SEE ‘GAME MAKING’ FINALISTS HERE
SEE ‘GAME CONCEPT’ FINALISTS HERE
LINK TO GAME SUMMARIES, QUOTES,
HEADSHOTS & GAME STILLS HERE
- Today, BAFTA reveals 52 talented 2025 finalists aged between 12 and 18, selected by top games industry experts
- The winners ceremony will be streamed live on BAFTA’s YouTube channel, on Wednesday 18 June at 17:00 BST, with actor and comedian Inel Tomlinson hosting
- YouGov research conducted by BAFTA reveals video games are important to wellbeing and a form of social connection
Today, BAFTA unveils 52 talented finalists, aged between 12 and 18, who have been selected as part of this year’s BAFTA Young Game Designers competition, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year.
Research conducted by BAFTA and YouGov highlights the growing cultural relevance of video games, with over a third of British adults saying video games are important to their wellbeing and a form of social connection. The research also found that 74% of British adults lack the knowledge to guide 10–18-year-olds interested in games careers. Another recent UK survey* revealed that 16% of 6–17-year-olds listed ‘video game developer’ as a career aspiration, second only to a career as a gamer/streamer or footballer.
BAFTA Young Game Designers works with UK educators to support children who are interested in games, providing them with hands-on experience in the field and creating accessible pathways into games careers. It culminates in the Young Game Designers competition, which gives talented young winners access to expert insights and advice. For example, this year’s finalists have been invited to a webinar with Henry and Fred Hoffman, BAFTA Breakthrough alumni and co-founders of Newfangled Games. Their latest game, the BAFTA-nominated Paper Trail, is available on mobile apps and other major platforms.
This year’s finalists have entered for one of two awards up for grabs: the Game Concept Award, which rewards the most original and best thought-out game idea, and the Game Making Award, which goes to the most impressive use of coding skills on a freely available software, to create a prototype game. Each award is split into two age groups: 10-14 years and 15-18 years.
Encouraged by the success of titles such as The Last of Us, Fallout and Minecraft, British children are coming together to express themselves through game design with a quarter of this year’s finalists applying as part of a team.
Jack Rafferty and Tallulah Martinez (both 18) have been shortlisted as a duo in the Game Making 15-18 category this year for their game Nouschóra. They partnered up after meeting through the BAFTA Young Game Designers competition last year – Jack was a finalist, and Tallulah was one of the competition’s four winners. Based in Wales and Hastings respectively, the pair were united through their love of game development and used the popular game engine Unity to create their shortlisted game – best known as the engine behind viral hits Pokémon GO and Among Us. The pair describe Nouschóra as “an eerie, narrative-driven game set inside the fractured mind of a person who has forgotten his own name, following his journey as he tries to remember who he is, where he is, and how to escape.”
Elsewhere, Arabelle Mazumder (12) from London is a finalist in the Game Concept 10-14 category. Her game, titled Reef Revival, tasks players with helping a character – Spongy – rediscover his home after a terrible storm, collecting valuable items on the way to revive the coral that surrounds him. Arabelle was inspired by the environment, saying that she wanted to make the game “fun and exciting, while teaching the importance of protecting marine life.”
Elsewhere, Sarah Zadi (18) from London entered the Game Concept 15-18 category with her unique game titled MedPal. Players are taught how to identify signs of a medical emergency and how to perform CPR, among other skills, through a series of tests mimicking real life scenarios. Sarah noted that she conceptualised the game to help players “develop skills that can be used to save lives.”
Finalists were selected based on the creativity of their vision and the technicality of their execution. Winning entries will be judged on their design and suitability for their chosen platform, with the aim of encouraging participants into games careers, and making the industry more accessible to young talent.
2025 winners will be featured in the prestigious Power Up games experience, alongside some of the very best video games and consoles from the past five decades, including an array of previous YGD winners. Power Up will be showcasing this year’s winners from 19 June at the Science Museum in London, the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester from 29 June, and for the first time, the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford (now open).
