DICE Awards 2026 nominations - Clair Obscur Expedition 33 pegged back by PS5 exclusive

The nominations for this year's DICE Awards has officially been unveiled, and you won't be surprised which game dominates the categories. After a clean sweep at The Game Awards, 2025's Game of the Year, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, is ever-present once more, receiving eight nominations in total.

Unlike The Game Awards, however, the French RPG is joined at the hip with PlayStation's Ghost of Yotei , which also has eight nominations.

Expedition 33 and Ghost of Yotei are closely followed by Dispatch and ARC Raiders with six nominations apiece.

The winners will be announced by hosts Greg Miller and Stella Chung on February 13. In the meantime, check out the full list of nominations below.

Game of the Year

• ARC Raiders (Embark Studios)
• Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
• Dispatch (AdHoc Studio)
• Ghost of Yotei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/SIE)
• Ghost of Ytei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)
• Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)
• South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Games Studios)
• The Midnight Walk

(MoonHood/Fast Travel Games) Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sanfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/SIE)
• Dispatch (AdHoc Studio)
• Ghost of Ytei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)
• The Midnight Walk (MoonHood/Fast Travel Games)

Outstanding Achievement in Character

• Esquie from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Maxence Cazorla)
• Maelle from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Jennifer English)
• Courtney/Invisagal from Dispatch (Laura Bailey)
• Robert Robertson III/Mecha Man from Dispatch (Aaron Paul)
• Atsu from Ghost of Ytei (Erika Ishii)

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
• Ghost of Ytei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)
• Herdling (Okomotive/Panic Inc.)
• Mario Kart World (Nintendo)
• Sword of the Sea (Giant Squid)

Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design

• ARC Raiders (Embark Studios)
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/SIE)
• Ghost of Ytei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)
• Lumines Arise (Enhance/Monstars)
• Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/EA)

Outstanding Achievement in Story

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
• Consume Me (Hexecutable LLC)
• despelote (Panic Inc.)
• South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Games Studios)
• The Drifter (Powerhoof)

Outstanding Technical Achievement

• ARC Raiders (Embark Studios)
• Assassin's Creed Shadows (Ubisoft Québec/Ubisoft)
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/SIE)
• Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo)
• Doom: The Dark Ages (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)

Action Game of the Year

• Absolum (Dotemu)
• ARC Raiders (Embark Studios)
• Doom: The Dark Ages (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
• Hades II (Supergiant Games)
• Ninja Gaiden 4 (Team Ninja/PlatinumGames)

Adventure Game of the Year

• Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
• Dispatch (AdHoc Studio)
• Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo)
• Ghost of Ytei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)
• Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)

Family Game of the Year

• LEGO Party! (SMG Studio/Fictions)
• LEGO Voyagers (Light Brick Studio/Annapurna Interactive)
• Lumines Arise (Enhance/Monstars)
• Marvel Cosmic Invasion (Tribute Games/Dotemu)
• Popucom (Countersurge Games/Gryphline)

Fighting Game of the Year

• 2KXO (Riot Games)
• Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (Capcom)
• Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (SNK)
• Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection (Digital Eclipse/Atari)
• WWE 2K25 (Visual Concepts/2K)

Racing Game of the Year

• EA Sports F125 (Codemasters/EA)
• Kirby Air Riders (Sora Ltd/Nintendo)
• Mario Kart World (Nintendo)
• Wheel World (Messhof/Annapurna Interactive)

Role-Playing Game of the Year

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
• Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector (Jump Over the Age/Fellow Traveller)
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver)
• Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)
• The Outer Worlds 2 (Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)

Sports Game of the Year

• EA Sports FC 26 (EA Vancouver, EA Romania/EA)
• PGA Tour 2K25 (HB Studios/2K)
• MLB The Show 25 (San Diego Studio/SIE)
• NBA 2K26 (Visual Concepts/2K)
• Rematch (Sloclap/Kepler Interactive)

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

• The Alters (11bit studios)
• Drop Duchy (Sleepy Mill Studio/The Arcade Crew)
• Europa Universalis V (Paradox Tinto/Paradox Interactive)
• The King is Watching (Hypnohead/tinyBuild)
• StarVaders (Pengonauts/Joystick Ventures)

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement

• Ghost Town (Fireproof Games)
• Hotel Infinity (Studio Chyr)
• Marvel's Deadpool VR (Twisted Pixel Games/Oculus Studios)
• Star Wars: Beyond Victory - A Mixed Reality Playset (Industrial Light & Magic/Disney Electronic Content Inc.)

Immersive Reality Game of the Year

• Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked (Resolution Games)
• Ghost Town (Fireproof Games)
• Marvel's Deadpool VR (Twisted Pixel Games/Oculus Studios)
• The Midnight Walk (MoonHood/Fast Travel Games)
• Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow (Maze Theory/Vertigo Games)

Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game

• Baby Steps (Devolver Digital)
• Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
• Consume Me (Hexecutable LLC)
• despelote (Panic Inc.)
• Dispatch (AdHoc Studio)

Mobile Game of the Year

• Persona5: The Phantom X (Black Wings Game Studio/SEGA)
• Umamusume: Pretty Derby (Crygames Inc.)
• WHAT THE CLASH? (Triband)
• Where Winds Meet (Everstone Studio/NetEase)

Online Game of the Year

• ARC Raiders (Embark Studios)
• Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios/EA)
• Mario Kart World (Nintendo)
• Marvel Rivals (NetEase Games)
• Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/EA)

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

• ARC Raiders (Embark Studios)
• Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
• Hades II (Supergiant)
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver)
• Öoo (NamaTakahashi)

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

• Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
• Ghost of Ytei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)
• Hades II (Supergiant)
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver)