Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Ghost of Yōtei lead the nominations at this year’s Develop:Star Awards 2026.
The shortlists, including the brand-new Best Ongoing Game category, were decided across 18 categories by a panel of industry experts.
Both Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Yōtei “lead the pack with nominations in six categories,” including Best Visual Art, Best Game Design, and Best Narrative.
Both are also nominated in the Best Game category alongside Blue Prince, Dispatch, Jurassic World Evolution 3, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, and Peak.
Ayo Norman-Williams, Deevya Patel, Dennis Welling, Elise Barry, Jing Wang, and Nicole Gregory have all been shortlisted for the Tomorrow’s Star award.
The recipient for this year’s Develop:Star Award – previous honourees of which include Remedy’s Sam Lake, former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Shuhei Yoshida, and game development studio Sports Interactive – will be “announced in due course.”
“The Develop Star Awards has always been a platform for the best and brightest in the games industry, and this year’s nominees are no exception,” said Tandem Events managing director, Andy Lane.
“We’re happy that we can continue providing a space for games makers from all walks of life to be celebrated by their industry peers.”
The vote is now open and will close on June 3, with the winners unveiled at the Develop:Star Awards ceremony on July 15 during Develop:Brighton 2026.