The 29th annual DICE Awards are set for February 12, 2026, and the full list of nominees has been revealed, with an unsurprising list of games leading the way in nominations. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Ghost of Yotei lead the pack with eight nominations each, while Dispatch and ARC Raiders tie for second place with six nominations each. All four titles are also nominated for the big prize, Game of the Year.
The DICE Awards are hosted every year by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, with the nominees and winners picked by an academy of more than 30,000 members of the video game industry. Similar to the GDC Awards, this is an awards show that is chosen by the developers, and made for developers to celebrate each other's work and lift up the latest and greatest in the video game industry.
Basically, if you think that The Game Awards are nothing but a popularity contest and that the games' media critics who make up the judging panel don't know what they're talking about and/or you think they're only focused on trailers for new games and not focused enough on the actual awards themselves, then the DICE Awards are what you'll want to pay attention to.
Coincidentally, four out of the five choices for DICE's Game of the Year appear on Wccftech's Best of 2025 list.
Other notable nominees include Blue Prince, which has five nominations, including one for Game of the Year, and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which has four nominations.
Some of the major differences between the DICE Awards and the other major awards shows that've already passed are the fact that Hollow Knight Silksong and Hades 2 are left off the Game of the Year list, with the former getting only one nomination and the latter getting three. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 also came up short with only three nominations, and Donkey Kong Bananza got two.
Last year's big winner was Astro Bot, which took home five wins, including Game of the Year. Helldivers 2, Balatro, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle also came up with multiple wins, with four, three, and three awards each, respectively.
You can check out the full list of nominations below.
29th Annual DICE Awards Nominations
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 Yotei
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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