The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has revealed the list of nominees for the 2026 D.I.C.E. Awards, one of the gaming industry’s most notable award shows. A total of 64 games were nominated, with a handful of 2025’s biggest hits leading the pack.
The full list of nominees for the 2026 D.I.C.E. Awards was shared on the organization’s website. Among them is the coveted Game of the Year Award, which includes Arc Raiders, Blue Prince, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Dispatch, and Ghost of Yotei. Several of these titles also took home honors at the Shacknews Awards, including our 2025 Game of the Year, Dispatch.
### 2026 D.I.C.E. Awards Nominees
**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 II
– 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 II
– 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**
– Persona5: 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 II
– Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
– Öoo
**Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction**
– Blue Prince
– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
– Ghost of Yōtei
– Hades II
– Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
**Game of the Year**
– Arc Raiders
– Blue Prince
– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
– Dispatch
– Ghost of Yōtei
The nominees and winners are decided by a panel of industry peers. The 2026 D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony will take place on February 12, 2026, at 8 p.m. PT / 11 p.m. ET.
Stay tuned as we look forward to celebrating the best games and achievements in the interactive entertainment industry!
https://www.shacknews.com/article/147350/dice-awards-2026-nominations
