D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
Annual award presented by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
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The D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition is an award presented annually by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences during the D.I.C.E. Awards. This award is "presented to the individual or team whose work represents the highest level of achievement in original musical composition for an interactive title. Both the quality of the score and the integration of the score into the title will be considered when determining the recipient of the award".[1] Creative/technical Academy members with expertise as an audio designer or musician are qualified to vote for this award.[2]
| D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences |
| First award | 1998 |
| Currently held by | Ghost of Yōtei |
| Website | interactive |
The award's most recent winner is Ghost of Yōtei, developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
History
The award was initially presented as the Outstanding Achievement in Sound and Music for "the integration and use of sound and/or original music in an interactive title".[3][4] The first winner was PaRappa the Rapper, which was developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.[5] Sound and Music was separated into their own categories for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition and Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design during the 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.[6] The award for the Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack was introduced for the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.[7] This award recognized "the highest level achievement in soundtrack composition for an interactive title". Both the soundtrack's quality and the soundtrack's integration "into the interactive title will be considered in determining the recipient".[8] The Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack award was not offered for the 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, and had not been offered since.[9]
- Outstanding Achievement in Sound and Music (1998–1999)
- Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition (2000–present)
- Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack (2004–2011)
Even after the categories for music and sound were split in 2000, several games had won both categories in the same year, which included:
Winners and nominees
1990s
| Indicates the winner |
2000s
2010s
2020s
Multiple nominations and wins
Developers and publishers
Sony has published the most finalists and winners of this award category. Sony has the longest winning streak of six consecutive years (2021-2026), and it also published the most finalists for Original Music Composition in a single year, with four in 2008. Sony and Electronic Arts are the only publishers to have published back-to-back winners for Original Music Composition. RedOctane and MTV Games have both published back-to-back winners for Soundtrack. Ubisoft has published the most finalists without a winner.
Harmonix has developed the most winners for Soundtrack, and has a four-year winning streak for the award. Electronic Art's former subsidiary EA Los Angeles[b] and Sony's Santa Monica Studio have developed the most winning titles for Original Music Composition. EA Los Angeles is the only developer that has developed back-to-back winners for Original Music Composition. Blizzard Entertainment has developed the most finalists without a win.
| Developer | Nominations | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Harmonix | 7 | 5 |
| Santa Monica Studio | 5 | 3 |
| DreamWorks Interactive/EA Los Angeles | 3 | 3 |
| 2K Boston/Irrational Games | 3 | 2 |
| Sucker Punch Productions | 3 | 2 |
| NanaOn-Sha | 2 | 2 |
| EA Canada | 5 | 1 |
| Japan Studio | 4 | 1 |
| Lionhead Studios | 3 | 1 |
| Naughty Dog | 3 | 1 |
| Quantic Dream | 3 | 1 |
| Insomniac Games | 2 | 1 |
| Moon Studios | 2 | 1 |
| Remedy Entertainment | 2 | 1 |
| Thatgamecompany | 2 | 1 |
| Blizzard Entertainment | 8 | 0 |
| Neversoft | 6 | 0 |
| Ubisoft Montreal | 5 | 0 |
| EA Black Box | 3 | 0 |
| Giant Squid | 3 | 0 |
| Guerrilla Games | 3 | 0 |
| LucasArts | 3 | 0 |
| Bethesda Game Studios | 2 | 0 |
| BioWare | 2 | 0 |
| The Chinese Room | 2 | 0 |
| Criterion Games | 2 | 0 |
| Double Fine Productions | 2 | 0 |
| Infinity Ward | 2 | 0 |
| Interplay | 2 | 0 |
| London Studio | 2 | 0 |
| Media Molecule | 2 | 0 |
| Namco | 2 | 0 |
| Ninja Theory | 2 | 0 |
| Rare | 2 | 0 |
| Rocksteady Studios | 2 | 0 |
| Ubisoft Montpellier | 2 | 0 |
| Publisher | Nominations | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Sony Computer/Interactive Entertainment | 42 | 14 |
| Electronic Arts | 24 | 6 |
| MTV Games | 5 | 3 |
| Microsoft/Xbox Game Studios | 10 | 2 |
| 2K Games | 4 | 2 |
| RedOctane | 2 | 2 |
| Activision | 14 | 1 |
| Bethesda Softworks | 4 | 1 |
| Rockstar Games | 3 | 1 |
| 505 Games | 2 | 1 |
| Ubisoft | 11 | 0 |
| Blizzard Entertainment | 8 | 0 |
| Interplay | 4 | 0 |
| LucasArts | 3 | 0 |
| Nintendo | 3 | 0 |
| Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | 3 | 0 |
| Infogrames | 2 | 0 |
| Square Enix Europe/Collective | 2 | 0 |
Franchises
Call of Duty, God of War, and Warcraft have the most nominations for Original Music Composition. God of War and Medal of Honor have garnered the most wins for Original Music Composition with three each; the only other franchises with multiple wins for Original Music Composition are BioShock, Ghost, and PaRappa the Rapper[c] with two each. Medal of Honor is the only franchise with back-to-back wins for Original Music Composition. Despite their record-tying nomination counts, Call of Duty and Warcraft have never won the award for Original Music Composition.
Guitar Hero and Rock Band have the most nominations for Soundtrack, and have back-to-back wins for the category. Rock Band has garnered the most wins in the Soundtrack category. SSX is a finalist for Original Music Composition before the award for Soundtrack has been offered. LittleBigPlanet 2 is a finalist for Original Music Composition after the award for Soundtrack has no longer been offered. BioShock is the only game that is nominated for both Original Music Composition and Soundtrack, winning for the former.
| Franchises | Nominations | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| God of War | 4 | 3 |
| Rock Band | 4 | 3 |
| Medal of Honor | 3 | 3 |
| Guitar Hero[d] | 6 | 2 |
| BioShock | 3 | 2 |
| Ghost | 2 | 2 |
| PaRappa the Rapper[c] | 2 | 2 |
| Fable | 3 | 1 |
| SSX | 3 | 1 |
| Uncharted | 3 | 1 |
| Marvel's Spider-Man | 2 | 1 |
| Ori | 2 | 1 |
| Call of Duty | 4 | 0 |
| Warcraft | 4 | 0 |
| Batman | 3 | 0 |
| SingStar | 3 | 0 |
| Assassin's Creed | 2 | 0 |
| Diablo | 2 | 0 |
| The Elder Scrolls | 2 | 0 |
| Horizon | 2 | 0 |
| LittleBigPlanet | 2 | 0 |
| Skate | 2 | 0 |
| StarCraft | 2 | 0 |
| Star Wars | 2 | 0 |
| Tony Hawk's | 2 | 0 |
Notes
- Presented as Outstanding Achievement in Sound and Music.
- EA Los Angeles's first win was when they were called "DreamWorks Interactive".
- Um Jammer Lammy is a follow-up, spin-off of PaRappa the Rapper.