London, 9 September 2019: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has today opened entries for the British Academy Games Awards, which will take place on 2 April 2020.
The Awards have recognised and celebrated creative excellence in games since 2003. Following an annual review of the Games Awards’ categories, the below changes have been announced to reflect the importance of craft and technical expertise in game-making.
An Animation category will be introduced to complement the existing Artistic Achievement category, addressing the important role this skillset plays in creating believable and engaging worlds. The category will be covering all elements of animation from player control and ambient animation to facial animation and cinematics.
The Game Innovation category will be absorbed into a new Technical Achievement award, designed to celebrate all elements of gameplay programming and visual engineering.
The Performer category will be split into Performer in a Leading Role and Performer in a Supporting Role, reflecting the diverse range of performed roles seen in games, and bringing the category in line with the BAFTA film and television awards. The Performer categories continue to be open to both male and female performers.
Finally, BAFTA will retire the Mobile Game award, the last remaining platform-specific award in the ceremony, in an effort to streamline categories and reflect BAFTA’s commitment to celebrating craft excellence. The EE Mobile Game of the Year award will continue to be awarded by the public.
Dr. Jo Twist OBE, Chair of BAFTA’s Games Committee, said: “The British Academy Game Awards recognise and promote the brightest talent in games. The committee acknowledges changes within the industry and works towards reflecting those in the BAFTA Games Awards’ categories. Throughout previous years mobile games have featured heavily across all categories, and we are confident this trend will continue. Our aim is to highlight the incredible craftsmanship of game development beyond their dedicated platforms.”
SUMMARY OF KEY DATES
Monday, 9 September 2019 – BAFTA Awards Entry Site opens (http://entry.bafta.org)
Thursday, 14 November 2019 – Entry deadline (for games released by 13 December)
Friday, 13 December – Final entry deadline (for games released by 31 December)
Tuesday, 3 March 2020 – Nominations announced
Thursday, 2 April 2020 – British Academy Games Awards
For further information and press requests:
Molly Whitehall at WDW Entertainment (UK)
T: 07789 848 782
