British Academy Games Award for Game Design

Video game award

British Academy Video Games Award for Game Design

Awarded for| The best game design that captivates and engages the player
Country| United Kingdom
Presented by| BAFTA
First award| 2012
Currently held by| Vampire Survivors
Website| www.bafta.org/games

The British Academy Video Games Award for Game Design is an award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is given in honor of "the best game design that captivates and engages the player", including recognition of elements such as game mechanics, use of controls, level and world structure, and pacing.[1]

The award was first given at the 8th British Academy Video Games Awards ceremony, held in 2012, to the Valve title Portal 2.[2] Since its inception, the award has been given to eleven games and, to date, no developer has won the award more than once. Nintendo EPD and Ubisoft Montreal hold the record for most nominations among developers, with four each, though the former won in 2017, leaving the latter as the developer with most nominations without a win. Sony Interactive Entertainment lead the publishing nominees, with fifteen nominations and two wins, while Ubisoft are the publisher with the most nominations without a win, with five.

The current holder of the award is Vampire Survivors by Poncle, which won at the 19th British Academy Games Awards in 2023.

## Winners and nominees

[edit]

In the following table, the years are listed as per BAFTA convention, and generally correspond to the year of game release in the United Kingdom.

Table key  | Indicates the winner

|

Year  | Game  | Developer(s)  | Publisher(s)  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

2011
(8th) | Portal 2 | Valve | Valve  | [2]
Batman: Arkham City | Rocksteady Studios | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
L.A. Noire | Team Bondi | Rockstar Games
LittleBigPlanet 2 | Media Molecule | Sony Computer Entertainment
Super Mario 3D Land | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Bethesda Game Studios | Bethesda Softworks
2012
(9th) | Journey | Thatgamecompany | Sony Computer Entertainment | [3]
Borderlands 2 | Gearbox Software | 2K Games
Dishonored | Arkane Studios | Bethesda Softworks
Far Cry 3 | Ubisoft Montreal | Ubisoft
The Walking Dead | Telltale Games | Telltale Games
XCOM: Enemy Unknown | Firaxis Games | 2K Games
2013
(10th) | Grand Theft Auto V | Rockstar North | Rockstar Games | [4]
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag | Ubisoft Montreal | Ubisoft
The Last of Us | Naughty Dog | Sony Computer Entertainment
Papers, Please | 3909  | 3909
Tearaway | Media Molecule | Sony Computer Entertainment
Tomb Raider | Crystal Dynamics | Square Enix
2014
(11th) | Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor | Monolith Productions | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | [5]
Alien: Isolation | The Creative Assembly | Sega
Destiny | Bungie | Activision
Far Cry 4 | Ubisoft Montreal | Ubisoft
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft | Blizzard Entertainment | Blizzard Entertainment
Threes! | Sirvo  | Sirvo
2015
(12th) | Bloodborne | FromSoftware | Sony Computer Entertainment | [6]
Grow Home | Ubisoft Reflections | Ubisoft
Her Story | Sam Barlow | Sam Barlow
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime | Asteroid Base  | Asteroid Base
Rocket League | Psyonix | Psyonix
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | CD Projekt Red | CD Projekt
2016

(13th)

| Inside | Playdead | Playdead  | [7]
Battlefield 1 | EA DICE | Electronic Arts
Dishonored 2 | Arkane Studios | Bethesda Softworks
Overwatch | Blizzard Entertainment | Blizzard Entertainment
Titanfall 2 | Respawn Entertainment | Electronic Arts
The Witness | Thekla, Inc. | Thekla, Inc.
2017

(14th)

| Super Mario Odyssey | Nintendo EPD | Nintendo | [8]
Assassin's Creed Origins | Ubisoft Montreal | Ubisoft
Horizon Zero Dawn | Guerrilla Games | Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | Nintendo EPD | Nintendo
NieR: Automata | PlatinumGames | Square Enix
What Remains of Edith Finch | Giant Sparrow | Annapurna Interactive
2018

(15th)

| Return of the Obra Dinn | Lucas Pope | 3909  | [9]
Astro Bot Rescue Mission | Japan Studio | Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
God of War | Santa Monica Studio
Celeste | Matt Makes Games Inc.  | Matt Makes Games Inc.
Into the Breach | Subset Games | Subset Games
Minit | JW, Kitty, Jukio, and Dom  | Devolver Digital
2019

