For the first time in Grammy Awards history, the show will honour the world of video games with a dedicated category for game and interactive media soundtracks. The inaugural nominations list features a starry cast of musical hits, with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok and Call of Duty: Vanguard getting major nods, alongside Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Old World, and Aliens: Fireteam Elite.
While the ceremony is set to take place in 2023, it appears these nominations are for the 2021 and early 2022 launch period. That may account for the lack of recent worthy inclusions like God of War Ragnarok (composer Bear McCreary is nominated for Call of Duty) and Horizon Forbidden West, which both rock a glorious and transportive soundscape.
Whatever the bounds of these awards, the five soundtracks nominated are certainly fantastic choices. From the tight tension of Aliens: Fireteam Elite, to the space-faring tunes and curated pop hits of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, there’s been plenty of fantastic video game soundtracks over the last two years.
Recognition for these soundtracks has been hard-earned, but it’s great to see they’ll be put on a pedestal during the 2023 Grammy Awards. Music is a major part of creating video games, and can help shape the tone and extravagance of even the most inconsequential scene.
It deserves to be celebrated, and should certainly get a chance to shine during the 2023 Grammy Awards.
Here’s the full list of nominees for the new video game soundtrack category:
The Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media nominees
- Aliens: Fireteam Elite, Austin Wintory, composer
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok, Stephanie Economou, composer
- Call Of Duty: Vanguard, Bear McCreary, composer
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Richard Jacques, composer
- Old World, Christopher Tin, composer
You can also check out the full list of other nominees via the official Grammys website.
The show will air live on 5-6 February 2023 from 8:00 pm ET | 5:00 pm PT, and will stream globally on CBS and Paramount+. Stay tuned for more news from the upcoming awards.