Tim Hunter, BAFTA Executive Director of Learning, Inclusion and Policy, said: “We’re so grateful for the generous support of our partners, who have enabled us to deliver the BAFTA Young Game Designers initiative for 15 years and counting. It’s a privilege to play a small role in connecting these talented young game designers with the wider industry, as the UK’s leading academy for the screen arts. This year’s finalists have built thoughtful stories and displayed real technical prowess in creating their games, drawing on topics that nearly anyone can relate to – from concerns about climate change to mental health.”
Young Game Designers (YGD) is one of BAFTA’s initiatives to promote the art and craft of games. It specifically targets the next generation of talent, giving young people and educators insights into the industry and access to the brightest creative minds in games. Official Partners of BAFTA Young Game Designers include: Criterion Games, EE, Hasbro, PlayStation and Warner Bros. Games.
The judging panels who selected this year’s finalists out of hundreds of entries represent major British-based gaming companies, including Rocksteady Studios (Batman: Arkham Knight) and Sad Owl Studios (Viewfinder).
Further details on all finalists and their games will be made available here. Interviews are available on request. Further information about BAFTA Young Game Designers can be found here.
Notes to Editors:
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from BAFTA and YouGov Plc surveys in 2024 and 2025
* Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity) and YouGov
For further information, to be added to the press release distribution list or for interview requests, please contact WDM Entertainment.
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Samantha Chong / WDM Entertainment
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Sandhya Kimberley-Lachman / WDM Entertainment
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Game summaries, images, finalist headshots and quotes HERE
Official Partners of BAFTA Young Game Designers include: Criterion Games, EE, Hasbro, PlayStation and Warner Bros. Games
ABOUT BAFTA
BAFTA’s mission as a charity is to champion the creative and cultural importance of the screen arts across film, games and television. Through its Awards ceremonies and year-round programme of talent initiatives and learning events that include masterclasses, lectures, scholarships, bursaries and mentoring schemes in the UK and North America, BAFTA identifies and celebrates excellence, discovers, inspires and nurtures new screen talent, and enables learning and creative collaboration. For more, visit www.bafta.org. BAFTA is a registered charity (no. 216726).
ABOUT THE SCIENCE MUSEUM GROUP AND POWER UP
The Science Museum Group is the world’s leading group of science museums, welcoming over five million visitors each year to six sites: the Science Museum in London; the National Railway Museum in York; the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester; the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford; Locomotion in Shildon; and the Science and Innovation Park in Wiltshire. Power Up is a hands-on, fully interactive gaming experience featuring the very best video games and consoles from the past five decades. From Pong to Pacman and Minecraft to Mario, there’s something for everyone, whether you’re a retro games fan, a serious gamer or just want to beat your family at Mario Kart. Power Up is open daily at the Science Museum in London and at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, and at weekends and during school holidays at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester.
ABOUT INEL TOMLINSON
Multi award-nominated actor, gamer and comedian, Inel Tomlinson, exudes the type of magnetic charisma and talent that instantly demands your attention. Well known for his brand character content creation highlights include voicing the award-winning Bulldog Cosmetics campaign and hosting the Animal Crossing Olympics with Nintendo. Gaming partnerships include Back4Blood, Xbox, Playstation and Sega.
A hugely experienced actor and improvisor, he is a main cast member in the smash hit show Horrible Histories, which collaborated with the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in 2023.
On wider credits, Inel has featured in numerous series including: The Joy of Missing Out (C4), Diddy TV (CBBC), All Over the Place (CBBC), Bull (UKTV/Gold) as well as in several video games. In 2022 he appeared in his first feature film Christmas on Mistletoe Farm for Netflix.
As a stand up comedian Inel regularly performs at live comedy shows all over the country where his mixture of comedic timing, nostalgia and an eye for the ridiculous keep the audience in stitches from start to finish. He is also founder of smash hit live format Kinetic Comedy; a lively multicultural event that showcases the best up and coming comedy acts interspersed with games, competitions and music.
Inel also hosts for Comic Con, BAFTA, Netflix and is the voice of Comedy Central UK.
In 2024, Inel returned as principle cast for Pickle Storm (CBBC) and Horrible Histories (CBBC) and hosted the BAFTA Young Game Designers Awards.
In 2025, Inel returns as a principal cast member in the spin-off series Horrible Science (CBBC).
