[Industry news] Music+Sound Awards Reveal 2026’s Finalists

This is a press release posted alongside our usual editorial content.

The Music+Sound Awards have announced the finalists for 2026, globally celebrating the composers, sound designers and wider creative talent whose work is shaping music and sound in gaming.

This year’s finalists represent an extraordinary breadth of creativity and originality and were selected by a stellar jury including industry figureheads such as:

JESSE ZURETTI Composer at RIOT GAMES (League of Legends spin-off game 2XKO)

GREIG NEWBY, Audio Director at UBISOFT QUEBEC (Far Cry titles, Assassin’s Creed Shadows)

CODY MATTHEW JOHNSON, Composer, Creative Director + Co-Founder at EMPERIA SOUND (Star Wars Outlaws, Marvel Rivals)

HOMAY SCHMITZ, Composer (LEGO Horizon Adventures)

The 2026 shortlist showcases an impressive mix of established franchises and new titles, with composer John Paesano recognised for Ubisoft’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – From the Ashes, alongside Sam Slater and Daniel Avery for Housemarque / Sony International Entertainment’s Saros. 007 First Light also features prominently, with The Flight shortlisted for its original composition and Patrick Gibson nominated for his performance as James Bond. Further composition finalists include Takeshi Furukawa for Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf, Blue Stahli for Morbid Metal, and Bungie’s team of Brendon Williams, Nolan Markey, Michael Salvatori, Josh Mosser and Adam Kallibjian for Destiny 2: Renegades.

On the sound side, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Sucker Punch Productions’ Ghost of Yotei features across both Gameplay and Cinematics/Cutscenes, with its extensive sound team among those recognised. Borderlands 4 is also a finalist in both sound categories, with the Gearbox Entertainment audio team recognised for their work. Elsewhere, Saros’ sound team joins the line-up, while the Best Voice Performance category includes Trevor Devall for Borderlands 4, George Weightman for Gothic and Patrick Gibson and George Weightman for their respective performances in 007 First Light.

Emma Maguire, Director of the Music+Sound Awards, shared:

“Now in our 15th year, we continue to be genuinely blown away by the enthusiasm and support of the Music+Sound Awards community. This year brought an incredible level of competition, with a record number of entries from all corners of the world, from many familiar faces to an exciting wave of newcomers.

It’s fantastic to see our community continuing to grow and evolve internationally year after year, and we’re hugely proud to be able to celebrate the extraordinary creativity and craft represented in this year’s finalist line-up.

A very well-deserved congratulations to all of our 2026 finalists, and the very best of luck for the next stage!”

The winners will be unveiled on Wednesday, October 14th.

Here follows a selection of finalists. A full list can be viewed at www.masawards.com

 

 

2026’s Music+Sound Awards Best Original Composition in a Video Game (Gameplay) Finalists

 

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – From the Ashes

Entrant: Ubisoft Music / Massive Entertainment – A Ubisoft Studio

Composer: John Paesano

Music Director: Alex Rivière

Music Supervisors: Simon Landry, Alex Rivière

Music Editors: Lasse Skak Ernst, Alex Riviere

Game Director: Omar Bouali

*

007 First Light

Entrant: IO Interactive

Composer: The Flight

Audio Director: Dominic Vega

Senior Music Designer: Zevik Perry

Music Programming: Alexis Smith, Joe Henson

Game Director: Hakan Abrak

*

Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf

Entrant | Composer: Takeshi Furukawa at Snowing Music

Game Publisher: Thunderful

Game Developer: Wishfully

Game Directors: Adam Stjärnljus, Klas Martin Eriksson

*

Destiny 2: Renegades

Entrant | Developer: Bungie Inc.

