The Music and Sound Awards have officially announced their 2026 finalists. Founded in 2011, the organization was designed to “honour the talented composers, sound designers, supervisors, and sync teams who craft the sonic landscapes that move, inspire, and captivate audiences around the world.” The annual awards are “aimed at professionals, worldwide, working in advertising, film, television and gaming,” with different divisions for each medium across six main categories.
The award categories for the Music and Sound Awards are best in Composition, Sound/Audio Post Production, Sync, Production Music, Rerecord or Adaptation, and Rising Star. Awards specific to video games are offered in all categories with the exception of Rising Star, which is not industry specific.
In Composition, eighteen games have been selected as finalists in three different divisions: “Best Original Composition in a Video Game (Gameplay),” “Best Original Composition in a Video Game (Cinematics / Cutscenes),” and “Best Original Composition in a Video Game Trailer.” For the award in best gameplay composition, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – From the Ashes, 007 First Light, Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf, Destiny 2: Renegades, Saros, and Morbid Metal all received enough nominations to advance to finals. The nominees for the best original composition for cutscenes include Saros, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – From the Ashes, Honor of Kings Ink-Washed Jianghu Chapter II Cinematic Short, Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred – Opening Cinematic, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – Marcel Hero Cinematic, and Destiny 2: Renegades. Finally, the best trailer composition award could go to Life is Strange: Reunion – Announce Trailer, VALORANT – China Mobile Launch Music Video, Magicians: The Devil’s Deal – Reveal Trailer, Rules of Engagement – The Grey State – Trailer, Frostpunk 2: Breach of Trust Launch Trailer, and Infinity Nikki.
The post production award divisions offer prizes for sound design in gameplay, cutscenes, and trailers, along with an award for vocal performance in games. Like before, six finalists were nominated for each category. Games announced as finalists for sound design in gameplay are Ghost of Yotei, Honor of Kings: World, Inverse War: Future, Thick As Thieves, Borderlands 4, and Infinity Nikki. Cutscene finalist titles are Ghost of Yotei – Cinematic, Honor of Kings Ink-Washed Jianghu – Chapter II Cinematic Short, Borderlands 4, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – Obsidia Hero Cinematic, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – Marcel Hero Cinematic, Honor of Kings: World Cinematic, and Saros Cinematic. The trailer sound design finalists are Saros Trailer, Ghost of Yotei Trailer, Apex Legends: Overclocked Anthem Trailer, Secrets of Strixhaven | Official Trailer, Apocalypse Chow Trailer, and Delta Force Trailer. Games listed as finalists for the best vocal performance are 007 First Light, Norse: Oath of Blood, Borderlands 4, Gothic, and Honor of Kings:World. It is worth mentioning, however, that 007 First Light was nominated twice for two separate performances from different actors.
Sync, production music, and adaptation categories each only have one video game division. The finalists for the “Best Sync in a Video Game Trailer/Promo” are Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Royal Edition – Official Launch Trailer, Rainbow Six Mobile Trailer, Just Dance 2026 Edition Trailer, Directive 8020 – Pre-Order Trailer, Honor of Kings: World Trailer, and Directive 8020 – Launch Trailer.
Finalists in the adaptation category for “Best Use of Production Music in a Video Game Trailer include Directive 8020 – Launch Trailer, League of Legends: You Are the Race – Wild Rift x Porsche, Last Stand: Invasion – World of Tanks, STAR WARS: Galactic Racer – Official Reveal Trailer, Starfield Trackers Alliance Complete Bounty Series – Available Now Trailer, and Helldivers 2 – Official Exo Experts Warbond Trailer.
For the adaptation category, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, VALORANT, Borderlands 4, Apex Legends, and Battlefield 6 are all listed as having earned spots as finalists. These slots were announced yesterday, September 23. The Music and Sound Awards plans to reveal the winners on October 14, 2026 digitally, via social media.