(16th)

| Outer Wilds | Mobius Digital  | Annapurna Interactive | [10]
Baba Is You | Arvi Teikari  | Hempuli Oy
Control | Remedy Entertainment | 505 Games
Disco Elysium | ZA/UM  | ZA/UM
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | FromSoftware | Activision
Wattam | Funomena | Annapurna Interactive
2020

(17th)

| Hades | Supergiant Games | [11]
Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Nintendo EPD | Nintendo
Astro's Playroom | Japan Studio | Sony Interactive Entertainment
Ghost of Tsushima | Sucker Punch Productions
The Last of Us Part II | Naughty Dog
Half-Life: Alyx | Valve Corporation
2021

(18th)

| Inscryption | Daniel Mullins Games  | Devolver Digital | [12]
Deathloop | Arkane Studios | 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
2022

(19th)

| Vampire Survivors | Poncle  | [13]
Elden Ring | FromSoftware | Bandai Namco
God of War Ragnarök | Santa Monica | Sony Interactive Entertainment
Horizon Forbidden West | Guerrilla
Tunic | Finji
Cult of the Lamb | Massive Monster  | Devolver Digital
2024

(21st)

| Astro Bot | Team Asobi | Sony Interactive Entertainment | [14][15]
Animal Well | Shared Memory  | Bigmode
Balatro | LocalThunk  | Playstack
Helldivers 2 | Arrowhead Game Studios | Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom | Nintendo EPD, Grezzo | Nintendo
Tactical Breach Wizards | Suspicious Developments

## Multiple nominations and wins

[edit]

### Developers

[edit]

Developer  | Nominations  | Wins

|
|

Nintendo EPD/EAD | 4  | 1
Ubisoft Montreal | 4  | 0
Arkane Studios | 3  | 0
FromSoftware | 3  | 0
Blizzard Entertainment | 2  | 0
Guerrilla Games | 2  | 0
Japan Studio | 2  | 0
Media Molecule | 2  | 0
Naughty Dog | 2  | 0
Santa Monica Studio | 2  | 0
Valve | 2  | 1

### Publishers

[edit]

Developer  | Nominations  | Wins

|
|

Sony Computer/Interactive Entertainment | 15  | 2
Ubisoft | 5  | 0
Bethesda Softworks | 4  | 0
Nintendo | 4  | 1
Annapurna Interactive | 3  | 1
Devolver Digital | 3  | 1
Electronic Arts | 3  | 0
2k Games | 2  | 0
3909  | 2  | 1
Activision | 2  | 0
Blizzard Entertainment | 2  | 0
Rockstar Games | 2  | 1
Square Enix | 2  | 0
Valve | 2  | 1
Warner Bros Interactive | 2  | 1

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "British Academy Games Awards Rules and Guidelines 2015" (PDF). British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
2. ^ a b "Games in 2012". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
3. ^ "Games in 2013". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
4. ^ "Games in 2014". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
5. ^ "Games in 2015". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
6. ^ Nunneley, Stephany (7 April 2016). "Fallout 4 wins Best Game at 2016 BAFTA Game Awards". VG247. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
7. ^ "Games in 2017 | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
8. ^ "What Remains of Edith Finch wins Bafta's top games award". BBC. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
9. ^ Fox, Chris; Kleinman, Zoe (4 April 2019). "God of War wins best game at Bafta Awards". BBC. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
10. ^ "2020 BAFTA Games Awards: The Nominations". BAFTA. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
11. ^ "2021 Games Game Design". BAFTA Awards. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
12. ^ "2022 BAFTA Games Awards Winners". 3 March 2022.
13. ^ "2023 BAFTA Games Awards: The Winners". BAFTA Games Awards. 30 March 2023. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
14. ^ "2025-Nominations BAFTA Games Awards".
15. ^ "BAFTA Games Awards: 'Senua's Saga: Hellblade II,' 'Astro Bot,' 'Still Wakes the Deep' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. 4 March 2025. Retrieved 10 March 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* British Academy Video Games Awards official website

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British Academy Games Awards

Categories|

* Best Game
* British Game
* Animation
* Artistic Achievement
* Audio Achievement
* Debut Game
* Evolving Game
* Family
* Game Beyond Entertainment
* Game Design
* Intellectual Property
* Multiplayer
* Music
* Narrative
* Performer
* Performer in a Leading Role
* Performer in a Supporting Role
* Technical Achievement
* EE Game of the Year Award
* BAFTA Fellowship

Ceremonies|

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