Grammy 2026 ignores Clair Obscur

The announcement of the nominees for the Grammy 2026 caused frustration in the gaming community after Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was snubbed in the Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media category. The absence of the title was a critical point, especially considering the strong acclaim it received.

The list of nominees includes:

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – Secrets of the Spires

Helldivers 2

Indiana Jones and The Great Circle

Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card & A Pirate’s Fortune

Sword of the Sea

The majority of the nominations are linked to movie franchises, reinforcing the trend of adaptations in the segment.

The reaction to the snubbing was not limited to the fans. Austin Wintory, composer of Sword of the Sea and a respected name in the industry (Journey, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Abzu), expressed disappointment over the absence of Expedition 33. On social media, the musician stated that he would "be happy to switch places" with the French RPG from Sandfall Interactive, highlighting that the score by Lorien Testard is "the true example of something worthy of an award".

The Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was not only critically acclaimed in 2025, but its score topped the Classical chart on Billboard for ten consecutive weeks, a rare achievement for a video game production.

Another title that was also surprisingly left out from the list was Death Stranding 2 (DS2), whose soundtrack was highly praised by both the audience and the critics. The French RPG continues to accumulate praise from influential developers (Final Fantasy 7, Baldur’s Gate 3), and the expectation now turns to other awards, such as The Game Awards, to recognize the work by the end of the year.

The Grammy 2026 did not nominate Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 or Death Stranding 2 in the Best Soundtrack category, despite the critical success and the leading position of Clair Obscur's score on the Classical chart of Billboard for ten weeks. The list of nominees includes Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – Secrets of the Spires, Helldivers 2, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card & A Pirate’s Fortune and Sword of the Sea, whose composer, Austin Wintory, publicly lamented the absence of Expedition 33.