Composers: Brendon Williams, Nolan Markey, Michael Salvatori, Josh Mosser + Adam Kallibjian

Audio Director: David Henry

Music Producers: Josh Mosser, Adam Kallibjian

Music Editors: Josh Mosser, Adam Kallibjian

Game Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

*

Saros

Entrants | Composers: Sam Slater + Daniel Avery for Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe

Audio Director: Ari Pulkkinen

Music Producers: Sam Slater, Joe Thwaites, James Greenwood

Music Supervisors: Duncan Smith, Codie Childs

Music Editors: Blake Bennett, Kye Cree-Voce, Andrew Karboski, Paul Thomason, Udit Srivathsan, Matt Gibson, Steven Coltart, Glen Andrew Brown

Developer: Housemarque

Game Director: Gregory Louden

*

Morbid Metal

Entrant | Composer: Blue Stahli for Ubisoft Music / Screen Juice Interactive GmbH

Audio Directors: Segio Ronchetti

Music Supervisor: Manu Bachet

Game Director: Felix Schade

 

 

2026’s Music+Sound Awards Best Original Composition in a Video Game (Cinematics / Cutscenes) Finalists

 

Saros

Entrant | Composer: Sam Slater for Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe

Audio Director: Ari Pulkkinen

Music Producers: Sam Slater, Joe Thwaites

Music Supervisors: Duncan Smith, Codie Childs

Music Editors: Blake Bennett, Andrew Karboski, Joe Thwaites

Developers: Housemarque

Game Director: Gregory Louden

*

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – From the Ashes

Entrant | Composer: John Paesano for Ubisoft Music / Massive Entertainment – A Ubisoft Studio

Audio Director: Alex Rivière

Music Supervisors: Simon Landry, Alex Rivière

Music Editors: Lasse Skak Ernst, Alex Riviere

Game Director: Omar Bouali

*

Honor of Kings Ink-Washed Jianghu Chapter II Cinematic Short

Entrant | Composer: Zhao Liangqi for TiMi Studio Group

*

Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred – Opening Cinematic

Entrant | Composer: Aaron James Eckardt for VERDAUNT

Music Producer: Jan Hoeglund

Game Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

*

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – Marcel Hero Cinematic

Entrant | Composer: Ran Duan for Moonton Games

Audio Directors: Cedar Zhao, Steven Song

Music Producer + Editor: Steven Song

Game Publisher: Youngjoy

Game Developer: Vizta

Game Producer: Shanghai Moonton Technology Co., Ltd.

*

Destiny 2: Renegades

Entrants | Composers: Brendon Williams, Nolan Markey, Michael Salvatori, Josh Mosser + Adam Kallibjian for Bungie Inc.

Audio Director: David Henry

Music Producers + Editors: Josh Mosser, Adam Kallibjian

Game Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Game Director: Tyson Green

 

 

2026’s Music+Sound Awards Best Sound Design in a Video Game – Gameplay Finalists

 

Ghost of Yotei

Entrants: Sony Interactive Entertainment + Sucker Punch Productions

Audio Director: Rev. Dr. Bradley D Meyer

Sound Designers: Josh Lord, Adam Lidbetter, Chris Walasek, Erik Buensuceso, Safar Bake, Pete Hanson, Pete Reed, Jessie Chang, Chris Bolte, Jasper Corcoran + Grey Davenport

Foley Artists: Blake Collins, Joanna Fang

*

Honor of Kings: World

Entrants: TiMi Studio Group

*

Inverse War: Future

Entrants: TiMi Studio Group

*

Thick As Thieves

Entrants / Developers: OtherSide Entertainment Audio Team

Audio Director: Matthew Pablo

Sound Designers: Matthew Pablo + Jon Evans

Foley Artists: Matthew Pablo, Ryan Stunkel

Publisher: Megabit Publishing

Game Director: Jeff Hickman

*

Borderlands 4

Entrants / Developers: Gearbox Entertainment

Managing Director of Audio: Mark Petty

Director of Sound Design: Brian Fieser

Lead Technical Sound Designer: Jesse Lemons

Lead Sound Designer: Joshua Davidson

Sound Designers: Jonathan Magnan, Antoine Guertin, Pierre-Antoine Savoie, Matthieu Perron, Dominic Gaumond, Brandon Mueller, Presley Hynes, Jay Sabins, Daniel Petras, Ricky Meisner, Christian Pacaud

Sound Producer: Annalisa Giannotti

Publisher: 2K

*

Infinity Nikki

Entrants | Publisher / Developer: Infold Games

Audio Director: Roger Lu

Sound Designers: Oakly + NaMing

Sound Producer: Aki Zhang

Foley Artist: JunSheng Han

 

 

2026’s Music+Sound Awards Best Sound Design in a a Video Game – Cinematics + Cutscenes Finalists

 

