British Academy Games Award for Music

Last updated
British Academy Games Award for Music
Awarded forThe best music for a video game
CountryUnited Kingdom
Presented by British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Currently held by God of War Ragnarök – Bear McCreary, Keith Leary, Peter Scaturro
Website www.bafta.org/games

The British Academy Video Games Award for Music is an award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is given to recognize "excellence in composition for a game music score, through original music and/or creative use of licensed track". [1] The award is given to the composers/development team, the developer and the publisher of the winning game.

Contents

The award was first presented at the 1st British Academy Games Awards under the name Original Music. From the 3rd edition to the 7th, the category was named Original Score. It returned to its original name from the 8th to the 10th editions. Since the 11th edition it is presented under its current name. Santa Monica Studio and Sony Interactive Entertainment are the most awarded developer and publisher, with three and eight wins respectively. Among developers, Ubisoft Montreal holds the record for most nominations and most nominations without a win, with seven, while Xbox Game Studios is the most nominated publisher without a win, with nine. Bear McCreary, Keith Leary and Peter Scaturro are the only composers to win two BAFTA awards in this category, winning together for their work on the God of War franchise. Jesper Kyd and Lorne Balfe are the only composers with two nominations who have yet to win.

The current holders of the award are Bear McCreary, Keith Leary and Peter Scaturro, composers of God of War Ragnarök by Santa Monica Studio and Sony Interactive Entertainment, which won at the 19th British Academy Games Awards in 2023.

Winners and nominees

In the following table, the years are listed as per BAFTA convention, and generally correspond to the year of game release in the United Kingdom.

