The Nominees For The D.I.C.E. Awards 2026 Have Been Announced

The nominees for the 29th annual D.I.C.E. Awards have been announced.

Now that we’ve seen Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 absolutely sweep the categories of The Game Awards, it’s time to turn to the peer-voted trophies to see which developers will take home the gold. Run by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, The D.I.C.E. Awards are a range of accolades decided upon by the gaming industry itself, making a true peer-to-peer awards ceremony. As is tradition, this year’s show will be hosted by Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller and freelancer Stella Chung on February 13 at 3pm AEDT, and will be livestreamed by the wonderful folks at IGN.

Here are the nominees for the 29th annual D.I.C.E. Awards:

Game of the Year

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

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/SIE)
• Ghost of Yōtei (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 Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)
• The Midnight Walk (MoonHood/Fast Travel Games)

Outstanding Achievement in Character

• Esquie Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Writers Jennifer Svedberg-Yen and Guillaume Broche Actor Maxence Cazorla)
• Maelle from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Writers Jennifer Svedberg-Yen and Guillaume Broche Actor Jennifer English)
• Courtney/Invisagal from Dispatch (Narrative Director Pierre Shorette Actor Laura Bailey Creative Directors Nick Herman and Dennis Lenart)
• Robert Robertson III/Mecha Man from Dispatch (Narrative Director Pierre Shorette Actor Aaron Paul Creative Directors Nick Herman and Dennis Lenart)
• Atsu from Ghost of Yōtei (Actor Erika Ishii)

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sanfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
• Ghost of Yōtei (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 Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)
• Lumines Arise (Enhance/Monstars)
• Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/EA)

Outstanding Achievement in Story

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sanfall 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 Yōtei (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 (Sanfall 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 (Sanfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
• Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)
• Hades II (Supergiant)
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver)

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Sandfall Interactive’s debut darling, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, has topped the charts here, nabbing a total of eight nominations. But, unlike The Game Awards, the French RPG is joined by Ghost of Yōtei for the top spot, closely followed by Arc Raiders and Dispatch with six noms apiece.

Do you agree with the nominations? Which developers should walk away with a trophy, in your opinion? Let us know in the comments or on our social media.