Looks like 2022 is the year of awards and it’s not stopping. First, it was entertainment awards, now video game awards have been one of the most important awards for game publishers. BAFTA awards were held last night, there were some huge surprises for the gamers out there.
No one believed that such a shocking outcome might come and change the whole prediction. The British Academy Film Awards, known as BAFTA also organized video game awards and a huge number of publishers were nominated this year.
Returnal from Finnish developer Housemarque grabbed the surprising Best Game award and left everyone speechless. The ceremony was held in person for the first time since 2019 at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and was hosted by Elle Osili-Wood.
BAFTA Games Awards – winner announcement
The BAFTA games ceremony started with the gracious words of Elle Osili-Wood, “Games as an art form continue to surprise and innovate in the way that they engage us all,” said Osili-Wood on stage. “They don’t just tell us a story, they ask that we play a part.” She added that, in films and television, the characters change, but in games, the player does.
Zen puzzle game Unpacking from Australian indie studio Witch Beam is considered at the top of the ceremony for its narrative. “We’re not telling a complicated story in Unpacking, but the way we tell it is different,” said designer Wren Brier as she accepted the award alongside technical director Tim Dawson.
Not only that, even EE game of the year which is the only category voted by the British public, was also given to Unpacking.
Many big names in the gaming industry appeared at the event, even the 2021 game of the year “It Takes Two” received the award for the best original property. “I want to thank, actually in this case, [publisher] EA, who dared to risk this,” said game director Josef Fares on stage. The game also took the award for best multiplayer: “This one was expected actually,” laughed Fares, thanking his “beautiful and crazy team.”
BAFTA video game winners list
Without wasting any more time, let’s view the complete list of winners who earned the big spot.
BEST GAME
Returnal, Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER)
- Deathloop, Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
- Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
- Inscryption, Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital
- It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
GAME DESIGN
- Inscryption, Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital (WINNER)
- Deathloop, Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
- Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
- It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Returnal, Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment
ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT
- The Artful Escape, Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive (WINNER)
- It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
- Psychonauts 2, Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Resident Evil Village, Capcom/Capcom
- Returnal, Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment
BRITISH GAME
- Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios (WINNER)
- Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, ustwo games/ustwo games, Plug In Digital
- Death’s Door, Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital
- Fights In Tight Spaces, Ground Shatter/Mode7
- Overboard!, Jon Ingold, Tom Kail, Joseph Humfrey – Inkle/ Inkle
- Sable, Shedworks/Raw Fury
ANIMATION
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER)
- Call Of Duty: Vanguard, Sledgehammer Games/Activision Blizzard
- It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
- Kena: Bridge Of Spirits, Hunter Schmidt – Ember Lab Llc/ Ember Lab Llc
- Life Is Strange: True Colors, Square Enix, Deck Nine Games/Square Enix
- Psychonauts 2, Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
AUDIO ACHIEVEMENT
- Returnal, Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER)
- The Artful Escape, Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive
- Call Of Duty: Vanguard, Sledgehammer Games/Activision Blizzard
- Deathloop, Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
- Halo Infinite, 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios
- Marvel’s Guardian’s Of The Galaxy, Eidos-Montréal/Square Enix
DEBUT GAME
- Toem, Something We Made/ Something We Made (WINNER)
- The Artful Escape, Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive
- Eastward, Pixpil/Chucklefish
- The Forgotten City, Nick Pearce, Alexander Goss, John Eyre – Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers
- Genesis Noir, Evan Anthony, Jeremy Abel – Feral Cat Den/Fellow Traveller
- Maquette, Graceful Decay/Annapurna Interactive
EVOLVING GAME
- No Man’s Sky, Hello Games/Hello Games (WINNER)
- Among Us, Innersloth/Innersloth
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Nintendo Epd/Nintendo
- Apex Legends, Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts
- Disco Elysium – The Final Cut, Za/Um/Za/Um
- Fortnite, Epic Games/Epic Games, People Can Fly
FAMILY
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Greg Lobanov, A Shell In The Pit, Madeline Berger, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine/Finji (WINNER)
- Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, ustwo games/ustwo games, Plug In Digital
- Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
- Mario Party Superstars, Nintendo Epd/Nintendo
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Unpacking, Wren Brier, Tim Dawson, Jeff Van Dyck – Witch Beam/Humble Games
GAME BEYOND ENTERTAINMENT
- Before Your Eyes, Goodbyeworld Games/Skybound Games (WINNER)
- Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, ustwo games/ustwo games/Plug In Digital
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Greg Lobanov, A Shell In The Pit, Madeline Berger, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine/Finji
- Game Builder Garage, Nintendo Epd/Nintendo
- It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
- Psychonauts 2, Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
MULTIPLAYER
- It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts (WINNER)
- Back 4 Blood, Turtle Rock Studios/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
- Call Of Duty: Vanguard, Sledgehammer Games/Activision Blizzard
- Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
- Halo Infinite, 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios
- Hell Let Loose, Black Matter/Team17
MUSIC
- Returnal, Bobby Krlic, Joe Thwaites, Harry Krueger – Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER)
- Deathloop, Tom Salta, Erich Talaba, Ross Tregenza – Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
- Far Cry 6, Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft
- Halo Infinite, 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios
- Psychonauts 2, Peter Mcconnell – Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Scott Hanau, Wataru Hokoyama, Mark Mothersbaugh – Insomniac Games/ Sony Interactive Entertainment
NARRATIVE
- Unpacking, Wren Brier, Tim Dawson, Annie Vandermeer – Witch Beam/Humble Games (WINNER)
- It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
- Life Is Strange: True Colors, Square Enix, Deck Nine Games/Square Enix
- Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy, Eidos-Montréal/Square Enix
- Psychonauts 2, Tim Schafer – Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
- Returnal, Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment
ORIGINAL PROPERTY
- It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts (WINNER)
- Deathloop, Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
- Death’s Door, Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital
- Inscryption, Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital
- Returnal, Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Unpacking, Wren Brier, Tim Dawson, Jeff Van Dyck – Witch Beam/Humble Games
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER)
- Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
- Hitman 3, Io-Interactive/Io-Interactive
- Psychonauts 2, Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
- Resident Evil Village, Capcom/Capcom
- Returnal, Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment
EE GAME OF THE YEAR
- Unpacking Witch Beam/Humble Games (WINNER)
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Greg Lobanov, A Shell In The Pit, Madeline Berger, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine/Finji
- Deathloop, Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
- The Forgotten City, Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers
- It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
- Metroid Dread, Nintendo, and Mercury Steam
PERFORMER IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
- Kimberly Brooks as Hollis Forsythe in Psychonauts 2 (WINNER)
- Laura Bailey as Polina Petrova in Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Jason Cavalier As Drax in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Maggie Robertson As Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village
- Han Soto as Gabe Chen in Life is Strange: True Colors
- Alex Weiner as Rocket in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
PERFORMER IN A LEADING ROLE
- Jane Perry as Selene Vassos in Returnal (WINNER)
- Ozioma Akagha As Julianna Blake in Deathloop
- Jason E Kelley as Colt Vahn “the Captain” in Deathloop
- Jennifer Hale as Rivet in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Jon Mclaren As Star-Lord/Peter Quill in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Erika Mori as Alex Chen in Life is Strange: True Colors
Video gamers already went crazy when the BAFTA announced the nominations and since then they had already predicted some of the winner contenders. Last year, gamers criticized game awards but in the Steam Awards, everything got better and deserving games won the right awards.
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