Austin Wintory has been awarded the 2026 Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games And Other Interactive Media, for his work on Giant Squid’s sweeping adventure game Sword of the Sea.
It’s Wintory’s first win after being nominated several times – including in 2013, when their work scored the first video game nomination in the Score Soundtrack for Visual Media category.
Austin Wintory wins Grammy – quick links
2026 Grammy Awards nominees for Best Score Soundtrack
Wintory was awarded the 2026 Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games And Other Interactive Media over a number of worthy competitors. The nominee list also included:
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – Secrets of the Spires – Pinar Toprak, composer
- Helldivers 2 – Wilbert Roget II, composer
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – Gordy Haab, composer
- Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card & A Pirate’s Fortune – Cody Matthew Johnson & Wilbert Roget II, composers
For those who’ve experienced Sword of the Sea, the impact of Wintory’s work is easily understood. His soundtrack backs an eye-opening adventure, with travels across vast and magical landscapes accompanied by evocative, sweeping orchestral tunes using strings and playful electronic beats.
Sword of the Sea‘s sweeping tunes now take a well-earned spot in the Grammy’s hall of fame, joining an array of other award-winning video game soundtracks, including the work of Stephanie Economou on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok, and Stephen Barton and Gordon Haab on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
Another video game track also won a 2026 Grammy
Notably, Wintory’s soundtrack for Sword of the Sea wasn’t the only video games-adjacent winner at the 2026 Grammy Awards.
Looking to the composition awards, The 8-Bit Big Band picked up the 2026 Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for Super Mario Praise Break – an orchestral rework of Super Mario Bros. Theme, Bomb-Omb Battlefield, Gusty Garden Galaxy and Athletic Theme from various Super Mario soundtracks.
This is actually the second Grammy Award picked up by The 8-Bit Big Band, who previously won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for Meta Knight’s Revenge – a ‘fusion’ big band version of the song of the same name from the Kirby Superstar soundtrack.
Amidst all the glitz and glamour of the 2026 Grammy Awards, it’s great to see video games celebrated in this manner, with important recognition for the power of music in the medium, and how it can contribute meaningfully to sweeping, transportive adventures.
Our congratulations to Austin Wintory and The 8-Bit Big Band on their wins.
Also on ScreenHub: Fellow Traveller to host Story-Rich Showcase around Summer Game Fest 2026
Game publisher Fellow Traveller has announced it will host a new ‘Story-Rich Showcase’ around Summer Game Fest 2026, with this designed to elevate narrative games, and the talented developers bringing them to life. The showcase will align with the goals of Fellow Traveller’s LudoNarraCon, an annual festival also inspired by narrative games and their impact.
As shared by Fellow Traveller, the Story-Rich Showcase has been created to fill a gap for narrative games around Summer Game Fest season, providing a new platform for developers to share their latest works, and highlight the meaning and power behind their stories.
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