History was made at the Grammys last night, as the music industry’s biggest awards show featured a category reserved for video games. Stephanie Economou took the prize and bragging rights for being the first-ever winner of this award, for her work on Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and the Dawn of Ragnarok expansion. Or as presenter of the award, comedian Randy Rainbow, said, Assassin’s Creed Valalaha. Hey, it happens to the best of us when we’re up on stage in front of thousands of people.
can’t stop laughing at this guy announcing the Grammy win for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla pic.twitter.com/vz9bTVZFTX
— Wendell (@RhodeToLove) February 5, 2023
While the Grammys have featured video game soundtrack nominations before–Christopher Tin and the Soweto Gospel Choir won a Grammy in 2011 for Civilization IV’s intro–this was the first year in which the medium had a category dedicated specifically to it.
Economou faced some stiff competition in the “Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games/Interactive Media” category, as the award nominees included Bear McCreary (Call of Duty: Vanguard), Austin Wintory (Aliens: Fireteam Elite), Richard Jacques (Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy), and Christopher Tin (Old World). Last year was an especially good time to be a fan of video game music, and if you’re looking for something to listen to, you can check out GameSpot’s list of the best video game soundtracks of 2022.
