Austin Wintory won the Grammy video game music award in 2026 for Sword of the Sea. The official category is Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media, and this guide verifies the five nominees, all four winners since the category began, and the earlier milestones that brought game music into the Grammys. Enkio can help creators give an authorized score or song a visual release.
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Who Won the 2026 Grammy for Video Game Music?
Austin Wintory won the 2026 Grammy for Sword of the Sea. We reviewed the Recording Academy's category archive and verified both the result and his composer credit.
The award was presented at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. The Academy's category archive says the ceremony honored recordings released between August 30, 2024, and August 29, 2025, so the award year should not be treated as the release date of every game or soundtrack in the field.
This was not Wintory's first major Grammy milestone. More than a decade earlier, Journey made him the first composer with a video game soundtrack nominated in the Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media category. The 2026 result therefore connects the pre-category era with the dedicated game-score award.
2026 Nominees and Results
The 2026 field contained five score soundtrack albums. We compared the Academy's five records, kept its official order, and separated the winner from the other nominees without turning the list into an editorial ranking.
| Score soundtrack | Composer(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Sword of the Sea | Austin Wintory | Winner |
| Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora - Secrets of the Spires | Pinar Toprak | Nominee |
| Helldivers 2 | Wilbert Roget, II | Nominee |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | Gordy Haab | Nominee |
| Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card & A Pirate's Fortune | Cody Matthew Johnson; Wilbert Roget, II | Nominee |
The field spans standalone games and expansion material. That matters for readers searching for Grammy video game music results because the eligible object is the submitted score soundtrack album, not a simple list of the year's highest-selling games.
It also shows that one composer can appear more than once in the same field. Wilbert Roget, II was credited on both Helldivers 2 and the nominated Star Wars Outlaws soundtrack, sharing the latter credit with Cody Matthew Johnson.
What the Grammy Category Recognizes
The category recognizes excellence in score soundtrack albums made predominantly from original scores created specifically for a video game or other interactive media. We read the official description as a score-album rule, not a general award for every song heard in a game or a popularity chart for game releases.
Three parts of that definition carry most of the meaning:
- Score soundtrack album: the submitted work is an album presentation of the score.
- Predominantly original score: the category centers on composed score material rather than a compilation led by licensed songs.
- Created specifically for interactive media: the music must be tied to a video game or another qualifying interactive work.
The Academy's public category page does not publish an exhaustive list of every format covered by “other interactive media.” Applicants therefore need the current awards rules and entry guidance rather than assuming that any interactive project automatically qualifies.
Every Winner Since the Category Began
The dedicated category has four winners, beginning with the 2023 ceremony. We found those four results in the Academy's category history and kept earlier game-music milestones in a separate section.
| Award year | Winner(s) | Score soundtrack |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Austin Wintory | Sword of the Sea |
| 2025 | Winifred Phillips | Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord |
| 2024 | Stephen Barton; Gordy Haab | Star Wars Jedi: Survivor |
| 2023 | Stephanie Economou | Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök |
Stephanie Economou received the inaugural award in this category. The 2024 result established that composers can share the win, while the 2025 and 2026 results extended the category across remakes, sequels, and new properties without changing the central requirement: a score soundtrack album created for interactive media.
The four-year table should not be confused with a complete history of Grammy-winning music that originated in games. Game music reached other Grammy categories before this dedicated award existed.
How Video Game Music Reached the Grammys
Game music entered the Grammy record through existing categories before it received a category of its own. Two milestones explain the transition better than a single “first” claim.
In 2011, Christopher Tin won Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for “Baba Yetu.” Tin wrote the song as the theme for Civilization IV, and the Recording Academy's own retrospective identifies it as the first video game song to win a Grammy.
At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, Austin Wintory's Journey was nominated for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. The Academy described it as the first video game soundtrack nominated in that category. It did not win, but the nomination demonstrated that a complete game score could compete within the broader visual-media field.
These are different achievements: “Baba Yetu” was a song from a game that won an arrangement category, while Journey was a game soundtrack nominated in a score category. The dedicated Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media award then began with the 2023 ceremony.
What the Results Mean for Game Composers
The results reward a released score soundtrack as an authored album, not merely music that functioned well inside gameplay. We see a second production problem after implementation: prepare a coherent album, document the credits, and release it inside the applicable eligibility period.
The nominee list also shows that there is no single franchise path. The 2026 field includes science fiction, fantasy, military action, adventure, and franchise-expansion material. What unites the entries is not genre but a credited original score presented as a soundtrack album.
From a Game Score to a Visual Release
A soundtrack album answers the listening need; a visual release gives selected music a watchable context. A composer can use a teaser, character-led sequence, environment reel, or scene-based video to present a cue without suggesting that the visual itself affects Grammy voting.
Enkio's AI Music Video Generator starts with authorized music and reference images, with an optional prompt for story, mood, art direction, camera movement, or a key musical moment. The workflow supports Solo, Two-Person, and Ultra modes, five aspect ratios, and a review stage for character views, timing, and individual shots.
If the audio is not finished, the AI Music Generator can create vocal or instrumental music from a description or custom lyrics before the visual stage. Keep that creative workflow separate from award claims: using a tool does not establish eligibility, authorship, ownership, or Academy approval.
For commercial usage terms, see Enkio's Terms of Use. Platform policies on AI-generated content differ — check the platform's current guidelines before publishing.
Frequently asked questions
Can DLC or expansion soundtracks qualify?
Expansion material is not automatically excluded. The 2026 nominees included Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora - Secrets of the Spires and Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card & A Pirate's Fortune. A specific entry still has to meet the current rules for the soundtrack album, release period, submission, and category.
Does the category also cover sound design or licensed songs?
The public category description is about score soundtrack albums comprised predominantly of original score created for interactive media. That does not turn sound design, a licensed-song compilation, or every song used in a game into the same award submission.
What can “other interactive media” include?
The wording allows qualifying interactive work beyond a conventional video game, but the public category page does not give an exhaustive format list. Entrants should use the current Grammy rulebook and submission guidance for a specific project rather than relying on a broad interpretation of the title.
Does winning this category imply a win in another Grammy category?
No. Grammy categories have separate fields and results. A score, song, arrangement, or visual-media work may have connections across categories, but a win for Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media does not create an automatic win elsewhere.
Conclusion
Austin Wintory's Sword of the Sea is the Grammy video game music 2026 winner, ahead of four other nominated soundtrack albums. The dedicated category now has four winners: Stephanie Economou, Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab, Winifred Phillips, and Austin Wintory.
The longer story begins before 2023. “Baba Yetu” became the first video game song to win a Grammy, and Journey became the first video game soundtrack nominated in the visual-media score category. If the music is finished and the next task is a visual release rather than an awards submission, Enkio can turn authorized audio and reference images into a reviewable scene sequence.
Take the score into a visual release.
Use authorized music and reference images, then review the visual plan and individual shots before publishing.