Ahead of its official nominations process in 2026, BAFTA has announced the longlists for its 2026 Games Awards. A whopping 64 games have made the cut across 17 categories, including the all-important Best Game, which sees a familiar frontrunner once again rise to the top of the pile.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been longlisted a whopping 17 times, proving popular among the 1,700 experienced games industry professionals who contribute to BAFTA’s membership selection process. Unsurprisingly, after claiming Best Game at the 2025 Golden Joysticks, it’s up for the same award in London next April, but an interesting mix of other hopefuls joins it.
BAFTA Games Awards 2026: Best Game longlist
- ARC Raiders
- Blue Prince
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Dispatch
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Split Fiction
Let it be said that Expedition 33 is in no way guaranteed GOTY at the BAFTA Games Awards. The ceremony, and its biggest award, are famously unpredictable – in 2023, Vampire Survivors famously snatched the top gong from God of War Ragnarök. As a result, it’s not impossible to see one of the more overlooked titles from the year getting its dues; I’d love for Split Fiction to go all the way, but it’s probably the only chance for indies Blue Prince and Dispatch to take home the gold.
Despite getting 17 places on the longlist, that’s not one per category. Expedition 33 dominates the Performer in a Leading and Supporting Role lists, including Ben Starr (Verso) and Jennifer English (Maelle) for leads, and fellow party members Charlie Cox (Gustave), Kirsty Rider (Lune), and my personal fave, Rich Keeble (Monoco). Even Andy Serkis’ Renoir makes the list, but not Maxence Cazorla for mon ami Esquie, which feels like a cruel omission.
Play Puzzles & Games on Forbes
The final nomination lists will be unveiled next year, ahead of the winners being announced at the 2026 BAFTA Games Awards on April 17, 2026.
BAFTA Games Awards 2026: All longlisted titles
Animation
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows
- Battlefield 6
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Dispatch
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Artistic Achievement
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Dispatch
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- South of Midnight
- Sword of the Sea
Audio Achievement
- ARC Raiders
- Battlefield 6
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Dispatch
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Hades II
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Split Fiction
- Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
British Game
- Atomfall
- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
- F1 25
- Jurassic World Evolution 3
- Little Nightmares III
- Mafia: The Old Country
- Monument Valley 3
- PowerWash Simulator 2
- Two Point Museum
- Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
Debut Game
- Blue Prince
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Consume Me
- Date Everything!
- Despelote
- Dispatch
- Is This Seat Taken?
- The Midnight Walk
- The Rogue Prince of Persia
- Tiny Bookshop
Evolving Game
- Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Fallout 76
- Helldivers 2
- Hitman World of Assassination
- Marvel Rivals
- No Man’s Sky
- Sea of Thieves
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- Vampire Survivors
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Family
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- EA SPORTS FC 26
- Is This Seat Taken?
- LEGO Party!
- Mario Kart World
- Monument Valley 3
- Pokémon Legends: Z-A
- PowerWash Simulator 2
- Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
- Two Point Museum
Game Beyond Entertainment
- and Roger
- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Consume Me
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- despelote
- Monument Valley 3
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
- Silent Hill f
- The Alters
Game Design
- Ball x Pit
- Blue Prince
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Hades II
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Split Fiction
- The Alters
Multiplayer
- ARC Raiders
- Battlefield 6
- Borderlands 4
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
- Dune: Awakening
- Elden Ring Nightreign
- LEGO Party!
- Mario Kart World
- Peak
- Split Fiction
Music
- ARC Raiders
- Blue Prince
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Dispatch
- DOOM: The Dark Ages
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Narrative
- Blue Prince
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Dispatch
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Hades II
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- Split Fiction
- The Alters
New Intellectual Property
- Absolum
- ARC Raiders
- Atomfall
- Ball x Pit
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Dispatch
- Peak
- South of Midnight
- Split Fiction
- The Alters
Performer in a Leading Role
- Aaron Paul as Robert Robertson (Dispatch)
- Alex Jordan as Jan Dolski (s) (The Alters)
- Ben Starr as Verso (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
- Erika Ishii as Atsu, (Ghost of Yōtei)
- Jennifer English as Maelle (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
- Judy Alice Lee as Melinoë (Hades II)
- Kaja Chan as Mio (Split Fiction)
- Laura Bailey as Invisigal (Dispatch)
- Suzie Yeung as Hinako Shimizu (Silent Hill f)
- Tom McKay as Henry of Skalitz (Kingdom Come: Deliverance II)
- Troy Baker as Indiana Jones (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle)
Performer in a Supporting Role
- Alix Wilton Regan as Lea Florence Monad (Lies of P: Overture)
- Amelia Tyler as Hecate (Hades II)
- Andy Serkis as Renoir (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
- Charlie Cox as Gustave (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
- David Menkin as Hans (Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest)
- Jane Perry as Lia Cain (Dead Take)
- Jeffrey Wright as Chase (Dispatch)
- Kirsty Rider as Lune (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
- Rich Keeble as Monoco (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
- Troy Baker as Higgs (Death Stranding 2: On The Beach)
Technical Achievement
- ARC Raiders
- Battlefield 6
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- DOOM: The Dark Ages
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- Split Fiction
