Baldur’s Gate 3 was the big winner at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards, taking home five prizes – including Best Game and Players’ Choice.
The seminal RPG added to its ongoing winning streak with accolades for Music and Narrative, with Raphael actor Andrew Wincott named Performer in a Supporting Role.
Nintendo took home three awards; two for Super Mario Bros Wonder (Multiplayer and Family), plus Technical Achievement for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Other big winners included Remedy Entertainment, which won two awards for Alan Wake 2 (Audio Achievement and Artistic Achievement), and Sad Owl Studios, which won British Game and New IP with puzzle game Viewfinder.
As previously announced, the BAFTA Special Award was presented to the games charity SpecialEffect, and founder and CEO Dr Mick Donegan received a standing ovation as he took the stage.
Tonight’s ceremony was held at London’s Southbank Centre, and marks 20 years of the BAFTA Games Awards. We spoke to BAFTA about how the awards and its role in the industry has evolved over the past 20 years – you can read the full interview here.
The evening was not just about celebrating the winning games. In addition to the annual In Memorium tribute to members of the industry who have passed away in the past year, some used their speeches to tackle major issues.
The first winner of the night – Visai Games, picking up the award for Debut Game with Venba – called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Before that, both host and comedian Phil Wang and BAFTA chair Sara Putt acknowledged the unprecedented number of layoffs in their opening speeches and praised the industry for its resilience.
You can find a full list of the winners below:
Debut Game: Venba (Visai Games)
Audio Achievement: Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment)
Multiplayer: Super Mario Bros Wonder (Nintendo)
Evolving Games: Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
Game Design: Dave The Diver (Mintrocket)
British Game: Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios)
Artistic Achievement: Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment)
New Intellectual Property: Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios)
Narrative: Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studio)
Performer in a Supporting Role: Andrew Wincott (Raphael in Baldur’s Gate 3)
Family: Super Mario Bros Wonder (Nintendo)
Animation: Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks)
Music: Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studio)
Game Beyond Entertainment: Tchia (Awaceb)
Technical Achievement: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo)
Performer in a Leading Role: Nadji Jeter (Miles Morales in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2)
EE Players’ Choice Award: Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studio)
Best Game: Baldur’s Game 3 (Larian Studio)
Special Award: SpecialEffect
