An essential however extraordinarily obscure role-playing remake has managed to beat the likes of God Of War and Spider-Man 2 at this yr’s Grammys.
While online game music had acquired nods on the Grammy Awards earlier than, it was solely in 2023 when a devoted online game class was launched, to correctly acknowledge the contributions of gaming composers.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla composer Stephanie Economou took house the primary win because of the Dawn Of Ragnarök growth, with the 2024 award going to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor composers Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab.
But for those who suspected the winner was selected model recognition over the precise music, this yr proves that principle improper, since regardless of a number of large title nominees, the award went to probably the most obscure sport on the checklist.
The 2025 Grammys passed off final evening, with the nominees for Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media together with:
That’s two video games every from Sony and Ubisoft, and but they misplaced to the fifth sport on the checklist: the 2024 remake of Wizardry: Proving Grounds Of The Mad Overlord by Digital Eclipse.
The unique Wizardy launched in 1981 and whereas many youthful avid gamers have doubtless by no means heard of it, that is the origin level of all trendy role-playing video video games, and its influences might be felt throughout the entire style – in each the West and Japan.
The remake acquired a wholly new soundtrack courtesy of Winifred Phillips, a veteran of the business whose work contains the unique 2005 God Of War and the LittleBigPlanet video games.
This isn’t the only award the Wizardy remake’s soundtrack has won, however it’s definitely probably the most prestigious. The soundtrack is freely accessible on Spotify, Bandcamp, and YouTube for those who fancy giving it a pay attention.
If you’re questioning why the nominations checklist contains video games from 2023, that’s as a result of the Grammys solely took into consideration releases from September 16, 2023 to August 30, 2024.
This explains why the nominees are very completely different in comparison with the video games listed for greatest soundtrack at The Game Awards 2024 this previous December. As a reminder, these video games had been:
Of these 5, solely Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (which received) and Stellar Blade launched inside the eligibility interval, however primarily based on the nominees for 2023 and 2024, the Grammys don’t seem curious about video games made outdoors the West.
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