Gaming - BAFTA Games Awards Nominations

BAFTA has announced the nominations for the 2022 BAFTA Games Awards...

Press Release

Celebrating the very best in games of 2021 and highlighting an outstanding level of creative excellence from a broad range of UK and international development teams, the Awards will take place on Thursday 7th April at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank, London, with presenter and journalist Elle Osili-Wood returning as host. Elle is an award-winning television presenter, specialising in arts and entertainment. As an arts presenter for the BBC, and a presenter of Radio 4’s Front Row, Elle is an industry go-to for cultural coverage, and her extensive video games career, hosting for brands including PlayStation, Xbox, and Epic Games, has seen her named one of the most influential women in gaming.

The ceremony, which will also be live streamed on BAFTA’s social channels, will see winners in 18 categories, recognising a range of crafts, performances and games. All awards are voted for by BAFTA’s membership of games industry professionals with the exception of the EE Game of the Year award, which is voted for by the public.

Sixteen categories have been announced, mentioning a total of 39 games, see the full list below. A further two categories – Performer in a Leading Role and Performer in a Supporting Role – will be announced in the coming weeks. Two games share the lead in the nominations with eight each for Returnal and It Takes Two. They are followed by Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart which gets seven nods, while both Forza Horizon 5 and Psychonauts 2 get six nominations.

Voting is now open for the EE Game of the Year, the only award voted for by the public. The shortlist is Chicory: A Colorful Tale, DEATHLOOP, The Forgotten City, It Takes Two, Metroid Dread and Unpacking. 

The Awards are supported by BAFTA’s official games partners Electronic Arts, Epic Games, PlayStation, Tencent and Ubisoft with EE sponsoring the Game of the Year Award, the only award voted for by the public.

In the coming weeks, The Sessions, BAFTA’s annual event-series will be offering an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at some of the most talked about games of the year. Celebrating the outstanding nominees for this year’s awards, we will be giving an insight into the skills, craft and secrets behind some of the best games the industry has to offer. More to be announced soon.

The BAFTA Games Awards is part of the London Games Festival, which runs from 1 April to 10 April online and at in-person venues. Other festival highlights include the return of Ensemble, an exhibition celebrating UK games professionals from Black, Asian and underrepresented ethnicities, and the Games Finance Market. LGF is backed by the Mayor of London and delivered by Games London – an initiative from the city’s screen industries agency Film London and video game trade body Ukie (The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment) – which has generated nearly £100m for games businesses since 2015.

Here's the full list of nominations:

ANIMATION

CALL OF DUTY: VANGUARD Development Team - Sledgehammer Games/Activision Blizzard
IT TAKES TWO Development Team - Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
KENA: BRIDGE OF SPIRITS Hunter Schmidt - Ember Lab LLC/ Ember Lab LLC
LIFE IS STRANGE: TRUE COLORS Development Team - Square Enix, Deck Nine Games/Square Enix
PSYCHONAUTS 2 Development Team - Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
RATCHET & CLANK: RIFT APART Development Team - Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment

ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT

THE ARTFUL ESCAPE Development Team - Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive
IT TAKES TWO Development Team - Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
PSYCHONAUTS 2 Development Team - Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
RATCHET & CLANK: RIFT APART Development Team - Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE Development Team – Capcom/Capcom
RETURNAL Development Team – Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment

AUDIO ACHIEVEMENT

THE ARTFUL ESCAPE Development Team - Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive
CALL OF DUTY: VANGUARD Development Team - Sledgehammer Games/Activision Blizzard
DEATHLOOP Development Team - Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
HALO INFINITE Development Team - 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios
MARVEL’S GUARDIAN’S OF THE GALAXY Development Team - Eidos-Montréal/Square Enix
RETURNAL Development Team – Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment

BEST GAME

DEATHLOOP Development Team - Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
FORZA HORIZON 5 Development Team - Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
INSCRYPTION Development Team - Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital
IT TAKES TWO Development Team - Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
RATCHET & CLANK: RIFT APART Development Team - Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
RETURNAL Development Team – Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment

BRITISH GAME

ALBA: A WILDLIFE ADVENTURE Development Team - ustwo games/ustwo games, Plug In Digital
DEATH’S DOOR Development Team - Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital
FIGHTS IN TIGHT SPACES Development Team - Ground Shatter/Mode7
FORZA HORIZON 5 Development Team - Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
OVERBOARD! Jon Ingold, Tom Kail, Joseph Humfrey – inkle/ inkle
SABLE Development Team – Shedworks/Raw Fury

