2026 Grammy Nominations Snub Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Death Stranding 2 Soundtracks, Sparking Outrage
The 2026 Grammy nominations are out – which includes the video game best score soundtrack nominations. Announced on November 7, 2026 – the nominations have ignited controversy due to the peculiar choices.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Death Stranding 2 are both critically acclaimed games that will be nominated for Game of the Year. With exceptional OSTs, these games have curiously been snubbed from the nominations.
On top of that, Helldivers 2 has been nominated – even though it was released in early 2024. For all video game awards, the popular game from Arrowhead Game Studios was not even considered. It was already nominated for various awards in the previous iteration of 2025.
Besides that, most of the nominations are either movie tie-ins or games that are from popular movie franchises. So, you can reasonably see why gamers are not happy with these nominations.
2026 Grammy Nominees for Best Video Game Soundtrack
The following games were announced for the Best Video Game Soundtrack category for the 2026 Grammy’s:
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – Secrets of the Spires (Pinar Toprak)
- Helldivers 2 (Wilbert Roget II)
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Gordy Haab)
- Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card & a Pirate’s Fortune (Cody Matthew Johnson & Wilbert Roget II)
- Sword of the Sea (Austin Wintory).
Curiously, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is missing despite its OST being critically acclaimed. Composed solo by Lorien Testard, features 177 tracks totaling over 8 hours and topped Billboard’s Classical and Classical Crossover charts for 10+ weeks, amassing 333 million streams. It really is baffling how it’s missing.
On top of that, Death Stranding 2‘s score, by Ludvig Forssell and Woodkid, was praised for its emotional depth and was a huge part of the game. It’s currently nominated for the Video Game Score category at the 16th Hollywood Music in Media Awards.
Both soundtracks are currently frontrunners to be nominated at The Game Awards as well.
Helldivers 2 came out in February 2024 which makes this nomination all the more confusing. By all counts, it should not be considered for any category even if it is a multiplayer game.
The inclusion of Indiana Jones, Star Wars Outlaws and Avatar also makes these nominations lose credibility. Just because they have movie franchises doesn’t mean they should be here.
Community Backlash and Calls for Grammy Reform
Understandably, players and game critics alike are incredibly critical of these nominations. According to many, these games do not represent the musical quality we have seen from games this year. Rather, they are simply popular names that a movie enthusiast might know of.
It seems that these nominations are based purely on industry politics and marketing agendas.
Many players have even made fun of the nominations, suggesting that whoever voted for these games ‘does not play video games.’ This also makes sense considering that Indiana Jones, Star Wars Outlaws and Avatar are all games with popular movie franchises.
“Grammys proving they don’t play video games or listen to its music for game context. They asked what games were based on movies and nominated those.” said a user on X (Twitter).
However, there are some players who have suggested that these games simply did not submit their OSTs for the awards to be considered. If you do not submit your works, you do not get nominated at the Grammy’s.
But there are others mentioning that this is fake news. Unfortunately, we have not been able to confirm this since there hasn’t been any official announcement or news on the matter.
But either way, the Grammys really need to revamp how they choose their nominations. Otherwise, gamers will never take the awards and nominations seriously.
Grammy Nominations for Best Video Game Soundtrack.
— Stealth (@Stealth40k) November 7, 2025
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
We’re curious to hear your take on these nominations. Do you agree with these nominations or think that both of these games have been robbed? Let us know in the comments!
The post 2026 Grammy Nominations Snub Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Death Stranding 2 Soundtracks, Sparking Outrage appeared first on Games Fuze.
