Clair Obscur and Ghost of Yōtei lead 2026 DICE Awards nominations

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) has officially unveiled the finalists for the 29th annual DICE Awards. This year, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Ghost of Yōtei are at the front of the pack, with both titles securing a staggering eight nominations each. Furthermore, Blue Prince received five nominations, while Death Stranding 2: On the Beach received four.

The AIAS jury for the DICE Awards provides a peer-voted counterpoint to the more commercial landscape of late 2025’s awards season. As such, it's expected to see some differences between the nominees and the award winners compared to the likes of TGA. Still, most of the time they do agree on the GOTY, with the exceptions being in 2015/2016 (TGA: The Witcher 3 vs D.I.C.E.: Fallout 4), 2019/2020 (TGA: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice vs D.I.C.E.: Untitled Goose Game) and 2020/2021 (TGA: The Last of Us Part II vs D.I.C.E.: Hades).

This year, in the DICE Game of the Year category, Expedition 33 and Ghost of Yōtei will contest the awards against games like Arc Raiders and the critically acclaimed indies Blue Prince and Dispatch. The complete list of nominees can be found below:

Game of the Year

• Arc Raiders
• Blue Prince
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Dispatch
• Ghost of Yōtei

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• South of Midnight
• 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

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Esquie
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Maelle
• Dispatch – Courtney/Invisigal
• Dispatch – Robert Robertson III/Mecha Man
• Ghost of Yōtei – Atsu

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Herdling
• Mario Kart World
• Sword of the Sea

Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design

• Arc Raiders
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Lumines Arise
• Split Fiction

Outstanding Achievement in Story

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

Outstanding Technical Achievement

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

Action Game of the Year

• Absolum
• Arc Raiders
• Doom: The Dark Ages
• Hades 2
• Ninja Gaiden 4

Adventure Game of the Year

• Blue Prince
• Dispatch
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Hollow Knight: Silksong

Family Game of the Year

• Lego Party!
• Lego Voyagers
• Lumines Arise
• Marvel Cosmic Invasion
• Popucom

Fighting Game of the Year

• 2XKO
• Capcom Fighting Collection 2
• Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
• Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection
• WWE 2K25

Racing Game of the Year

• EA Sports F1 25
• Kirby Air Riders
• Mario Kart World
• Wheel World

Role-Playing Game of the Year

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• The Outer Worlds 2

Sports Game of the Year

• EA Sports FC 26
• PGA Tour 2K25
• MLB The Show 25
• NBA 2K26
• Rematch

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

• The Alters
• Drop Duchy
• Europa Universalis V
• The King is Watching
• StarVaders

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement

• Ghost Town
• Hotel Infinity
• Marvel’s Deadpool VR
• Star Wars: Beyond Victory – A Mixed Reality Playset
• Unloop

Immersive Reality Game of the Year

• Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked
• Ghost Town
• Marvel’s Deadpool VR
• The Midnight Walk
• Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow

Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game

• Baby Steps
• Blue Prince
• Consume Me
• Despelote
• Dispatch

Mobile Game of the Year

• Persona 5: The Phantom X
• Umamusume: Pretty Derby
• What the Clash?
• Where Winds Meet

Online Game of the Year

• Arc Raiders
• Battlefield 6
• Mario Kart World
• Marvel Rivals
• Split Fiction

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

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

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

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

The winners will be revealed during the 29th Annual DICE Awards, which will take place at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas on February 12th at 8:00 PM PT (February 13th at 4:00 AM GMT).

KitGuru says: While Clair Obscur remains the favourite following its success, the sudden surge of Dispatch suggests that late-year releases shouldn’t be counted out just yet.

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