Clair Obscur and Dispatch Share Top Honors at BAFTA Games Awards
The 2026 BAFTA Games Awards, held in London on Friday evening, delivered a night of varied and unpredictable winners, with role-playing adventure Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and superhero comedy Dispatch emerging as the joint biggest victors. With 12 nominations, Clair Obscur was widely expected to dominate, and it did not disappoint, securing key awards including best game and debut game.
Major Winners and Surprises
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 added multiple BAFTA wins to its already impressive haul of awards, though it fell short of matching its nine victories at the Game Awards in December. Alongside best game and debut game, it earned the performer in a leading role award for Jennifer English. Dispatch, on the other hand, triumphed in animation, audio achievement, and performer in a supporting role for Jeffrey Wright.
Other notable multiple winners included historical samurai slasher Ghost of Yōtei, which claimed trophies for music and technical achievement. The visually stunning post-apocalyptic epic Death Stranding 2, despite seven nominations, only managed to win artistic achievement.
British Games and Category Highlights
In the British game category, Rebellion’s 1950s-themed nuclear disaster thriller Atomfall took the prize, beating out competitors like Two Point Museum and Power Wash Simulator 2. Another British title, No Man’s Sky, was honored as the evolving game. The much-praised puzzler Blue Prince won in game design but lost the narrative category to Kingdom Come: Deliverance II.
One slight surprise came in the new intellectual property category, where South of Midnight edged out strong contenders including Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Dispatch, Arc Raiders, and Split Fiction. The games beyond entertainment award, recognizing transformational experiences, went to the beautiful semi-autobiographical Despelote, which explores a boy’s experience of Ecuador’s 2002 World Cup qualifying adventure.
Additional Awards and Fellowship
Other winners included Arc Raiders in multiplayer and Lego Party! in the family category. The BAFTA Fellowship was presented to Ilkka Paananen, chief executive and co-founder of smartphone games developer Supercell, known for creating smash hits like Clash of Clans and Clash Royale.
The full list of BAFTA games awards winners highlights the diversity and creativity in the gaming industry, with titles spanning genres from adventure and comedy to historical and puzzle games. This event underscores London’s role as a key hub for celebrating gaming excellence on a global stage.
