[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https://www.nme.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Clair-Obscur-Expedition-33.jpg”]
Best Video Game Score winner dedicates Grammy to ‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’
Austin Wintory has called the soundtrack a “generational phenomenon”
Austin Wintory, the composer of Sword Of The Sea, has dedicated his Grammy win for Best Video Game Score to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
- READ MORE: The best video game soundtracks of 2025
The shortlist for The Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games And Other Interactive Media was revealed late last year with the music for Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora, Helldivers 2, Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, Star Wars Outlaws and Sword Of The Sea all nominated for the Grammy.
However many gaming fans were furious about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s “outrageous” snub following sold out tours and chart success. At the time, Austin Wintory said: “I’m sad at the lack of Expedition 33 among [the nominees]. I would happily trade places. That score is the *definition* of worthy!”
In a new video talking about his Grammy success, Wintory has now dedicated his win to his “wonderful and inspiring friend” Lorien Testard.
“Lorien’s music in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is excellent. It not only carries all the gameplay highs, lows and narrative beats beautifully, but the sheer amount of depth, subtlety and nuance as well as the bold, in-you-face gestures, are uncountable. Not to mention Sandfall built the game to depend on the score, which is so rare to see,” he explained.
“On top of that, it has achieved all that independent creative flourishing – it is a great Spotify record, it is an amazing album that people love in its own right. It has become a generational phenomenon. Concert tours are selling out all over Europe, people are turning the music into memes and putting it on TikTok videos. It’s a once-in-a-generation rarity.”
Recommended
“I don’t want to diminish my gratitude towards my peers in the recording academy who have been so gracious in their support of this score, it means a lot, but I would have been absolutely delighted to stand alongside Lorien in the nominations and cheering as he ran up to receive the award,” he added. “I happily dedicate this Grammy to him and Sandfall for a really special achievement.”
Sword Of The Sea wasn’t the only video game to win at the 2026 Grammys. Jazz pop orchestra The 8-Bit Big Band won the award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for their gospel Super Mario remix.
In other news, Fallout fans have been left disappointed after a mysterious countdown ended with more BTS clips from the Amazon Prime Video adaptation and not news of a classic game remaster.
You May Also Like
TRENDING
More Stories
Austin Wintory, the composer of Sword Of The Sea, has dedicated his Grammy win for Best Video Game Score to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
- READ MORE: The best video game soundtracks of 2025
The shortlist for The Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games And Other Interactive Media was revealed late last year with the music for Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora, Helldivers 2, Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, Star Wars Outlaws and Sword Of The Sea all nominated for the Grammy.
However many gaming fans were furious about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s “outrageous” snub following sold out tours and chart success. At the time, Austin Wintory said: “I’m sad at the lack of Expedition 33 among [the nominees]. I would happily trade places. That score is the *definition* of worthy!”
In a new video talking about his Grammy success, Wintory has now dedicated his win to his “wonderful and inspiring friend” Lorien Testard.
“Lorien’s music in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is excellent. It not only carries all the gameplay highs, lows and narrative beats beautifully, but the sheer amount of depth, subtlety and nuance as well as the bold, in-you-face gestures, are uncountable. Not to mention Sandfall built the game to depend on the score, which is so rare to see,” he explained.
“On top of that, it has achieved all that independent creative flourishing – it is a great Spotify record, it is an amazing album that people love in its own right. It has become a generational phenomenon. Concert tours are selling out all over Europe, people are turning the music into memes and putting it on TikTok videos. It’s a once-in-a-generation rarity.”
Recommended
“I don’t want to diminish my gratitude towards my peers in the recording academy who have been so gracious in their support of this score, it means a lot, but I would have been absolutely delighted to stand alongside Lorien in the nominations and cheering as he ran up to receive the award,” he added. “I happily dedicate this Grammy to him and Sandfall for a really special achievement.”
Sword Of The Sea wasn’t the only video game to win at the 2026 Grammys. Jazz pop orchestra The 8-Bit Big Band won the award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for their gospel Super Mario remix.
In other news, Fallout fans have been left disappointed after a mysterious countdown ended with more BTS clips from the Amazon Prime Video adaptation and not news of a classic game remaster.
[analyse_source url=”https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/austin-wintory-best-video-game-soundtrack-dedicates-grammy-clair-obscur-expedition-33-3927661″]