British Academy Games Award for Debut Game

Last updated
British Academy Video Games Award for Debut Game
Awarded forThe best first game from any studio or individual
CountryUnited Kingdom
Presented by BAFTA
First award2012
Currently held by Tunic
Website www.bafta.org/games

The British Academy Video Games Award for Debut Game is an award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is given in honor of the best first game from any studio or individual. [1]

Contents

Since its inception, the award has been given to eleven games. The category was first presented at the 8th British Academy Video Games Awards ceremony, held in 2012, with the Microsoft Studios-published title Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet as the inagurual recipient. [2] The publishers Annapurna Interactive has received the most nominations in this category with six, followed by Xbox Game Studios with five. To date, no publisher has won in the category more than once.

The current holder of the award is Venba , developed and published by Visai games, which won at the 20th British Academy Games Awards in 2024.

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
YearGameDeveloper(s)Publisher(s)Ref.
2011
(8th) 		Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet Shadow Planet Productions Microsoft Studios [2]
Bastion Supergiant Games Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Eufloria Omni SystemsOmni Systems
L.A. Noire Team Bondi Rockstar Games
Monstermind Bossa Studios Bossa Studios
Rift Trion Worlds Trion Worlds
2012
(9th) 		The Unfinished Swan Giant Sparrow, Santa Monica Studio Sony Computer Entertainment [3]
Deadlight Tequila Works Microsoft Studios
Dear Esther The Chinese Room The Chinese Room
Forza Horizon Playground Games, Turn 10 Studios Microsoft Studios
Proteus Ed Key, David Kanaga Valve
The Room Fireproof Games Fireproof Games
2013
(10th) 		Gone Home Fullbright Fullbright [4]
BadlandFrogmind OyFrogmind Oy
Castles in the SkyThe Tall TreesThe Tall Trees
Gunpoint Suspicious DevelopmentsSuspicious Developments
Remember Me Dontnod Entertainment Capcom
The Stanley Parable Galactic CafeGalactic Cafe
2014
(11th) 		Never Alone Upper One Game, E-Line MediaE-Line Media [5]
The Banner Saga Stoic Studios Versus Evil
CounterSpy Dynamighty Sony Computer Entertainment
Hitman Go Square Enix Montreal Square Enix
Shovel Knight Yacht Club Games Yacht Club Games
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter The AstronautsThe Astronauts
2015
(12th) 		Her Story Sam Barlow [6]
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes Steel Crate GamesSteel Crate Games
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime Asteroid BaseAsteroid Base
Mini Metro Dinosaur Polo ClubDinosaur Polo Club, Playism
Ori and the Blind Forest Moon Studios Microsoft Studios
PruneJoel McDonaldJoel McDonald
2016

(13th)

Firewatch Campo Santo Panic [7]
Overcooked Ghost Town Games Team17
Oxenfree Night School Studio Night School Studio
That Dragon, Cancer Numinous GamesNuminous Games
Virginia Variable State 505 Games
The Witness Thekla, Inc.Thekla, Inc.
2017

(14th)

Gorogoa Buried Signal Annapurna Interactive [8]
Cuphead StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc.StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc.
Hollow Knight Team CherryTeam Cherry
Night in the Woods InfiniteFall Finji
The Sexy Brutale Cavalier Game Studios Tequila Works
Slime Rancher Monomi ParkMonomi Park
2018

(15th)

Yoku's Island Express Villa Gorilla Team17 [9]
Beat Saber Beat Games Beat Games
Cultist Simulator Weather Factory Humble Bundle
Donut County Ben Esposito Annapurna Interactive
Florence Mountains Annapurna Interactive
Gris Nomada Studio Devolver Digital
2019

(16th)

Disco Elysium ZA/UM [10]
Ape Out Gabe Cuzzillo Devolver Digital
Death Stranding Kojima Productions Sony Interactive Entertainment
Katana Zero Askiisoft Devolver Digital
Knights and Bikes Foam Sword Double Fine Presents
Manifold Garden William Chyr StudiosWilliam Chyr Studios
2020

(17th)

 Carrion Phobia Game Studio Devolver Digital [11]
Airborne KingdomThe Wandering Bard
Call of the Sea Out of the Blue Raw Fury Games
Factorio Wube Software
The Falconeer Tomas SalaWired Productions
Röki Polygon TreehouseUnited Label
2021

(18th)

Toem Something We Made [12]
The Artful Escape Beethoven and Dinosaur Annapurna Interactive
Eastward Pixpil Chucklefish
The Forgotten City Modern StorytellerDear Villagers
Genesis Noir Feral Cat DenFellow Traveller
Maquette Graceful Decay Annapurna Interactive
2022

(19th)

 Tunic Finji [13]
The Case of the Golden Idol Color Gray GamesPlaystack
Stray BlueTwelve Annapurna Interactive
Trombone Champ Holy Wow Studios
As Dusk Falls Interior Night Xbox Game Studios
Vampire Survivors Poncle
2024

(21st)

 Animal Well Shared Memory Bigmode [14]
Balatro LocalThunkPlaystack
Pacific Drive Ironwood Studios Kepler Interactive
The Plucky Squire All Possible Futures Devolver Digital
Tales of Kenzera: Zau Surgent Studios Electronic Arts
Thank Goodness You're Here! Coal Supper Panic Inc.

Multiple nominations

The following publishers received two or more Debut Game nominations:

NominationsPublisher
6 Annapurna Interactive
5 Microsoft/Xbox Game Studios
4 Devolver Digital
3 Sony Computer Entertainment/Sony Interactive Entertainment
2 Finji

References

  1. ↑ "British Academy Games Awards Rules and Guidelines 2015" (PDF). British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Games in 2012". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Games in 2013". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Games in 2014". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Games in 2015". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Nunneley, Stephany (7 April 2016). "Fallout 4 wins Best Game at 2016 BAFTA Game Awards". VG247. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Games in 2017 | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
  8. ↑ "What Remains of Edith Finch wins Bafta's top games award". BBC . 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  9. ↑ Fox, Chris; Kleinman, Zoe (4 April 2019). "God of War wins best game at Bafta Awards". BBC . Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  10. ↑ "2020 BAFTA Games Awards: The Nominations". BAFTA. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  11. ↑ "2021 Games Debut Game". BAFTA Awards. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  12. ↑ "2022 BAFTA Games Awards Winners". 3 March 2022.
  13. ↑ "2023 BAFTA Games Awards: The Winners". BAFTA Games Awards. 30 March 2023. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  14. ↑ Szalai, Georg (4 March 2025). "BAFTA Games Awards: 'Senua's Saga: Hellblade II,' 'Astro Bot,' 'Still Wakes the Deep' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2025-03-04.
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