A computer game, the creation of which was led by the Bulgarian team of the company Ubisoft, won the first ever Grammy Award. The award is called “Best Music for Video Games and Other Interactive Media” and the specific medium is Stephanie Economou.
She is the author of the music to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn Of Ragnarok. Her competitors among the nominees were Austin Wintery (Alien: Fireteam Elite), S. Bear McCreary (Call Of Duty®: Vanguard), Richard Jacques (Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy) and Christopher Tin (Old World).
Why Gaming Music Got Its Own Grammy – details here.
“Thank you for the recognition and for giving due credit to the power of music in computer games,” said Economou upon receiving the award on Sunday night. The Recording Academy created the category because of the genre’s significant cultural influence, although video games have won Grammys in other categories.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök was released in March 2022 and its lead developer is Ubisoft Sofia. This means that in practice the product leaves Bulgaria.
It’s the biggest expansion to date for the popular Assassin’s Creed game, and the Sofia studio is involved – but not in a leading role – in the development of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, released in late 2020.
Ikonomou is a composer and violinist from Los Angeles who has worked on film and television scores in the drama and comedy genres, including for Netflix. Together with Golden Globe nominee Harry Gregson-Williams, she composed the soundtracks for Disney’s Mulan and Ridley Scott’s Oscar-nominated The Martian.
