Bafta Games Awards Nominations Announced
This year's Bafta Games Awards nominations have been revealed, with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leading the list once again.
The role-playing adventure, developed by French studio Sandfall Interactive, received a total of 12 nominations, including best game, best music, and best narrative.
Expedition 33 has already achieved significant success at various video game award ceremonies and was widely anticipated to feature prominently in this year's Bafta nominations.
While the ceremony celebrates both large-scale productions and independent games created by small teams, there are some unexpected inclusions and omissions among the nominees.
Other Best Game Nominees
Other nominees for best game include the superhero adventure Dispatch, which garnered nine nominations overall.
PlayStation 5 adventure Ghost of Yōtei, with eight nominations, is also contending for the top prize, alongside the critically acclaimed adventure game Blue Prince.
The nomination of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle in the best game category may surprise some, as it was initially released in December 2024. However, it falls within the eligibility period for this year's awards and appears in six categories.
The final best game nominee, Arc Raiders, a successful mult "looter shooter" that faced criticism over its use of AI-generated character voices, received five nominations.
Notable Nominations and Omissions
Despite not securing a best game nomination, the blockbuster sequel Death Stranding 2, directed by renowned developer Hideo Kojima, appears in seven categories.
Indie titles Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades 2, both highly anticipated and well-reviewed games from last year, received only a few nominations between them.
Medieval adventure Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, one of the early major releases of last year, earned just two nominations: one for its ambitious narrative and another for lead performer Tom McKay.
Expedition 33's 12 nominations do not set a new record for Bafta. In 2023, God of War Ragnarok received 14 nominations, although it lost best game to the independent title Vampire Survivors.
Performance Categories Feature Renowned Actors
The performance and supporting performance categories include notable names from the video game and film industries.
Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul is nominated for his role in Dispatch, while Westworld actor Jeffrey Wright is nominated for supporting performance in the same game.
Daredevil star Charlie Cox is nominated for supporting performance in Expedition 33, with his co-stars Ben Starr and Jennifer English competing in the lead performance category.
Starr was seen celebrating English's win at the Game Awards in December, as was Ghost of Yōtei actor Erika Ishii, who is also nominated alongside them at Bafta.
Veteran video game actor Troy Baker received two nominations: for lead performance as Indiana Jones in The Great Circle and supporting role as antagonist Higgs in Death Stranding 2.
Cox and his colleagues have advocated for a dedicated awards category recognizing motion capture performers.
Bafta currently does not have a motion capture category but stated that the performance, artistic achievement, and audio achievement categories were voted on this year by members with "career expertise in these roles."
About the Bafta Games Awards
The Bafta Games Awards, voted on by more than 1,400 industry members, were established to recognize "an outstanding level of creative excellence from a broad range of UK and international development teams."
British developers represent nine of the nominated studios this year, with six competing in the dedicated British game category.
These include Atomfall, a survival game set in an alternate history version of the Lake District, as well as Mafia: The Old Country and Powerwash Simulator 2, both developed in Brighton.
Game Beyond Entertainment Category
The game beyond entertainment category, which honors titles delivering "a transformative experience," includes teams from Japan, Poland, the UK, the US, Ecuador, and Ukraine.
Nominees include And Roger, a narrative told through the perspective of a woman with dementia; Consume Me, praised for its depiction of eating disorders; and Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, developed by a Ukrainian team amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.
Comments from Bafta Games Committee Chair
Bafta Games Committee chair Tara Saunders commented on the nominations, stating:
"The 42 nominated games highlight the very best of the global games industry."
"The nominations reflect a games industry reshaping itself, with established studios and first-time nominees filling out the lists."
"The exceptional craft, artistry and innovation behind these titles shines through."
"A nomination is an extraordinary achievement, and I extend my warmest congratulations to every nominee for their innovation, hard work and resilience."
Bafta's History and Recent Controversies
Bafta, a registered charity, first launched its video game awards in 2004 alongside its annual film awards ceremony.
Last month, Bafta issued an "unreserved apology" following the broadcast of a racial slur during its most recent film awards ceremony.
The BBC, which also faced criticism over the incident, described it as a "genuine mistake" and is investigating why the offensive content was not removed from sooner.
The games awards ceremony is not televised but is typically streamed live on YouTube and Twitch.
beat has inquired whether Bafta plans to stream the event again this year and what precautions will be taken ahead of the winners' ceremony scheduled for 17 April.
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