Table key
Indicates the winner
YearGameComposer(s)Developer(s)Publisher(s)Ref.
2002/03
(1st) 		Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Jeremy Soule Argonaut Electronic Arts [2]
Command & Conquer: Generals Bill Brown and Mikael Sandgren EA Pacific EA Games
Primal Paul Arnold, Andrew Barnabas and 16Volt SCE Studio Cambridge Sony Computer Entertainment
Republic: The Revolution James Hannigan Elixir Studios Eidos Interactive
TimeSplitters 2 Graeme Norgate Free Radical Design
Return to Castle Wolfenstein Bill Brown Gray Matter Studios Activision
2003/04
(2nd) 		Hitman: Contracts Jesper Kyd IO Interactive Eidos Interactive [3]
Evil Genius James Hannigan Elixir Studios Sierra Entertainment
Fable Danny Elfman and Russell Shaw Big Blue Box Studios and Lionhead Studios Microsoft Game Studios
Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone Robb Mills Stormfront Studios and Zono Atari
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Jeremy Soule Griptonite Games, KnowWonder and EA UK Electronic Arts
Rome: Total War Jeff van Dyck The Creative Assembly Sega
2005/06
(3rd) 		Tomb Raider: Legend Troels Brun Folmann Crystal Dynamics Eidos Interactive [4]
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King Koichi Sugiyama Level-5 Square Enix
LocoRoco Nobuyuki Shimizu and Kemmei Adachi Japan Studio Sony Computer Entertainment
Shadow of the Colossus Kow Otani Japan Studio and Team Ico
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Jeremy Soule Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Softworks
The Movies Daniel Pemberton Lionhead Studios Activision
2006/07
(4th) 		Ōkami Masami Ueda, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Rei Kondoh and Akari Groves Clover Studio Capcom [5]
Final Fantasy XII Hitoshi Sakimoto, Hayato Matsuo and Masaharu Iwata Square Enix
God of War II Gerard Marino, Ron Fish, Mike Reagan and Cris Velasco Santa Monica Studio Sony Computer Entertainment
Lair John Debney Factor 5
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Toru Minegishi, Asuka Ohta Nintendo EAD Nintendo
Viva Piñata Grant Kirkhope Rare Microsoft Game Studios
2007/08
(5th) 		Dead Space Jason Graves, Don Veca Visceral Games Electronic Arts [6] [7]
Assassin's Creed Jesper Kyd Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft
Fable II Danny Elfman, Russell Shaw Lionhead Studios Microsoft Game Studios
Fallout 3 Inon Zur Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Softworks
LittleBigPlanet Kenneth C M Young, Mat Clark, Daniel Pemberton Media Molecule Sony Computer Entertainment
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Harry Gregson-Williams, Nobuko Toda, Shuichi Kobori, Kazuma Jinnouchi Konami
2009
(6th) 		Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Greg Edmonson, Carmen Rizzo Naughty Dog Sony Computer Entertainment [8]
Assassin's Creed II Jesper Kyd Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft
Batman: Arkham Asylum Nick Arundel, Ron Fish Rocksteady Studios Eidos Interactive and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Lorne Balfe, Hans Zimmer Infinity Ward Activision
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince James Hannigan EA Bright Light Studio Electronic Arts
PixelJunk Shooter High Frequency, Bandwidth, Alex Paterson, Dom Beken Q-Games and Double Eleven Q-Games
2010
(7th) 		Heavy Rain Normand Corbeil Quantic Dream Sony Computer Entertainment [9]
Alan Wake Petri Alanko Remedy Entertainment Microsoft Game Studios
Fable III Russell Shaw Lionhead Studios
James Bond 007: Blood Stone Richard Jacques Bizarre Creations Activision
Mass Effect 2 Jack Wall, Jimmy Hinson, Sam Hulick, David Kates BioWare Electronic Arts
Super Mario Galaxy 2 Mahito Yokota, Ryo Nagamatsu, Koji Kondo Nintendo EAD Tokyo Nintendo
2011
(8th) 		L.A. Noire Andrew Hale, Simon Hale Team Bondi Rockstar Games [10]
Assassin's Creed: Revelations Jesper Kyd, Lorne Balfe Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft
Batman: Arkham City Nick Arundel, Ron Fish Rocksteady Studios Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Greg Edmonson Naughty Dog Sony Computer Entertainment
Deus Ex: Human Revolution Michael McCann Eidos Montréal Square Enix
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Jeremy Soule Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Softworks
2012
(9th) 		Journey Austin Wintory thatgamecompany Sony Computer Entertainment [11]
Diablo III Russell Brower, Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford Blizzard Entertainment
Assassin's Creed III Lorne Balfe Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft
Thomas Was Alone David Housden Mike Bithell
The Unfinished Swan Joel Corelitz Giant Sparrow and Santa Monica Studio Sony Computer Entertainment
The Walking Dead Jared Emerson-Johnson Telltale Games
2013
(10th) 		BioShock Infinite James Bonney and Garry Schyman Irrational Games 2K Games [12]
Tearaway Kenneth C M Young and Brian D'Oliveira Tarsier Studios and Media Molecule Sony Computer Entertainment
The Last of Us Gustavo Santaolalla Naughty Dog
Beyond: Two Souls Lorne Balfe Quantic Dream
Super Mario 3D World Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo Nintendo EAD Tokyo and 1-Up Studio Nintendo
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Brian Tyler and Aldo Sampaio Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft
2014
(11th) 		Far Cry 4 Cliff Martinez, Tony Gronick and Jerome Angelot Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft [13] [14]
Alien: Isolation* The Creative Assembly Sega
The Banner Saga Austin Wintory Stoic Versus Evil
Fantasia: Music Evolved Inon Zur Disney Interactive Studios and Harmonix Music Systems Disney Interactive Studios
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Garry Schyman, Nathan Grigg Monolith Productions Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
The Sailor's Dream* Simogo
2015
(12th) 		Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Jessica Curry The Chinese Room and Santa Monica Studio Sony Computer Entertainment [15] [16]
Assassin's Creed Syndicate Austin Wintory, Tripod and Bear McCreary Ubisoft Quebec Ubisoft
Batman: Arkham Knight Nick Arundel and David Buckley Rocksteady Studios Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Fallout 4 Inon Zur Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Softworks
Halo 5: Guardians Kazuma Jinnouchi, Nobuko Toda and Peter Cobbin 343 Industries Microsoft Studios
Ori and the Blind Forest Gareth Coker Moon Studios
2016
(13th) 		Virginia Lyndon HollandVariable State 505 Games [17] [18]
Doom Mick Gordon, Chris Hite, Chad Mossholder id Software Bethesda Softworks
Abzû Austin Wintory Giant Squid Studios 505 Games
Inside Martin Stig Andersen, Søs Gunver Ryberg Playdead
The Last Guardian Takeshi Furukawa Japan Studio and GenDesign Sony Interactive Entertainment
Uncharted 4 Henry Jackman, Jonathan Mayer, Scott Hanau Naughty Dog
2017

