Clair Obscur and Dispatch Share Top Honours at BAFTA Games Awards
The 2026 BAFTA Games Awards, held in London on Friday evening, saw acclaimed role-playing adventure Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and superhero comedy Dispatch emerge as the joint biggest winners on a varied and unpredictable night. With 12 nominations, Clair Obscur was expected to dominate, and while it did not match its nine wins from the Game Awards in December, it still secured key accolades, including best game, debut game, and performer in a leading role for Jennifer English.
Multiple Winners and Surprise Victories
Dispatch matched Clair Obscur's success by winning awards for animation, audio achievement, and performer in a supporting role for Jeffrey Wright. The only other multiple winner was historical samurai slasher Ghost of Yōtei, which took trophies for music and technical achievement. In a slight surprise, the new intellectual property award went to South of Midnight, beating strong contenders like Clair Obscur and Dispatch.
Other Notable Winners and Categories
The visually stunning post-apocalyptic epic Death Stranding 2 received seven nominations but only claimed the artistic achievement award. In the British game category, Rebellion's 1950s-themed nuclear disaster thriller Atomfall triumphed over competitors such as Two Point Museum and Power Wash Simulator 2. Another British game, No Man's Sky, won the evolving game award, while the much-praised puzzler Blue Prince was a worthy winner in game design, though it lost the narrative category to Kingdom Come: Deliverance II.
Special Recognitions and Fellowship
The games beyond entertainment award, which recognises games delivering a transformational experience, went to the beautiful semi-autobiographical Despelote, focusing on a boy's experience of Ecuador's 2002 World Cup qualifying adventure. Additionally, Arc Raiders won in the multiplayer category, and Lego Party! took the family award. The BAFTA Fellowship was presented to Ilkka Paananen, chief executive and co-founder of smartphone games developer Supercell, creator of hits like Clash of Clans and Clash Royale.
Full List of BAFTA Games Awards Winners
- Animation: Dispatch
- Artistic achievement: Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Audio achievement: Dispatch
- Best game: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- British game: Atomfall
- Debut game: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Evolving game: No Man's Sky
- Family: Lego Party!
- Game beyond entertainment: Despelote
- Game design: Blue Prince
- Multiplayer: Arc Raiders
- Music: Ghost of Yōtei
- Narrative: Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- New intellectual property: South of Midnight
- Performer in a leading role: Jennifer English as Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Performer in a supporting role: Jeffrey Wright as Chase in Dispatch
- Technical achievement: Ghost of Yōtei
