British Academy Games Award for Animation

Last updated
British Academy Games Award for Animation
Awarded forThe best animation in a video game.
CountryUnited Kingdom
Presented by British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Currently held by God of War Ragnarök
Website www.bafta.org/games

The British Academy Video Games Award for Animation is an award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is given in honor to "the highest level of excellence in bringing a game to life," considering elements such as "player control, non-player characters, ambient/environmental animation, facial animation and cinematics". The category also considers the style, fluidity and responsiveness of the character. [1]

Contents

History

The category was first presented to Soulcalibur II at the 1st British Academy Games Awards in 2004 under the name Animation or Intro. The following year, it received its current name but was subsequently discontinued. The category was revived at the 16th British Academy Games Awards in 2019. [2] As developers, six studios have received two nominations in the category, though only Insomniac Games and Naughty Dog have achieved any wins. For publishers, Sony Interactive Entertainment hold the record for most nominations, with nine, and also have the most wins in the category, with three.

The 2023 winner of the award is God of War Ragnarök by Santa Monica Studio and Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Winners and nominees

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.

Table key
Indicates the winner
Animation or Intro
YearGameRecipient(s)Developer(s)Publisher(s)Ref.
2002/03
(1st) 		Soulcalibur II Project Soul Namco [3]
Big Mutha Truckers Eutechnyx Empire Interactive
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Rockstar North Rockstar Games
Primal SCE Studio Cambridge Sony Computer Entertainment
Tekken 4 Namco
Viewtiful Joe Capcom
Animation
YearGameRecipient(s)Developer(s)Publisher(s)Ref.
2003/04
(2nd) 		Half-Life 2 Valve [4]
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Rockstar North Rockstar Games
Halo 2 Bungie Microsoft Game Studios
Jak 3 Naughty Dog Sony Computer Entertainment
Killzone Guerrilla Games
Onimusha 3: Demon Siege Capcom
2019

(16th)

 Luigi's Mansion 3 Next Level Games Nintendo [5] [6]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Infinity Ward Activision
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice FromSoftware
Control Remedy Entertainment 505 Games
Death Stranding Kojima Productions Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sayonara Wild Hearts Simogo Annapurna Interactive
2020

(17th)

 The Last of Us Part II Naughty Dog Sony Interactive Entertainment [7] [8]
Doom Eternal id Software Bethesda Softworks
Final Fantasy VII Remake Square Enix
Spider-Man: Miles Morales Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment
Ori and the Will of the Wisps Moon Studios Xbox Game Studios
Spiritfarer Thunder Lotus Kowloon Nights
2021

(18th)

 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment [9] [10]
Call of Duty: Vanguard Sledgehammer Games Activision
It Takes Two Hazelight Studios Electronic Arts
Kena: Bridge of Spirits Hunter SchmidtEmber Lab
Life Is Strange: True Colors Deck Nine Square Enix
Psychonauts 2 Double Fine Xbox Game Studios
2022

(19th)

 God of War Ragnarök Bruno Velazquez, Erica Pinto, Mehdi Yssef Santa Monica Sony Interactive Entertainment [11] [12]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Mark Grigsby, Bruce Ferris, Khoa Le Infinity Ward Activision
Horizon Forbidden West Guerrilla Sony Interactive Entertainment
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga TT Games Warner Bros Interactive
Sifu SloclapSloclap & Kepler Interactive
Stray Jophray Mikolajczyk, Jean-Marie Vouillon, Simon Jacquart BlueTwelve Annapurna Interactive
2023

(20th)

 Hi-Fi Rush Tango Gameworks Bethesda Softworks [13]
Alan Wake 2 Remedy Entertainment Epic Games
Hogwarts Legacy Avalanche Software Warner Bros. Games
Spider-Man 2 Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Respawn Entertainment Electronic Arts
Super Mario Bros. Wonder Nintendo

Multiple nominations and wins

Developers

DeveloperNominationsWins
Insomniac Games 31
Naughty Dog 21
Capcom 20
Guerrilla Games 20
Infinity Ward 20
Rockstar North 20

Publishers

DeveloperNominationsWins
Sony Computer/Interactive Entertainment 103
Activision 40
Namco 21
Annapurna Interactive 20
Bethesda Softworks 20
Electronic Arts 20
Nintendo 20
Rockstar Games 20
Square Enix 20
Warner Bros. Games 20
Xbox Game Studios 20

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References

  1. ↑ "BAFTA Games Awards Rules and Guidelines 2022" (PDF). British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  2. ↑ Wales, Matt (September 9, 2019). "BAFTA announces new categories for 2020 video game awards, submissions now open". Eurogamer . Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Games in 2004". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Games in 2005". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "2020 BAFTA Games Awards: The Nominations". BAFTA. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  6. ↑ Powell, Steffan; Rahman-Jones, Imran (25 March 2021). "Bafta Games Awards 2021: Hades takes Best Game". BBC News. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  7. ↑ Ankers, Adele (March 2, 2021). "BAFTA Games Awards 2021 Nominations Announced". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  8. ↑ Del Rosario, Alexandra (25 March 2021). "BAFTA Games Awards: Supergiant Games' 'Hades' Takes Home Top Prize – Complete Winners List". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  9. ↑ "2022 BAFTA Games Awards Winners". 3 March 2022.
  10. ↑ Julians, Joe (8 April 2022). "BAFTA Games Awards 2022: Full list of winners as Returnal wins Best Game". Radio Times . Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  11. ↑ Wood, Anthony (2 March 2023). "BAFTA Games Awards 2023 Nominations Announced". IGN . Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  12. ↑ "2023 BAFTA Games Awards: The Winners". BAFTA Games Awards. 30 March 2023. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  13. ↑ "2024 BAFTA Games Awards: The Winners". BAFTA Games Awards. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
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