British Academy Games Award for Debut Game
| British Academy Video Games Award for Debut Game | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | The best first game from any studio or individual |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Presented by | BAFTA |
| First awarded | 2012 |
| Currently held by | Tunic |
| Website | www |
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]
Since its inception, the award has been given to eleven games. The category was first presented at 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 Finji, which won at the 19th British Academy Games Awards in 2023.
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.
| Indicates the winner |
| Year | Game | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
(8th)
|
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet | Shadow Planet Productions | Microsoft Studios
|
[2] |
| Bastion | Supergiant Games | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
| ||
| Eufloria | Omni Systems | Omni Systems | ||
| L.A. Noire | Team Bondi | Rockstar Games | ||
| Monstermind | Bossa Studios | Bossa Studios | ||
| Rift | Trion Worlds | Trion Worlds | ||
(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 | ||
(10th)
|
Gone Home | Fullbright | Fullbright | [4] |
| Badland | Frogmind Oy | Frogmind Oy | ||
| Castles in the Sky | The Tall Trees | The Tall Trees | ||
| Gunpoint | Suspicious Developments | Suspicious Developments | ||
| Remember Me | Dontnod Entertainment
|
Capcom | ||
| The Stanley Parable | Galactic Cafe | Galactic Cafe | ||
(11th)
|
Never Alone | Upper One Game, E-Line Media | E-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 Astronauts | The Astronauts | ||
(12th)
|
Her Story | Sam Barlow
|
[6] | |
| Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes | Steel Crate Games | Steel Crate Games | ||
| Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime | Asteroid Base | Asteroid Base | ||
| Mini Metro | Dinosaur Polo Club | Dinosaur Polo Club, Playism | ||
| Ori and the Blind Forest | Moon Studios | Microsoft Studios
| ||
| Prune | Joel McDonald | Joel McDonald | ||
2016
|
Firewatch | Campo Santo | Panic
|
[7] |
| Overcooked | Ghost Town Games | Team17 | ||
| Oxenfree | Night School Studio | Night School Studio | ||
| That Dragon, Cancer | Numinous Games | Numinous Games | ||
| Virginia | Variable State | 505 Games | ||
| The Witness | Thekla, Inc. | Thekla, Inc. | ||
2017
|
Gorogoa | Buried Signal | Annapurna Interactive | [8] |
| Cuphead | StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc. | StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc. | ||
| Hollow Knight | Team Cherry | Team Cherry | ||
| Night in the Woods | InfiniteFall | Finji
| ||
| The Sexy Brutale | Cavalier Game Studios | Tequila Works | ||
| Slime Rancher | Monomi Park | Monomi Park | ||
2018
|
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
|
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 Studios | William Chyr Studios | ||
2020
(17th) |
Carrion | Phobia Game Studio | Devolver Digital | [11] |
| Airborne Kingdom | The Wandering Bard | |||
Call of the Sea
|
Out of the Blue | Raw Fury Games
| ||
| Factorio | Wube Software | |||
| The Falconeer | Tomas Sala | Wired Productions | ||
| Röki | Polygon Treehouse | United Label | ||
2021
|
Toem | Something We Made | [12] | |
| The Artful Escape | Beethoven and Dinosaur | Annapurna Interactive | ||
| Eastward | Pixpil | Chucklefish | ||
| The Forgotten City | Modern Storyteller | Dear Villagers | ||
| Genesis Noir | Feral Cat Den | Fellow Traveller | ||
| Maquette | Graceful Decay | Annapurna Interactive | ||
2022
(19th) |
Tunic | Finji
|
[13] | |
| The Case of the Golden Idol | Color Gray Games | Playstack | ||
| Stray | BlueTwelve |
Annapurna Interactive | ||
| Trombone Champ | Holy Wow Studios
| |||
| As Dusk Falls | Interior Night | Xbox Game Studios | ||
| Vampire Survivors | Poncle | |||
Multiple nominations
The following publishers received two or more Debut Game nominations:
| Nominations | Publisher |
|---|---|
| 6 | Annapurna Interactive |
| 5 | Microsoft/Xbox Game Studios |
| 4 | Devolver Digital |
| 3 | Sony Computer Entertainment/Sony Interactive Entertainment
|
| 2 | Finji
|
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "Games in 2012". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "Games in 2013". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "Games in 2014". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "Games in 2015". BAFTA Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Games in 2017 | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
- ^ "What Remains of Edith Finch wins Bafta's top games award". BBC. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ Fox, Chris; Kleinman, Zoe (4 April 2019). "God of War wins best game at Bafta Awards". BBC. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- BAFTA. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "2021 Games Debut Game". BAFTA Awards. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "2022 BAFTA Games Awards Winners". 3 March 2022.
- ^ "2023 BAFTA Games Awards: The Winners". BAFTA Games Awards. 30 March 2023. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.