DEBUT GAME

THE ARTFUL ESCAPE Development Team - Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive
EASTWARD Development Team – 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 Development Team - Graceful Decay/Annapurna Interactive
TOEM Development Team - Something We Made/ Something We Made

EVOLVING GAME

AMONG US Development Team – Innersloth/Innersloth
ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS Development Team - Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
APEX LEGENDS Development Team - Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts
DISCO ELYSIUM – THE FINAL CUT Development Team - ZA/UM/ZA/UM
FORTNITE Development Team - Epic Games/Epic Games, People Can Fly
NO MAN’S SKY Development Team - Hello Games/Hello Games

FAMILY

ALBA: A WILDLIFE ADVENTURE Development Team - ustwo games/ustwo games, Plug In Digital
CHICORY: A COLORFUL TALE Development Team - Greg Lobanov, A Shell in the Pit, Madeline Berger, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine/FINJI
FORZA HORIZON 5 Development Team - Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
MARIO PARTY SUPERSTARS Development Team - Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
RATCHET & CLANK: RIFT APART Development Team - Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
UNPACKING Wren Brier, Tim Dawson, Jeff van Dyck - Witch Beam/Humble Games

GAME BEYOND ENTERTAINMENT

ALBA: A WILDLIFE ADVENTURE Development Team - ustwo games/ustwo games/Plug In Digital
BEFORE YOUR EYES Development Team - GoodbyeWorld Games/Skybound Games
CHICORY: A COLORFUL TALE- Greg Lobanov, A Shell in the Pit, Madeline Berger, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine/FINJI
GAME BUILDER GARAGE Development Team - Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
IT TAKES TWO Development Team -Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
PSYCHONAUTS 2 Development Team -Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios

GAME DESIGN

DEATHLOOP Development Team - Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
FORZA HORIZON 5 Development Team - Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
INSCRYPTION Development Team - Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital
IT TAKES TWO Development Team - Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
RATCHET & CLANK: RIFT APART Development Team - Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
RETURNAL Development Team – Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment

MULTIPLAYER

BACK 4 BLOOD Development Team - Turtle Rock Studios/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
CALL OF DUTY: VANGUARD Development Team - Sledgehammer Games/Activision Blizzard
FORZA HORIZON 5 Development Team - Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
HALO INFINITE Development Team - 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios
HELL LET LOOSE Development Team - Black Matter/Team17
IT TAKES TWO Development Team - Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts

MUSIC

DEATHLOOP Tom Salta, Erich Talaba, Ross Tregenza - Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
FAR CRY 6 Development Team - Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft
HALO INFINITE Development Team - 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
RETURNAL Bobby Krlic, Joe Thwaites, Harry Krueger – Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment

NARRATIVE

IT TAKES TWO Development Team - Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
LIFE IS STRANGE: TRUE COLORS Development Team - Square Enix, Deck Nine Games/Square Enix
MARVEL’S GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Development Team - Eidos-Montréal/Square Enix
PSYCHONAUTS 2 Tim Schafer - Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
RETURNAL Development Team – Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment
UNPACKING Wren Brier, Tim Dawson, Annie VanderMeer - Witch Beam/Humble Games

ORIGINAL PROPERTY

DEATHLOOP Development Team - Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
DEATH’S DOOR Development Team - Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital
INSCRYPTION Development Team - Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital
IT TAKES TWO Development Team - Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
RETURNAL Development Team – Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment
UNPACKING Wren Brier, Tim Dawson, Jeff van Dyck - Witch Beam/Humble Games

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

FORZA HORIZON 5 Development Team - Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
HITMAN 3 Development Team - IO Interactive/IO Interactive
PSYCHONAUTS 2 Development Team - Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
RATCHET & CLANK: RIFT APART Development Team - Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE Devleopment Team – Capcom/Capcom
RETURNAL Development Team – Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment

EE GAME OF THE YEAR (voted for by the public - Vote now at https://ee.co.uk/why-ee/baftagames)

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 & MercurySteam, Nintendo
UNPACKING Witch Beam/Humble Games

Images & info - BAFTA