BAFTA Games 2026: Race for Best Game Award Begins

Our favorite Goodies

BAFTA Games Awards 2026 Longlist Revealed: Top Contenders Announced for Best Game and More

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the longlists for the 2026 BAFTA Games Awards, setting the stage for the awards ceremony on April 17 in London. More than 1,700 industry professionals participated in the initial selection phase, evaluating games released between November 16, 2024, and November 14, 2025, to determine the nominees across 17 categories. “These awards celebrate creative excellence and talent in video games, balancing major successes with smaller, critically acclaimed productions,” said Tara Saunders, head of the BAFTA Games Committee. The longlist aims to highlight talent across the industry and recognize creative work from the past year, including highly anticipated sequels, promising new intellectual properties, and indie games gaining traction. BAFTA members will vote again in February 2026 to decide the final nominees for Best Game and British Game. Specialist juries will determine the nominees in all other categories. The official nominations will be announced on March 12, 2026. Leading the nominations is Death Stranding 2 (Kojima Productions) with ten, followed by Ghost of Yotei and Hades II, each receiving nine. Split Fiction, the follow-up to Hazelight’s It Takes Two, earned eight nominations, while Hollow Knight: Silksong received four. The nominees include:

BAFTA Games Awards 2026 – Top Contenders Announced across Best Game, Animation, Art Direction, Audio, and British Game Categories

BEST GAME ARC Raiders Blue Prince Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Dispatch Ghost of Yotei Hades II Hollow Knight: Silksong Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Split Fiction ANIMATION Assassin’s Creed Shadows Battlefield 6 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Dispatch Donkey Kong Bananza Ghost of Yotei Hades II Hollow Knight: Silksong Indiana Jones and the Great Circle ART DIRECTOR Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Dispatch Ghost of Yotei Hades II Hollow Knight: Silksong Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Kingdom Come: Deliverance II South of Midnight Sword of the Sea AUDIO ARC Raiders Battlefield 6 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Dispatch Ghost of Yotei Hades II Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Split Fiction Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 BRITISH GAME Atomfall Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector F1 25 Jurassic World Evolution 3

BAFTA Games Awards 2026 – Top Picks Across Best Game, Animation, Art Direction, Audio, British Game, Continuing Game, Family Game, and Game Beyond Entertainment Categories

Little Nightmares III Mafia: The Old Country Monument Valley 3 PowerWash Simulator 2 Two Point Museum Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 BREAKTHROUGH GAME Blue Prince Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Consume Me Date Everything despelote Dispatch Is This Seat Taken The Midnight Walk The Rogue Prince of Persia Tiny Bookshop CONTINUING GAME Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition Cyberpunk 2077 Fallout 76 Helldivers 2 Hitman World of Assassination Marvel Rivals No Man’s Sky Sea of Thieves The Elder Scrolls Online Vampire Survivors Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine FAMILY GAME Donkey Kong Bananza EA SPORTS FC 26 Is This Seat Taken LEGO Party Mario Kart World Monument Valley 3 Pokémon Legends: ZA PowerWash Simulator 2 Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Two Point Museum GAME BEYOND ENTERTAINMENT and Roger Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Consume Me Death Stranding 2: On The Beach despelote Monument Valley 3 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Silent Hill f.

BAFTA Games Awards 2026 – Notable Entries Across Design, Multiplayer, Music, Narrative, and New IP Categories

The Alters GAME DESIGN BALL x PIT Blue Prince Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Donkey Kong Bananza Ghost of Yotei Hades II Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Split Fiction The Alters MULTIPLAYER GAME ARC Raiders Battlefield 6 Borderlands 4 Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Dune: Awakening ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN LEGO Party Mario Kart World PEAK Split Fiction MUSIC ARC Raiders Blue Prince Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Dispatch DOOM: The Dark Ages Ghost of Yotei Hades II Hollow Knight: Silksong Indiana Jones and the Great Circle NARRATIVE Blue Prince Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Dispatch Ghost of Yotei Hades II Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Split Fiction The Alters NEW IP Absolum ARC Raiders Atomfall BALL x PIT Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Dispatch PEAK South of Midnight.

BAFTA Games Awards 2026 – Notable Performances and Technical Achievements Across Multiple Nominees

Split Fiction The Alters PRIMARY PERFORMANCE Aaron Paul (Dispatch) Alex Jordan (The Alters) Ben Starr (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33) Erika Ishii (Ghost of Yotei) Laura Bailey (Dispatch) Suzie Yeung (Silent Hill f) Tom McKay (Kingdom Come: Deliverance II) Troy Baker (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle) SECONDARY PERFORMANCE Alix Wilton Regan (Lies of P: Overture) Amelia Tyler (Hades II) Andy Serkis (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33) Charlie Cox (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33) David Menkin (Still Wakes the Deep: Sirens Rest) Jane Perry (Dead Take) Jeffrey Wright (Dispatch) Kirsty Rider (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33) Rich Keeble (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33) Troy Baker (Death Stranding 2: On The Beach) TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT ARC Raiders Battlefield 6 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Donkey Kong Bananza DOOM: The Dark Ages Ghost of Yotei Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Split Fiction.

BAFTA Games Awards 2026 – Indie Star Clair Obscur Spotlights Unconventional Talent Hunt by Sandfall Interactive

Among the nominees, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 stands out as the product of indie development team Sandfall Interactive. Founded by former Ubisoft employee Guillaume Broche, the studio’s talent search led them to Jennifer English for voice acting via Reddit and Lorien Testard for music composition via Soundcloud, exemplifying the diverse avenues for creative contribution recognized by BAFTA. The final nominations will be anounced in March, and the winners will be revealed at the BAFTA Games Awards ceremony in April.

In Case You Missed It

Intrigued by Dispatch’s eclectic cast of characters? Ahmed Hassan’s recent analysis, “Dispatch: Unraveling a Mystery Haunting Players”, published on Nov 30th, is a must-read. He delves into the enigmatic Mr. Whiskey, a fan favorite whose brief appearances have sparked endless speculation, exploring his comedic interactions with Waterboy and Invisigal, and his mysterious role transition within the game’s narrative Dispatch: Unraveling a Mystery Haunting Players. Meanwhile, Jonathan Dubinski has penned a fascinating piece on Players for Life about Alifilmworx’s breathtaking remake of the original God of War. Published on Nov 29th, “God of War Remake? Here’s What Fan Dreams Might Look Like” takes a deep dive into this fan’s passion project, exploring how he has responded to criticism and refined his work while critiquing Sony’s silence on the matter God of War Remake? Here’s What Fan Dreams Might Look Like. But if you’re eager to dive into the intersection of cinema and gaming, don’t miss Ahmed Hassan’s recent piece, ‘Behind the Scenes of The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge by Quentin Tarantino’, published on Dec 8th. It’s a fascinating deep-dive into how Epic Games brought a long-lost Tarantino script to life in Fortnite using cutting-edge technology like MetaHuman and Muzzlereport Behind the Scenes of The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge by Quentin Tarantino.