Music from video games has transformed from a simple addition to gameplay into a recognized and commercially successful phenomenon. Previously, it was often perceived merely as background sound during level progression, but today it is valued and receives awards. There are special categories at major award ceremonies, and the sales of game soundtrack vinyl records have proven their profitability.
The soundtrack for the game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 achieved significant success on music charts. According to Billboard data, its compositions debuted at number 29 on the Billboard 200 on February 21, 2026. Since the rating began publication in March 1956, only two other games have reached the top 50: BTS World (26th place in 2019) and Halo 4 (50th place in 2012).
Although the Clair Obscur soundtrack, consisting of 154 tracks, was initially released in April 2025 via streaming and digital downloads, it only appeared in CD and vinyl formats in February 2026. The CD and digital versions are counted together, while vinyl records are listed separately due to the inclusion of various track compilations. Because of this, vinyl reached number 29 with sales of 24 thousand copies, while other formats are at number 18 in sales, and also at number 2 in the classical and crossover album categories for the same period.
The release of soundtracks in vinyl format is not just a retro fashion trend, but a phenomenon that has existed for decades. In 1984, Haruomi Hosono, head of Yellow Magic Orchestra, released the first album of soundtracks from Namco games—Video Game Music. The collaboration with the company was widely recognized, leading to the appearance of works such as Video Game Graffiti, also from Namco, as well as orchestral versions of Koichi Sugiyama's compositions for the Dragon Quest series.
In subsequent decades, game soundtracks transitioned from CD format to digital, which continued until the late 2000s and early 2010s. In the last decade, demand for physical releases has increased, leading to the emergence of specialized labels for video game soundtracks, such as Iam8bit, Laced, BraveWave, as well as divisions of the publisher Lost in Cult, which handles vinyl pressing.
In addition to these companies, the website Blip Blop, which serves as a repository and source of information about music in video games and catalogs vinyl releases, currently features 69 active labels. As for the albums themselves, 21,961 albums are registered for sale on the Discogs marketplace, of which 6,471 are vinyl.
The Grammy Awards are an event held by the Recording Academy of the USA to recognize excellence in the music industry. The category dedicated to games officially appeared at the 65th Grammy in 2023, although games had previously been honored at this ceremony. The music Baba Yetu from Civilization IV won an award in 2011, and the composition Meta Knight’s Revenge from Kirby Super Star was recognized in 2022. Furthermore, the full soundtrack of the game Journey became the first game soundtrack nominated in 2013.
The World Soundtrack Awards, held at the Ghent Film Festival, honors film and television soundtrack compositions. However, games have had a separate category since 2023, which remains in effect this year; the latest winner was Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which received another award for its list.
This year, the Ivors Academy (formerly BASCA and Composers Guild of Great Britain) announced the Ivors Composers Awards. This award is intended for composers from various fields, including video games, but only considers original compositions, excluding subsequent versions or updates. The ceremony will take place at Grosvenor House in London on November 17 of this year.
Finally, Sony has been holding the PlayStation Music Awards since 2018, conducting voting from October 1 to October 31, 2026. Winners are determined by both fan support and the number of plays on Spotify. All of this demonstrates that music from games has become not just part of the gameplay or mere artistic expression, but a full-fledged asset.
