Aliens: Fireteam Elite is up for best soundtrack at this year’s Grammys alongside scores from games like Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed.
The full list of Grammy 2023 nominations has been released, and among them the best soundtrack for video games and other interactive media includes some amazing names, such as:
- Aliens: Fireteam Elite (Austin Wintory)
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn Of Ragnarok (Stephanie Economou)
- Call Of Duty: Vanguard (Bear McCreary)
- Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy (Richard Jacques)
- Old World (Christopher Tin)
Of course, in 2023 it is celebrated the first Grammy in history for video game musicwhich means that one of these games will take home a historic prize.
Best Soundtrack for #VideoGame Soundtracks is WAY overdue.
That’s certainly a change I am very glad to see added this year. #GRAMMYs
— Kira Grunenberg (@shadowmelody1) November 15, 2022
Video game music has been eligible for Grammy nominations since 1999. The theme to Civilization won best instrumental arrangement in 2011, and the soundtrack to Journey earned a nomination in 2012.
“Overlooked and underrated,” EA music president Steve Schnur explained in an interview with Variety. “Not only because of the level of quality, but also because of the magnitude of the success, because of how relevant it is to the new generation of music lovers. We had to convince the powers that be that this music stands on its own and deserves be judged by each other.”
Now, after years of pressure from game studios, The Grammys have their own category of video gamesin which Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy looks like one of the big favorites.
Although, judging by some of the other nominations, it hasn’t exactly been a blockbuster year.
Which of them will take home the first Grammy for best soundtrack for video games and other interactive media? For now, we’ll have to wait and see… but it looks like this category is off to a strange start.