Some of the possible candidates for 2022 will be the titles of the new band ‘Horizon Forbidden West,’ ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II’ and ‘God of War Ragnarök.’
In the last ten years, only one video game song, for the 2012 theme tour, has received a Grammy nod, for the best song for visual media. That number could increase five times this year thanks to the introduction of a new category: the best video game and other interactive media.
While video game scores may not be as prominent as those for television and film, famous composers such as Hans Zimmer and Michael Giacchino have confirmed the importance and value of video game music, and provide scores for popular franchises such as Call of Duty and Medal of Honor. . Brian Schmidt, president of the Game Audio Network Guild says: “People have realized that game music is serious music. “Modern video games have elements that, in addition to serving as the emotional basis of many games, show the incredible skill of designers, producers, actors and other artists involved in its creation . It’s great to see the Recording Academy embrace video game music as a unique genre that has evolved.”
This year could see several new names making their mark in video game music. Other possible 2022 nominees in the new category will be the Horizon Forbidden West soundtracks, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and God of War Ragnarök.
Schmidt has been advocating for this inclusion for decades, when he first approached the school in 1999 to discuss the Grammy group – and he points to the growing popularity of the field as a reason why. when this school finally accepted video game music. “Today, artists record covers of game music, symphonies play concerts of game music, and fans flock to conventions dedicated to game music,” he says.
This story originally appeared in the July 30, 2022 issue of Billboard.
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