BAFTA Games shortlist revealed

BAFTA published the full shortlist on 12 March 2026, naming 42 games across 17 categories and scheduling the ceremony for Friday 17 April 2026 at Queen Elizabeth Hall, with a live stream on BAFTA’s YouTube channel. bafta.org Four of the six nominees in Performer in a Leading Role are attached to games made by European developers — Ben Starr and Jennifer English for Clair Obscur (Sandfall Interactive, France), Tom McKay for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse, Czech Republic) and Troy Baker for Indiana Jones (MachineGames, Sweden). thegamer.com Clair Obscur supplies multiple acting nods in the supporting shortlist as well — Charlie Cox and Kirsty Rider are both nominated for roles in that title — and BAFTA notes nine of the 12 performance nominees are receiving their first BAFTA nomination. thegamer.com Technical and audio categories likewise feature a heavy European presence: Arc Raiders (Embark Studios, Stockholm) and Clair Obscur (Sandfall, France) both appear in Audio and Technical-related nominations, and Embark’s Arc Raiders — a Swedish studio project — has been at the centre of an AI-voice debate after the developer re-recorded some lines post-launch. thegamer.com BAFTA’s press release highlights 17 studios earning their first-ever nominations this year, explicitly listing Sandfall and Embark among the newcomers and underlining the ceremony’s mix of established teams and debut developers. bafta.org Clair Obscur leads the shortlist with 12 nominations, Dispatch follows with nine and Ghost of Yōtei has eight nods — totals that help explain why European-made Clair Obscur and other continental projects dominate both craft and performance categories this year. en.wikipedia.org BAFTA members will vote for Best Game and British Game, BAFTA juries will decide the remaining categories, and winners will be revealed at the April 17 ceremony — the next formal milestone before trophies are handed out. bafta.org