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The 22nd Bafta games awards are coming up in April, and the 2026 nominations list is dominated by the impeccably stylish French breakout hit Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 which has 12 nominations, and has already won game of the year prizes at the UK’s Golden Joysticks last November, December’s Game awards in the US and February’s Dice awards in Las Vegas.
Dispatch, a game about a benched superhero roped into running a team of superpowered misfits at a call centre, has nine nominations. Among them is a best performer in a leading role nod for its star Aaron Paul, and one for Jeffrey Wright in a supporting role. Sony’s samurai epic Ghost of Yōtei came out with eight nominations, including best game and best performer in a leading role for Erika Ishii, who plays Atsu.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, from Japan’s Kojima Productions, got seven nominations – but star Norman Reedus did not appear in the best performer category, despite being nominated for his role in the original Death Stranding in 2020.
Compared with other gaming awards ceremonies, many of which are voted for by the public, the panel-voted Bafta list tends to nominate (and honour) a much broader range of games. This year, Ecuadorian football-memoir game Despelote, autobiographical coming-of-age comedy Consume Me, the sublime puzzle-box Blue Prince and a game about dementia called And Roger – all made by very small teams or led by solo developers – sit alongside blockbuster-budget games such as Xbox’s Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The nominations list includes 42 different games in total.
The games in the “Game beyond entertainment” category, for games that raise awareness of important issues or experiences, are particularly diverse, originating in six different countries. “This list shows that ‘beyond entertainment’ has gone well beyond a niche. It spans everything from intimate indie memoirs to blockbusters that all use games as a medium to make big human themes felt, not just watched,” Bafta games chair Tara Saunders said.
“An ever-present theme for each nominee is how these games don’t lecture. Instead they translate grief, care, identity, community and survival into interactive mechanics, so that understanding comes from doing. Their success is indicative of a growing trend of players seeking culturally specific stories that resonate … because of their authenticity.”
The best game category comprises Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (released in December 2024), Clair Obscur, multiplayer hit Arc Raiders, Blue Prince, Dispatch and Ghost of Yōtei. Notably absent is Hollow Knight: Silksong, a fiercely beloved fan favourite that has not found its way on to many of the big gaming awards lists, despite winning the top accolade at last year’s player-voted Steam awards.
The ceremony will take place on 17 April in London, and will be livestreamed on Bafta’s YouTube channel.
The full nominations are below:
Animation
Battlefield 6
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Dispatch
Ghost of Yōtei
Hades II
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Artistic achievement
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Dispatch
Ghost of Yōtei
Hollow Knight: Silksong
South of Midnight
Audio achievement
Arc Raiders
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Dispatch
Ghost of Yōtei
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Best game
Arc Raiders
Blue Prince
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Dispatch
Ghost of Yōtei
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
British game
Atomfall
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
Mafia: The Old Country
Monument Valley 3
PowerWash Simulator 2
Two Point Museum
Debut game
Blue Prince
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Consume Me
Despelote
Dispatch
The Midnight Walk
Evolving game
Fallout 76
Helldivers 2
Hitman: World of Assassination
No Man’s Sky
Vampire Survivors
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Family
Donkey Kong Bananza
Is This Seat Taken?
Lego Party!
Mario Kart World
PowerWash Simulator 2
Two Point Museum
Game beyond entertainment
The Alters
And Roger
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
Consume Me
Despelote
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Game design
Ball x Pit
Blue Prince
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Ghost of Yōtei
Hades II
Split Fiction
Multiplayer
Arc Raiders
Dune: Awakening
Elden Ring Nightreign
Lego Party!
Split Fiction
Music
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Dispatch
Ghost of Yōtei
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Narrative
The Alters
Blue Prince
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
New intellectual property
The Alters
Arc Raiders
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Dispatch
South of Midnight
Split Fiction
Performer in a leading role
Aaron Paul as Robert Robertson III in Dispatch
Ben Starr as Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Erika Ishii as Atsu in Ghost of Yōtei
Jennifer English as Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Tom McKay as Henry of Skalitz in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Troy Baker as Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Performer in a supporting role
Alix Wilton Regan as Lea Florence Monad in Lies Of P: Overture
Charlie Cox as Gustave in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Jane Perry as Lia Cain in Dead Take
Jeffrey Wright as Chase in Dispatch
Kirsty Rider as Lune in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Troy Baker as Higgs in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Technical achievement
Arc Raiders
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Doom: The Dark Ages
Ghost of Yōtei
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Split Fiction
