Baldur's Gate 3 had record-breaking award success continuing over a year beyond its release. According to Larian CEO Swen Vincke, the company sent rotating groups of staff to award ceremonies because it started to impact the studio's development activities. [1] In April 2024, the game became the first to win Game of the Year, or the equivalent category, at all five major ceremonies: the Golden Joystick Awards, the Game Developers Choice Awards, the DICE Awards, the BAFTAs, and The Game Awards. [2] Several publications also selected Baldur's Gate 3 as the best title of the year, including Ars Technica , GameSpot , GamesRadar+ , and PC Gamer . [3]
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At the Golden Joystick Awards, the game broke the previous record with seven wins, including Best Storytelling, Best Visual Design, and Studio of the Year for Larian. [4] At The Game Awards, the game won in six of the nine nominated categories, including Best Role Playing Game, Best Community Support, and Best Multiplayer Game. [5] Baldur's Gate 3 was one of two titles to win multiple awards at the 27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, [a] receiving Role-Playing Game of the Year alongside Outstanding Achievements in Story, Game Design, and Game Direction. [6] At the BAFTA Game Awards, the title won five awards; lead writer Sarah Baylus and composer Borislav Slavov accepted the awards for Best Narrative and Best Music, respectively. [7] At the 24th Game Developers Choice Awards in San Francisco, it received four awards, including Best Narrative and Best Design. [8]
The game's performances received awards recognition. Neil Newbon (Astarion) won Best Supporting Performer at the Golden Joysticks and Best Performance at The Game Awards. [4] [5] Newbon shared nominated with the game's narrator, Amelia Tyler, at several ceremonies, including the New York Game Awards and the Golden Joysticks. [9] Newbon's performance was also nominated at the DICE Awards alongside Samantha Béart (Karlach). [6] At the BAFTAs, Newbon, Béart and Tyler were nominated for Performer in a Leading Role. There were three nominations for the Performer in a Supporting Role award: Tracy Wiles (Jaheira), Dave Jones (Halsin) and Andrew Wincott (Raphael), [10] with Wincott's performance winning. [7] Several awards were for BG3's LGBTQ representation. It won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Video Game. [11] At the 2024 Gayming Awards, it received four nominations, including two for Best LGBTQ Character, winning with Shadowheart, and the Game of the Year. [12]
The game's score, and composer Borislav Slavov, received several nominations. In 2020 and 2021, he received Hollywood Music in Media Awards nominations for Original Song – Video Games ("Weeping Dawn" and "I Want to Live", respectively), [13] [14] and for the full score in 2023. [15] Slavov was nominated for Best Score and Music at the Game Awards. [5] Slavov won in the Music category at the BAFTAs. [7]