(14th)

 Cuphead Kristofer MaddiganStudioMDHR Entertainment Inc. [19]
Get Even* The Farm 51 Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice David Garcia Diaz, Andy LaPlegua Ninja Theory
Horizon Zero Dawn* Guerrilla Games Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* Nintendo EPD Nintendo
What Remains of Edith Finch Jeff Russo Giant Sparrow Annapurna Interactive
2018

(15th)

 God of War Bear McCreary, Keith Leary, Peter Scaturro Santa Monica Studio Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe [20]
Celeste Lena Raine Matt Makes Games
Far Cry 5* Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft
Florence*Mountains Annapurna Interactive
Gris*Nomada Studio Devolver Digital
Tetris Effect Hydelic, Noboru Mutoh, Takako IshidaMonstars and ResonairEnhance Games
2019

(16th)

 Disco Elysium British Sea Power ZA/UM [21] [22]
Control Petri Alanko, Martin Stig Andersen Remedy Entertainment 505 Games
Death Stranding Ludvig Forssell, Peter Scaturro, Keith Leary Kojima Productions Sony Interactive Entertainment
Outer Wilds*Mobius Digital Annapurna Interactive
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening* Grezzo Nintendo
Wattam Asuka Takahashi, Brad Fotsch, Sam Bird Funomena Annapurna Interactive
2020

(17th)

 Spider-Man: Miles Morales John Paesano, Scott Hanau, Alex Hackford Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment [23] [24]
Ghost of Tsushima Ilan Eshkeri, Shigeru Umebayashi, Peter Scaturro Sucker Punch Productions Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Last of Us Part II Gustavo Santaolalla, Mac Quayle, Scott Hanau Naughty Dog
Sackboy: A Big Adventure Jay Waters, Joe Thwaites, Joanna Skorupa Sumo Digital
Hades Darren Korb Supergiant Games
Ori and the Will of the Wisps Gareth Coker Moon Studios Xbox Game Studios
2021

(18th)

 Returnal Bobby Krlic, Joe Thwaites, Harry Krueger Housemarque Sony Interactive Entertainment [25] [26]
Deathloop Tom Salta, Erich Talaba, Ross Tregenza Arkane Studios Bethesda Softworks
Far Cry 6* Ubisoft Toronto Ubisoft
Halo Infinite Gareth Coker, Joel Corelitz, Curtis Schweitzer 343 Industries Xbox Game Studios
Psychonauts 2 Peter McConnell Double Fire
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Scott Hanau, Wataru Hokoyama, Mark Mothersbaugh Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment
2022

(19th)

 God of War Ragnarök Bear McCreary, Keith Leary, Peter Scaturro Santa Monica Sony Interactive Entertainment [27] [28]
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course Kristofer Maddigan Studio MDHR
Elden Ring* FromSoftware Bandai Namco
A Plague Tale: Requiem Olivier Deriviere Asobo Focus
Stray* BlueTwelve Annapurna Interactive
Tunic Lifeformed, Janice Kwan Finji
2023

(20th)

 Baldur's Gate 3 Borislav Slavov Larian Studios [29] [30]
Alan Wake 2 Remedy Entertainment Epic Games
Assassin's Creed Mirage Ubisoft Bordeaux Ubisoft
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 John Paesano, Scott Hanau, Keith Leary Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Gordy Haab, Stephen Barton Respawn Entertainment Electronic Arts
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo
2024

(21th)

 Astro Bot Kenneth C M Young Team Asobi Sony Interactive Entertainment [31] [32]
Black Myth: Wukong* Game Science
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth* Square Enix
Helldivers 2 Wilbert Roget II, Ross Tregenza, Keith Leary Arrowhead Game Studios Sony Interactive Entertainment
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II* Ninja Theory Xbox Game Studios
Star Wars Outlaws Wilbert Roget II, Simon Koudriavtsev, Erik Jacobsson Massive Entertainment Ubisoft

(*Note: Games that don't have composers on the table had Development Team credited on the awards page.)

