British Academy Games Award for Game Beyond Entertainment

Last updated
British Academy Video Games Award for Game Beyond Entertainment
CountryUnited Kingdom
Presented by British Academy of Film and Television Arts
First award2017
Currently held by Endling: Extinction is Forever
Website www.bafta.org/games

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]

Contents

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.

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.
2017

(14th)

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Ninja Theory Ninja Theory [3]
Bury Me, My LoveThe Pixel Hunt & FigARTE & Playdius
Last Day of June Ovosonico 505 Games
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm Deck Nine Square Enix
Night in the Woods InfiniteFall Finji
Sea Hero Quest VR Glitchers Glitchers
2018

(15th)

My Child Lebensborn Sarepta StudioTeknopilot and Sarepta Studio [4]
11-11: Memories Retold DigixArt, Aardman & Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe Bandai Namco Entertainment
Celeste Matt Makes Games Inc.Matt Makes Games Inc.
Florence Mountains Annapurna Interactive
Life Is Strange 2 Dontnod Entertainment Square Enix
Nintendo Labo Nintendo EPD Nintendo
2019

(16th)

Kind Words PopcannibalPopcannibal [5]
Civilization VI: Gathering Storm Firaxis Games 2K Games
Death Stranding Kojima Productions Sony Interactive Entertainment
Ring Fit Adventure Nintendo
Life Is Strange 2 Dontnod Entertainment Square Enix
Neo Cab Chance AgencyFellow Traveller Games
2020

(17th)

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo EPD Nintendo [6]
Before I Forget 3-Fold Games
Dreams Media Molecule Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Last of Us Part II Naughty Dog
Spiritfarer Thunder Lotus Games
Tell Me Why Dontnod Entertainment Xbox Game Studios
2021

(18th)

Before Your Eyes Goodbye World Skybound Games [7]
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure Ustwo Games
Chicory: A Colorful Tale Greg Lobanov Finji
Game Builder Garage Nintendo
It Takes Two Hazelight Studios Electronic Arts
Psychonauts 2 Double Fine Xbox Game Studios
2022

(19th)

Endling: Extinction is Forever Herobeat Studios HandyGames [8]
Citizen Sleeper Jump Over the AgeFellow Traveller
Gibbon: Beyond the Trees Broken Rules Games
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist Northway Games Finji
Not For Broadcast NotGames TinyBuild
We'll Always Have ParisCowleyfornia Studios
2023

(20th)

Tchia Awaceb Kepler Interactive [9]
Chants of Sennaar Rundisc Focus Entertainment
Goodbye Volcano High KO OP
Terra Nil Free Lives Devolver Digital
Thirsty Suitors Outerloop Games Annapurna Interactive
Venba Visai Games
2024

(21st)

Botany Manor Balloon StudiosWhitethorn Games [10]
Frostpunk 2 11 Bit Studios
Indika Odd-Meter11 Bit Studios
Kind Words 2 (lofi city pop)
Life is Strange: Double Exposure Deck NineSquare Enix
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story Digital Eclipse
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II Ninja Theory Xbox Game Studios
Tales of Kenzera: Zau Surgent Studios Electronic Arts
Tetris Forever Digital Eclipse
Vampire Therapist Little Bat Games

Multiple nominations and wins

Developers

DeveloperNominationsWins
Don't Nod 30
Nintendo EPD 21
Digital Eclipse 20
Nintendo 20

Publishers

DeveloperNominationsWins
Square Enix 40
Finji 30
Nintendo 31
Sony Interactive Entertainment 30
Xbox Game Studios 30
11 Bit Studios 20
Digital Eclipse 20
Electronic Arts 20
Fellow Traveller20

References

  1. "BAFTA adds Game Beyond Entertainment awards category". GamesIndustry.biz.
  2. "Game Beyond Entertainment: New Category for BAFTA's Games Awards 2018". www.bafta.org. October 19, 2017.
  3. "Winners List for the British Academy Games Awards in 2018 (Plain Text) | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  4. "BAFTA Games Awards winners 2019". awards.bafta.org. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  5. "2020 BAFTA Games Awards: The Nominations". BAFTA. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  6. "BAFTA Games Awards 2021 Nominations Announced – IGN". 2 March 2021 via www.ign.com.
  7. "2022 BAFTA Games Awards Winners". 3 March 2022.
  8. "2023 BAFTA Games Awards: The Winners". BAFTA Games Awards. 30 March 2023. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  9. "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.
  10. "2024 BAFTA Games Awards: Game Beyond Entertainment". BAFTA Games Awards. December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.