fellow Traveller)
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver)
• Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)
• The Outer Worlds 2 (Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)

Action Game of the Year

• Absolum (Guard Crush Games, Supamonks/Dotemu)
• Arc Raiders
• Doom: The Dark Ages (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
• Hades 2 (Supergiant Games)
• Ninja Gaiden 4 (Team Ninja, PlatinumGames/Xbox Game Studios)

Adventure Game of the Year

• Blue Prince
• Dispatch
• Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo)
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)

Mobile Game of the Year

• Persona 5: The Phantom X (Black Wings Game Studio/Sega)
• Umamusume: Pretty Derby (Cygames)
• What The Clash (Triband)
• Where Winds Meet (Everstone Studio/NetEase Games)

Online Game of the Year

• Arc Raiders
• Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios/Electronic Arts)
• Mario Kart World (Nintendo)
• Marvel Rivals (NetEase Games)
• Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/EA)

Family Game of the Year

• Lego Party (SMG Studio/Fictions)
• Lego Voyagers (Light Brick Studio/Annapurna Interactive)
• Lumines Arise
• Marvel Cosmic Invasion (Tribute Games/Dotemu)
• Popucom (Countersurge Salient/Gryphline)

Fighting Game of the Year

• 2XKO (Riot Games)
• Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (Capcom)
• Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (SNK)
• Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection (Digital Eclipse/Atari)
• WWE 2K25 (Visual Concepts/2K)

Racing Game of the Year

• EA Sports F1 25 (Codemasters/Electronic Arts)
• Kirby Air Riders (Nintendo/Sora)
• Mario Kart World
• Wheel World (Messhof/Annapurna Interactive)

Sports Game of the Year

• EA Sports FC 26 (EA Vancouver, EA Romania/EA)
• PGA Tour 2K25 (HB Studios/2K)
• MLB The Show 25 (San Diego Studios/SIE)
• NBA 2K26 (Visual Concepts/2K)
• Rematch (Sloclap/Kepler Interactive)

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

• The Alters (11 Bit Studios)
• Drop Duchy (Sleepy Mill Studio/The Arcade Crew)
• Europa Universalis 5 (Paradox Tinto/Paradox Interactive
• The King is Watching (Hypnohead/TinyBuild)
• StarVaders (Pengonauts/Joystick Ventures)

Immersive Reality Game of the Year

• Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked (Resolution Games)
• Ghost Town (Fireproof Games)
• Marvel’s Deadpool VR (Twisted Pixel Games/Oculus Studios)
• The Midnight Walk (MoonHood/Fast Travel Games)
• Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow (Maze Theory/Vertigo Games)

Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game

• Baby Steps (Devolver Digital)
• Blue Prince
• Consume Me (Hexecutable)
• Despelote (Panic Inc.)
• Dispatch

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

• Arc Raiders
• Blue Prince
• Hades 2
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
• Öoo (NamaTakahashi)

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

• Blue Prince
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Hades 2
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios)
• The Midnight Walk

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Dispatch
• Ghost of Yōtei
• The Midnight Walk

Outstanding Achievement in Character

• Esquie (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Maxence Cazorla)
• Maelle (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Jennifer English)
• Courtney/Invisigal (Dispatch, Laura Bailey)
• Robert Robertson III/Mecha Man (Dispatch, Aaron Paul)
• Atsu (Ghost of Yōtei, Erika Ishii)

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Herdling (Okomotive/Panic Inc.)
• Mario Kart World
• Sword of the Sea (Giant Squid)

Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design

• Arc Raiders
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Lumines Arise (Enhance/Monstars)
• Split Fiction

Outstanding Achievement in Story

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Consume Me
• Despelote
• South of Midnight
• The Drifter (Powerhoof)

Outstanding Technical Achievement

• Arc Raiders
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows (Ubisoft Québec/Ubisoft)
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Doom: The Dark Ages

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement

• Ghost Town
• Hotel Infinity (Studio Chyr)
• Marvel’s Deadpool VR
• Star Wars: Beyond Victory – A Mixed Reality Playset (Industrial Light & Magic/Disney Electronic Content)
• Unloop (Superposition Null/CM Games)