- Representative Nordic Game Awards Held… Swedish and Danish Developers Produce Numerous Winners
- Arc Raiders Wins Triple Crown for Game of the Year, Technology, and Audio… Awards Presented in 7 Categories Including Art, Design, and Debut
The ‘Nordic Game Awards 2026,’ an awards ceremony representing the Nordic game industry, was held on May 28 (local time) in Slagthuset, Malmö, Sweden. The ceremony took place during ‘NG26 Spring,’ the largest game conference in Northern Europe, and the on-site event was also broadcast live online.
The biggest winner of this year’s awards was ‘ARC Raiders’ by Swedish developer Embark Studios. The game won three awards, including ‘Nordic Game of the Year,’ as well as Best Technology and Best Audio.
The Nordic Game Awards is a specialized awards ceremony focused on the game development ecosystem of the Nordic region, with a judging panel comprising game developer associations from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden responsible for selecting nominees and evaluating entries.
The following are the major winners of the Nordic Game Awards 2026 .
■ Nordic Game of the Year / Best Technology / Best Audio
ARC Raiders – Embark Studios (Sweden)
ARK Raiders is a multiplayer extraction shooter set on a future Earth devastated by the threat of giant machine lifeforms called ‘ARC’. Players move between above-ground and underground bases to secure resources and fight for survival. Recognized for its large-scale environmental effects, tense combat structure, immersive sound design, and technical perfection, it became the star of this year’s awards.
■ Best Art
The Midnight Walk – MoonHood (Sweden)
The Midnight Walker is a dark fantasy adventure game featuring stop-motion aesthetics and a hand-drawn visual style. It is a work that leaves a strong impression with its unique aesthetics, dreamlike atmosphere, and artistic direction, and won the Best Art award based on its distinctive visual identity.
■ Best Game Design
Split Fiction – Hazelight Studios (Sweden)
‘Split Fiction’, the new title from Hazellight Studios, the developer of It Takes Two, is an action-adventure game distinguished by its cooperative gameplay-centric design. It won the Best Game Design award, receiving high praise for its level design that organically weaves together different worldviews and genre ideas, as well as its creative cooperative mechanics.
■ Best Fun for Everyone
LEGO Voyagers – Light Brick Studio (Denmark)
LEGO Voyagers is a family-friendly adventure game based on LEGO’s signature creativity and accessibility. With its intuitive gameplay structure, cooperative play, and design that can be enjoyed by a wide range of age groups, it was named a winner in the ‘Fun for All’ category.
■ Best Debut
Discounty – Crinkle Cut Games (Denmark)
Discount County is the debut title from Crinkle Cut Games, a new indie game developer that has garnered attention for its distinctive concept and fresh gameplay. It won the Best Debut Award for showcasing a unique worldview, a sense of humor, and a gameplay experience that combines casual and strategic elements.
Showcasing a wide spectrum of genres ranging from extraction shooters to cooperative adventures, artistic visual experiences, and family-friendly games, this awards ceremony served as an opportunity to reaffirm the unique creativity and diversity of the Nordic game industry.
Nordic Games, which has shed light on the present and future of the Nordic game industry every spring, continued to serve as a key platform for exchange this year as well, bringing developers, publishers, investors, and creators together. Attention is focused on how the direction and competitiveness of the Nordic game industry, revealed through the award-winning works, will expand in the future.