Multiple nominations and wins

Composers

DeveloperNominationsWins
Peter Scaturro42
Jeremy Soule 41
Austin Wintory 41
Scott Hanau41
Jesper Kyd 40
Lorne Balfe 40
Bear McCreary 32
Keith Leary32
Inon Zur 30
Gareth Coker 30
James Hannigan 30
Ron Fish20
Russell Shaw 30
Nick Arundel20
Garry Schyman 21
Greg Edmonson 21
Kristofer Maddigan21
Joe Thwaites21
Gustavo Santaolalla 20
Bill Brown 20
Daniel Pemberton 20
Danny Elfman 20
Joel Corelitz 20
Kenneth Young 20
Koji Kondo 20
Mahito Yokota 20
Martin Stig Andersen 20
Kazuma Jinnouchi20
Nobuko Toda20
Petri Alanko20

Developers

DeveloperNominationsWins
Ubisoft Montreal 70
Naughty Dog 51
Santa Monica Studio 53
Bethesda Studios 40
Lionhead Studios 40
Nintendo EAD/EPD 40
Japan Studio 30
Rocksteady Studios 30
343 Industries 20
The Creative Assembly 20
Elixir Studios 20
Giant Sparrow 20
Insomniac Games 21
Media Molecule 20
Moon Studios 20
Quantic Dream 20
Remedy Entertainment 20

Publishers

DeveloperNominationsWins
Sony Computer/Interactive Entertainment 278
Ubisoft 91
Microsoft/Xbox Game Studios 90
Bethesda Softworks 60
Electronic Arts 51
Annapurna Interactive 50
Nintendo 50
Activision 40
Eidos Interactive 41
Warner Bros Interactive 40
505 Games 31
Bandai Namco Entertainment 20
Sega 20
Square Enix 20

See also

References

  1. ↑ "BAFTA Games Awards Rules and Guidelines 2022" (PDF). British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  2. ↑ "Games in 2004". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Games in 2005". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Games in 2006". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Games in 2007". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Games in 2009". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  7. ↑ Beaument, Claudine (2009-02-10). "Bafta video games nominations announced". telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  8. ↑ "Games in 2010". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Games in 2011". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Games in 2012". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Games in 2013". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Games in 2014". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Games in 2015". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  14. ↑ Karmali, Luke (10 February 2015). "BAFTA Games Awards 2015 Nominees Revealed". IGN . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "British Academy Games Awards Winners in 2016". BAFTA.org. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  16. ↑ Skrebels, Joe (10 March 2016). "BAFTA Games Awards 2016 Nominees Revealed". IGN . Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "Games in 2017 | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
  18. ↑ Erica Webber, Jordan (9 March 2017). "Bafta games awards 2017: Inside and Uncharted 4 lead the way". The Guardian . Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  19. ↑ "Winners List for the British Academy Games Awards in 2018 (Plain Text) | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  20. ↑ "BAFTA Games Awards winners 2019". awards.bafta.org. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  21. ↑ "2020 BAFTA Games Awards: The Nominations". BAFTA. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  22. ↑ Powell, Steffan; Rahman-Jones, Imran (25 March 2021). "Bafta Games Awards 2021: Hades takes Best Game". BBC News. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  23. ↑ Ankers, Adele (March 2, 2021). "BAFTA Games Awards 2021 Nominations Announced". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  24. ↑ Del Rosario, Alexandra (25 March 2021). "BAFTA Games Awards: Supergiant Games' 'Hades' Takes Home Top Prize – Complete Winners List". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  25. ↑ "2022 BAFTA Games Awards Winners". 3 March 2022.
  26. ↑ Julians, Joe (8 April 2022). "BAFTA Games Awards 2022: Full list of winners as Returnal wins Best Game". Radio Times . Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  27. ↑ Wood, Anthony (2 March 2023). "BAFTA Games Awards 2023 Nominations Announced". IGN . Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  28. ↑ "2023 BAFTA Games Awards: The Winners". BAFTA Games Awards. 30 March 2023. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  29. ↑ "2023 BAFTA Games Awards Winners". 3 March 2023.
  30. ↑ "20th BAFTA Games Awards Winners". 11 April 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  31. ↑ "2025-Nominations BAFTA Games Awards".
  32. ↑ "BAFTA Games Awards: 'Senua's Saga: Hellblade II,' 'Astro Bot,' 'Still Wakes the Deep' Lead Nominations". 4 March 2025. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
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