Tribeca Games Award Win for 'There Are No Ghosts at the Grand' as Broadway’s Alex Brightman is Revealed in New Deep-dive Trailer
Friday Sundae’s musical Lovecraftian renovation game receives Tribeca Games’ top honor following its official showcase at Tribeca, alongside a new deep-dive trailer featuring Broadway star Alex Brightman and new gameplay footage.
There Are No Ghosts at the Grand, the musical narrative mystery from independent British studio Friday Sundae, has won the 2026 Tribeca Games Award at the 25th anniversary edition of the Tribeca Festival in New York.
The award comes alongside a new deep-dive trailer featuring Tony-nominated Broadway star Alex Brightman, currently starring as Josh Skinner in Schmigadoon! on Broadway. Brightman discusses his role as Chris David, the game’s lead player character, alongside new gameplay footage from Friday Sundae’s newly premiered Tribeca demo.
The Tribeca Games Award recognizes an unreleased game for excellence in artistic storytelling. There Are No Ghosts at the Grand was selected from a field of 12 Tribeca Games Official Selections, bringing together distinctive games from around the world, including Demi and the Fractured Dream, Forever Ago, LOFSÖNG, Rivage, ROCKBEASTS and Virtue and a Sledgehammer.
Anil Glendinning, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Friday Sundae, said:
“There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is a very personal game for our small team. It brings together music, mystery, British seaside culture and a story about the things families pass down through generations. Sharing the demo with audiences in New York has been a special moment for us.”
Set inside a crumbling English seaside hotel, There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is a musical Lovecraftian renovation game in which players restore rooms by day and investigate supernatural disturbances by night.
Characters perform original songs, and players can make story choices in verse to shape how each song unfolds. Each mysterious character has their own story and musical style, from spooky ska and reggae to wartime jazz and skater punk. Songs are woven into the gameplay as playable conversations, allowing players to duet with characters and uncover deeper truths as the story unfolds.
Brightman plays and sings Chris David, a young American who unexpectedly inherits the Grand and arrives in town with a secret mission of his own. Known for his Tony-nominated performances in Beetlejuice and School of Rock, Brightman brings his musical-theatre background into a game where dialogue and song flow naturally together.
Alex Brightman said:
“Chris is an outsider trying to keep his cards close as the Grand starts to reveal far more than he expected. What I love is that the game has the energy of musical theatre, but it’s interactive. You’re not just watching Chris sing. You’re helping choose how he responds as the story unfolds through dialogue and song.”
The 2026 Tribeca Games programme forms part of the Festival’s 25th anniversary edition, celebrating the meeting point between games, entertainment and culture. This year’s Official Selections are presented as playable demos at Pier 57 in New York from 10–14 June.
There Are No Ghosts at the Grand was first announced during the Xbox Games Showcase 2025. The game is coming to PC via Steam and Xbox Series X|S, with a free Steam demo available now and a release date to be announced.