All you need to know for tonight's Bafta Games Awards
- Published
It's time once again for the big names of the gaming industry to gather for the Bafta Games Awards, which will be held in London later.
Comedian Phil Wang will host the 20th anniversary of the awards from the Queen Elizabeth Hall, which the BBC will be covering from the red carpet at 17:00 BST.
Baldur’s Gate 3 and Spider-Man 2 lead the nominations, closely followed by Alan Wake 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
2023 was widely considered to be one of the best years ever in gaming - but who will walk away with a coveted golden mask?
Bafta - the British Academy of Film and Television Arts - is primarily known for its film and TV awards, but it has also been celebrating UK gaming talent since 2003.
Back then, Call of Duty - yes, the original one - won best game, with awards also going to titles like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Metroid Prime.
Gaming is a big deal in the UK - last year sales topped £4.7bn, external, more than double that of the music industry, according to the digital entertainment and retail association.
And although we will have to wait until Thursday evening to find out this year's big winners, Bafta has already announced the recipients of two of its awards.
The 2024 special award, given to those who have made outstanding contributions to games, has been given to UK charity SpecialEffect for its work since 2007 helping disabled people access gaming.
Meanwhile, as a result of a fan vote, Tomb Raider protagonist Lara Croft has been named the most iconic video game character of all time.
Best game award
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sold 10 million copies in three days to become the fastest-selling Zelda game.
This year might be one of the most competitive on record, after gamers were treated to a plethora of hits in 2023.
The best game category alone is made up of some of the most recognisable names in the industry - with Baldur’s Gate 3 and Spider-Man 2 competing with Super Mario Bros Wonder and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Well-received horror sequel Alan Wake 2 and surprise hit Dave the Diver make up the games in the running for the top trophy.
Baldur's Gate 3 has cleaned up at other award ceremonies already, but in previous years, Bafta has been known to throw up a bit of a surprise when it comes to the winner of best game.
Last year, it was won by indie title Vampire Survivors. But it is by no means written in stone that a smaller game will win - with Half-Life 2 and God of War among previous winners.
Meanwhile, the British game award is being fought by studios across the length of the UK.
Brighton-based Bytten Studio has been nominated for Pokemon-like Cassette Beasts, and Scottish studio Sad Owl is nominated for puzzle game Viewfinder.
Football Manager 2024 is also up for an award in the category following the release of the 20th game in the best-selling series.
Disney Illusion Island, Dead Island 2 and Realms of Ruin make up the nominees.
Best performer awards
The person behind Baldur's Gate 3's beloved barbarian Karlach is up for the award for best performer in a leading role
As well as being up for best game, Baldur’s Gate 3 also dominates the performance categories and Samantha Béart, nominated for her performance as Karlach, told the BBC it was "extremely exciting" to be up for a Bafta.
"A lot of AAA games these days demand full performance capture - it's not standing in a booth doing some funny voices anymore," she said.
"Our bodies and breadth are represented in the game, and I think that's what made this particular one very special."
Amelia Tyler, Neil Newbon, Andrew Wincott and Tracy Wiles are all also nominated for their performances in the game.
According to Bafta, 11 of the 12 people nominated across the performer in a leading role and performer in a supporting role categories are first-time nominees.
Technical achievement award
Horizon: Call of the Mountain won best VR game at the 2023 Golden Joystick Awards
Eligible games had to have been published before 24 November 2023 - so if you’re wondering why games like deck-builder Balatro and city-builder Against The Storm haven’t been nominated, it’s because they were published too recently to qualify (but look out for them in a year's time).
Among other possible winners, Spider-Man, Zelda and Alan Wake all find themselves up for this year's technical achievement award, which celebrates innovation.
In previous years, games like Dr Kawashima's Brain Training and Wii Sports were among the winners.
Starfield, Final Fantasy XVI and PlayStation VR2 game Horizon: Call of the Mountain make up the nominees for the award.
And if the VR game does win, it'll be the second year in a row it's been won by developer Guerilla Games, after Horizon: Forbidden West took the title in 2023.
'An impossible decision'
Stand-up comedian Phil Wang, known for his Netflix special and appearances on shows including Taskmaster, will present the ceremony.
"I guess I'm most looking forward to seeing all these insanely creative, skilled, hardworking people in a room together," he told the BBC.
"I mean, video games have always been such a vital part of my life and yet I've never really met the people behind them.
"I'm really looking forward to celebrating the industry, the games industry, the creativity that goes into the hard work and ingenuity and the technical skill and also seeing video games as an art form alongside film and TV."
Special award winner
SpecialEffect helps people access games by using a variety of adaptable controllers
Dr Mick Donegan MBE, head of SpecialEffect, will be given the special award during the ceremony.
The charity uses special technology to help people with a wide range of disabilities to be able to play video games, through modified controllers and other hardware solutions.
“I started SpecialEffect not only to help individuals to play video games but also to collaborate with the games industry to make their games more accessible at source,” he said.
“Since then, we have been privileged to be invited to share our ideas with more and more developers all over the world.
“Now, 17 years since SpecialEffect began, it’s an absolute honour for SpecialEffect’s work to be recognised by Bafta.”