The BAFTA Games Awards or British Academy Games Awards are an annual British awards ceremony honouring "outstanding creative achievement" in the video game industry. First presented in 2004 following the restructuring of the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards, the awards are presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).
Within the video game industry there are several awards that are given to individual video games, development studios, and other individuals to recognize their merit. Most video game awards are given out on an annual basis, celebrating the best games of the previous year. Most of these awards come from organizations directly within the industry, but there also exist several that come from broader media groups. In addition, many video game publications supply their own end of the year awards.
The 5th British Academy Video Game Awards awarded by British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), was an award ceremony honouring achievement in the field of video games in 2008. Candidate games must have been released in the United Kingdom between 26 October 2007 and 31 December 2008. The ceremony took place in the London Hilton on 10 March 2009. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare & Grand Theft Auto IV led with the most nominations with seven, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was the major winner, taking three of the seven awards available.
The 4th British Academy Video Games Awards, awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, was an award ceremony held on 23 October 2007 in Battersea Evolution. The ceremony honoured achievement in 2007 for games which were released between 6 October 2006 and 5 October 2007 and was hosted by Vic Reeves. Wii Sports led with the most nominations with seven. Wii Sports was the major winner on the night, taking six of the seven awards available, equaling the record Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2003) and Half-Life 2 (2004) had with the most awards won in any BAFTA Video Games Awards ceremony. BioShock took the main prize of Best Game.
An awards ceremony is a type of ceremony where awards are given out. The ceremony may be arranged by a government organization, a society, a school, a trade association or even a company that specializes in running awards ceremonies. Typically a master of ceremonies presents award winners, speaks to the audience, entertains people, and generally keeps the ceremony moving.
The 6th British Academy Video Game Awards awarded by British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), was an award ceremony honouring achievement in the field of video games in 2009. Candidate games must have been released in the United Kingdom between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2009. The ceremony took place in the London Hilton on 19 March 2010.
The 9th British Academy Video Game Awards awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, is an award ceremony that was held on 5 March 2013 in the London Hilton on Park Lane. The ceremony honoured achievement in video gaming in 2012 and was hosted by Dara Ó Briain. This was the first ceremony to introduce the award for British Game, and has been present in every ceremony thus far.
The British Academy Video Games Award for Best Game is an award presented annually at the British Academy Games Awards. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is honouring "the best game of the year, across all genres and platforms". The 1st British Academy Video Games Awards ceremony was held in 2004, with Infinity Ward and Activision's game Call of Duty receiving the award. The award was originally known as Game of the Year – The Year's Best Game for the 2004 ceremony.
The 8th British Academy Video Game Awards awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, was an award ceremony held on 16 March 2012 in the London Hilton. The ceremony honoured achievement in video gaming in 2011 and was hosted by Dara Ó Briain.
The 10th British Academy Video Game Awards awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, is an award ceremony that was held on 12 March 2014 at Tobacco Dock. The ceremony honoured achievement in video gaming in 2013 and was hosted by Dara Ó Briain.
The 11th British Academy Video Games Awards ceremony, presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), honored video games of 2014 and took place on 12 March 2015 at the Tobacco Dock in London, beginning at 7:00pm (GMT). During the ceremony, BAFTA presented awards in 16 categories. The ceremony, broadcast live on streaming website Twitch, was hosted by comedian Rufus Hound.
The British Academy Video Games Award for Multiplayer is an award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is given in honor of "the best multiplayer game experience, including social, online or offline". The award was formerly known as the British Academy Video Games Award for Online Multiplayer at the 2005, 2012 and 2013 ceremonies.
The British Academy Video Games Award for Game Design is an award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is given in honor of "the best game design that captivates and engages the player", including recognition of elements such as game mechanics, use of controls, level and world structure, and pacing.
The 12th British Academy Game Awards awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, is an award ceremony that was held on 7 April 2016 at Tobacco Dock in London. The ceremony honoured achievement in video gaming in 2015 and was hosted by Dara Ó Briain.
The 13th British Academy Video Game Awards awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, is an award ceremony that was held on 6 April 2017 at Tobacco Dock. The ceremony honoured achievement in video gaming in 2016 and was hosted by Danny Wallace.
The 15th British Academy Video Game Awards was hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on 4 April 2019 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London to honour the best video games of 2018.
The 16th British Academy Video Game Awards was hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on 2 April 2020 to honour the best video games of 2019. Though originally planned to be presented at a ceremony at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the event was instead presented as a live stream due to concern over the coronavirus pandemic. The nominees were announced on 3 March 2020, with Control and Death Stranding leading the group with eleven nominations each, breaking the record of ten set by Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, The Last of Us, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and God of War as the most nominations received by a game.
The 18th British Academy Video Game Awards was hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on 7 April 2022 to honour the best video games of 2021. Held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, television presenter Elle Osili-Wood returned to host the ceremony for the second time. Co-operative action-adventure platformer It Takes Two and third-person roguelike shooter Returnal both led the nominations with nine. Returnal won four awards at the ceremony, the most wins of any game.
The British Academy Video Games Award for Performer in a Supporting Role is an award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in honor of the best supporting performance featured in a game "from voice artistry through to motion capture".
The British Academy Video Games Award for Performer in a Leading Role is an award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in honour of the best leading performance featured in a game "from voice artistry through to motion capture".
