British Academy Games Award for Game Beyond Entertainment
| British Academy Video Games Award for Game Beyond Entertainment | |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Presented by | British Academy of Film and Television Arts |
| First awarded | 2017 |
| Currently held by | Endling: Extinction is Forever |
| Website | www |
The British Academy Video Games Award for Game Beyond Entertainment is an award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is given in honor of "games that deliver a transformational experience beyond pure entertainment".[1]
The category was first announced on 19 October 2017 and was first awarded at the 14th British Academy Games Awards. Unlike other categories which place emphasis on aspects such as gameplay, animation and technical achievement, entries in Game Beyond Entertainment are judged solely on content, with a specific focus on the game's emotional impact, thematic fit and innovative use of the medium to explore and deliver impactful messages.[2] Throughout its run, the category had awarded and nominated games depicting a range of important social issues and emotional experiences including coping with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, PTSD and psychosis, dementia, coping with grief and loss, LGBT themes, racial injustice, climate change, censorship and coming of age.
The category was first presented in 2018 at the 14th British Academy Games Awards to Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. To date, no developer or publisher has won the award more than once. Among developers, Don't Nod have the most nominations, with three, while Finji, Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Square Enix are tied as the most-nominated publishers, with three each.
The current holder of the award is Endling: Extinction is Forever by Herobeat Studios and HandyGames, which won at the 19th British Academy Games Awards in 2023.
Winners and nominees
[edit]In the following table, the years are listed as per BAFTA convention, and generally correspond to the year of game release in the United Kingdom.
| Indicates the winner |
Multiple nominations and wins
[edit]Developers
[edit]| Developer | Nominations | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Don't Nod | 3 | 0 |
| Nintendo EPD | 2 | 1 |
| Nintendo | 2 | 0 |
Publishers
[edit]| Developer | Nominations | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Finji | 3 | 0 |
| Nintendo | 3 | 1 |
| Sony Interactive Entertainment | 3 | 0 |
| Square Enix | 3 | 0 |
| Fellow Traveller | 2 | 0 |
| Xbox Game Studios | 2 | 0 |
References
[edit]- ^ "BAFTA adds Game Beyond Entertainment awards category". GamesIndustry.biz.
- ^ "Game Beyond Entertainment: New Category for BAFTA's Games Awards 2018". www.bafta.org. October 19, 2017.
- ^ "Winners List for the British Academy Games Awards in 2018 (Plain Text) | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
- ^ "BAFTA Games Awards winners 2019". awards.bafta.org. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
- ^ "2020 BAFTA Games Awards: The Nominations". BAFTA. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "BAFTA Games Awards 2021 Nominations Announced - IGN". 2 March 2021 – via www.ign.com.
- ^ "2022 BAFTA Games Awards Winners". 3 March 2022.
- ^ "2023 BAFTA Games Awards: The Winners". BAFTA Games Awards. 30 March 2023. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ "2024 BAFTA Games Awards: Game Beyond Entertainment". BAFTA Games Awards. 7 March 2024. Archived from the original on 7 March 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.