Ghost of Yotei – Cinematic

Entrants: Sony Interactive Entertainment + Sucker Punch Productions

Audio Director: Rev. Dr. Bradley D Meyer

Sound Designers: Josh Lord, Adam Lidbetter, Chris Walasek, Erik Buensuceso, Safar Bake, Pete Hanson, Pete Reed, Jessie Chang, Chris Bolte, Jasper Corcoran, Grey Davenport, David Phillip, Byron Bullock, Lorenzo Paini, Matteo Lupieri

Foley Artists: Blake Collins, Joanna Fang

*

Honor of Kings Ink-Washed Jianghu – Chapter II Cinematic Short

Entrant: TiMi Studio Group

Sound Design: Hexany Audio, Yin Bao, China Film Post

*

Borderlands 4

Entrant | Developer: Gearbox Entertainment

Director of Sound: Brian Fieser

Managing Director of Audio: Mark Petty

Lead Technical Sound Designer: Jesse Lemons

Lead Sound Designer: Joshua Davidson

Mixer: Connor Dalrymple

Sound Designers: Morgan Jones, Jonathan Magnan, Antoine Guertin, Pierre-Antoine Savoie, Matthieu Perron, Dominic Gaumond, Brandon Mueller, Presley Hynes, Jay Sabins, Daniel Petras, Ricky Meisner, Christian Pacaud

Sound Producer: Annalisa Giannotti

Game Publisher: 2K

*

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – Obsidia Hero Cinematic

Entrant | Sound Designer: Shushan Zhang for Moonton Games

Audio Directors: Shushan Zhang, Yuan Yao

Game Publisher: Youngjoy

Game Developer: Vizta

Game Producer: Shanghai Moonton Technology Co., Ltd.

*

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – Marcel Hero Cinematic

Entrant | Sound Designer: Cedar Zhao for Moonton Games

Audio Directors: Cedar Zhao, Steven Song

Game Publisher: Youngjoy

Game Developer: Vizta

Game Producer: Shanghai Moonton Technology Co., Ltd.

*

Honor of Kings: World Cinematic

Entrant | Sound Design: TiMi Studio Group

*

Saros Cinematic

Entrants: Housemarque + PlayStation Studios Sound

Sound Designers: Ari Pulkkinen, Loïc Couthier, Simon Gumbleton, Lucas Falcao, Harvey Scott, Ash Read, Derrick Espino, Pete Reed, Edward Durcan, Lorenzo Valsassina, Juuso Tolonen, Lewis Everest, Danny Hey, Lewis Barn, Toivo Kallio + Fabio Liutina

Foley Artists: Blake Collins CAS MPSE, Joanna Fang MPSE

Sound Producer: Zoe French

Game Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Game Director: Gregory Louden

 

 

2026’s Music+Sound Awards Best Voice Performance in a Video Game Finalists

 

007 First Light

Entrants | Voice Artist: Patrick Gibson (James Bond) for IO Interactive

Audio Director: Dominic Vega

Principal Dialogue Editor: William Tidman

Game Director: Hakan Abrak

*

Norse: Oath of Blood

Entrants | Voice Artist: George Weightman (Steinar Far-Spear, Wolf Fanatics + Birgir The Bastard)

Game Publisher: Tripwire

Game Developer: Arctic Hazard

Audio Director: Philip Stevens

Game Director: Philip Studios

*

Borderlands 4

Entrants | Voice Artist: Trevor Devall (Calder) for Gearbox Entertainment

Managing Director of Audio: Mark Petty

VO Directors: Joel McDonald, Courtney Walton

Dialogue Editors: Andrew Cheney, Aaron Seiden, Austin Conway, Pacific Coast Audio Production

Game Publisher: 2K

Game Developer: Gearbox Software

*

Gothic

Entrant | Voice Artist: George Weightman (Raven)

Game Publisher: THQ Nordic

Game Developer: Piranha Bytes

Audio Director: Beth Park

Voice Over Production: Pitstop Productions

*

007 First Light

Entrant | Voice Artist: George Weightman (Ferguson)

Voice Director: Adrian Townsend

Audio Director: Dominic Vega

Game Director: Hakan Abrak

*

Honor of Kings: World

Entrant | Voice Artist: TiMi Studio Group – Cloudeater Voice Design