Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Ghost of Yōtei lead Develop:Star Awards 2026

The Develop:Star Awards 2026 shortlist is now open for voting, and two games are dominating the field: Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Yōtei, each with six nominations. That includes the usual craft-heavy categories like Best Visual Art, Best Game Design, and Best Narrative, plus a spot in Best Game alongside Blue Prince, Dispatch, Jurassic World Evolution 3, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, and Peak.

A notable addition this year is the brand-new Best Ongoing Game category, which suggests the awards are trying to reflect how live support and long-tail engagement have become part of the mainstream production conversation. The shortlist was selected across 18 categories by a panel of industry experts, so this is less about popularity and more about peer recognition.

The Tomorrow’s Star shortlist also matters if you’re tracking emerging talent: Ayo Norman-Williams, Deevya Patel, Dennis Welling, Elise Barry, Jing Wang, and Nicole Gregory are in the running. The main Develop:Star Award itself will be announced later, with past recipients including Sam Lake, Shuhei Yoshida, and Sports Interactive.

For teams, this is a reminder that awards season still tracks the things studios spend real time and budget on: art direction, narrative cohesion, design clarity, and increasingly ongoing support. Voting closes June 3, and winners will be revealed July 15 at Develop:Brighton 2026, so there’s a short window for industry peers to weigh in.