For game music fans, this is turning into an autumn tradition. On October 1, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) announced the "PlayStation® Game Music Awards 2026." It is an unusual kind of award: soundtracks from games released on PlayStation formats are honored based on Spotify play counts and fan support comments. It is decided not by a jury's taste but by how much people actually listen. As an attempt to make the popularity of game scores visible in numbers, it is worth keeping an eye on again this year.

A simple system: your streams are your votes

According to the PlayStation Blog, there are 20 nominees, selected by the blog's editorial team from popular titles on the Spotify playlist "PlayStation Game Music." The counting period runs from Thursday, October 1 to Saturday, October 31 at 23:59 (JST). The title with the most Spotify plays during that period receives the "Most Supported Work" award, while "Special Awards" are chosen based on support comments submitted for the nominees. Results are scheduled for early December, with a ranking and interviews with composers also planned. Fans who send a support comment can enter a lottery for one of 50 PlayStation Store tickets worth 2,000 yen.

In other words, simply listening to your favorite soundtrack as usual counts as a vote. It is hard to think of an easier way to support game scores.

Three trends in the 20 nominees

Lining up the nominees reveals a few points that are interesting from GBmedia's point of view.

  • Classic albums resurfacing: R4 -RIDGE RACER TYPE 4- (original PlayStation, 1998), Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2, 2001), RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army (originally PS2, 2006), Mega Man Star Force: Perfect Collection (originally DS, from 2006), and Yakuza Kiwami 3 (originally PS3, 2009). Five of the 20 nominees trace back to games born in the '90s and '00s. Remasters, remakes and soundtrack reissues or streaming releases have brought these old favorites into the streaming arena.
  • Three fighting games: Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, Street Fighter 6 [Year 2] and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. In a genre where each character's theme easily becomes a fan favorite, they cannot be underestimated in a contest of play counts.
  • Big titles with a Japanese sound: Ghost of Yōtei, scored by Toma Otowa, is a period action game set in Ezo. Put it next to Nioh 3 and Dynasty Warriors: Origins, and it is clear that scores for games drawing on Japanese and East Asian history hold a solid presence.

The list also includes big names such as Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN, Resident Evil Requiem, PRAGMATA and Monster Hunter Stories 3. With Western blockbusters Battlefield 6 and Borderlands 4, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, and even Once Upon a Katamari, the range of genres is quite wide.

An indie took first place last year: who is this year's dark horse?

For reference, the winner of the previous "PlayStation Game Music Awards 2025" (announced December 10, 2025) was the soundtrack for Shueisha Games' Urban Myth Dissolution Center. With blockbusters following at No. 2 (FINAL FANTASY XVI) and No. 3 (Monster Hunter Wilds), an indie title taking the top spot was a symbolic moment. Last year, the Katamari Damacy series also did well: the We Love Katamari soundtrack placed 5th and Katamari Fortissimo Damacy won the "Fantasy Sound Award" special prize. The series is nominated again this year with Once Upon a Katamari, so it will be interesting to see whether it shows its strength once more.

Personally, I want to see how far the five nostalgic picks can climb. New releases tend to rack up plays on launch momentum, while retro titles have staying power from people who played them years ago and keep listening. The club-leaning sound of R4 and the weighty orchestra of Ace Combat 04, for example, still have devoted fans. Since the arrival of streaming, older game scores are clearly reaching new listeners more often. How that trend shows up in the numbers makes December's results something to look forward to.

If you want to take part, start with the playlist

Representative tracks from the nominees are collected in the official Spotify playlist. Even if you don't have time to dig into every album, start there to find titles that catch your ear, then play your favorite albums in full; that is the most effective "vote." Support comments can be posted on the special website. Give your favorite game scores plenty of plays before the end of October.