BAFTA just unveiled the nominations for the upcoming 14th ceremony of the British Academy Games Awards, with a total of 45 games nominated this year.
Ninja Theory’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is leading the way with nine nominations, including Best Game, British Game, Game Innovation, Performer for Melina Juergens, and this year’s new category, Game Beyond Entertainment, which recognises games that “deliver a transformational experience beyond pure entertainment.”
Also nominated in this new category are Life is Strange: Beyond the Storm (Deck Nine Games/Square Enix), Night in the Woods (InfiniteFall/Finji), Bury Me, My Love (The Pixel Hunt/Playdius), Last Day of June (Ovosonico/505 Games), and Glitchers’ Sea Hero Quest VR.
Sony’s Horizon Zero Dawn is a close second to Hellblade with eight nominations, followed by Giant Sparrow and Annapurna Interactive’s What Remains of Edith Finch with seven nominations
The BAFTA Games Awards 2018 takes place on April 12th at Troxy, London, and will see Dara O’Briain making a return to hosting duties. Tim Schafer is to receive the BAFTA Fellowship on the evening. The ceremony will be livestreamed on all major platforms for the first time, in partnership with IGN. You can click here to see all the options to watch the awards.
Here’s the full nominations list for the BAFTA 2018:
ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT
- CUPHEAD Development Team – StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc./StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc.
- GOROGOA Development Team – Jason Roberts, Buried Signal/Annapurna Interactive
- HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE Development Team – Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd
- HORIZON ZERO DAWN Development Team – Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
- THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD Development Team – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
- UNCHARTED: THE LOST LEGACY Development Team – Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
AUDIO ACHIEVEMENT
- CALL OF DUTY: WORLD WAR II Development Team – Sledgehammer Games/Activision
- DESTINY 2 Development Team – Bungie/Activision
- HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE David Garcia Diaz – Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd
- HORIZON ZERO DAWN Development Team – Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
- STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II Development Team – DICE/Electronic Arts
- UNCHARTED: THE LOST LEGACY Development Team – Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
BEST GAME
- ASSASSIN’S CREED ORIGINS Development Team – Ubisoft Montreal/ Ubisoft
- HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE Development Team – Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd
- HORIZON ZERO DAWN Development Team – Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
- THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD Development Team – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
- SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY Development Team – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
- WHAT REMAINS OF EDITH FINCH Development Team – Giant Sparrow/Annapurna Interactive
BRITISH GAME
- HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE Development Team – Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd
- MONUMENT VALLEY 2 Development Team – ustwo games/ustwo games
- REIGNS: HER MAJESTY Leigh Alexander, François Alliot, Arnaud De Bock – Nerial Ltd/ Devolver Digital
- THE SEXY BRUTALE Charles Griffiths, James Griffiths, Tom Lansdale – Cavalier Game Studios and Tequila Works/ Tequila Works
- SNIPER ELITE 4 Development Team – Rebellion/ Rebellion
- TOTAL WAR: WARHAMMER II Development Team – Creative Assembly/ SEGA
DEBUT GAME
- CUPHEAD Development Team – StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc./StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc.
- GOROGOA Development Team – Jason Roberts, Buried Signal/Annapurna Interactive
- HOLLOW KNIGHT Development Team – Team Cherry/Team Cherry
- NIGHT IN THE WOODS Scott Benson, Alec Holowka, Bethany Hockenberry – InfiniteFall/Finji
- THE SEXY BRUTALE Charles Griffiths, James Griffiths, Tom Lansdale – Cavalier Game Studios and Tequila Works/Tequila Works
- SLIME RANCHER Development Team – Monomi Park/Monomi Park
EVOLVING GAME
- CLASH ROYALE Development Team – Supercell/ Supercell
- FINAL FANTASY XV Hajime Tabata – Square Enix/ Square Enix
- FORTNITE Development Team – Epic Games/ Epic Games
- OVERWATCH Development Team – Blizzard Entertainment/ Blizzard Entertainment
- PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS Development Team – PUBG Corp/ Bluehole, Inc.
- TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE Development Team – Ubisoft Montreal/ Ubisoft
FAMILY
- JUST DANCE 2018 Development Team – Ubisoft Paris/ Ubisoft
- LEGO WORLDS Development Team – TT Games/ WB Games
- MARIO + RABBIDS KINGDOM BATTLE Development Team – Ubisoft/ Ubisoft
- MONUMENT VALLEY 2 Development Team – ustwo games/ustwo games
- SNIPPERCLIPS Development Team – SFB Games/ Nintendo
- SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY Development Team – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
GAME BEYOND ENTERTAINMENT
- BURY ME, MY LOVE Development Team – The Pixel Hunt & Fig/ ARTE & Playdius
- HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE Development Team – Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd
- LAST DAY OF JUNE Massimo Guarini, Elia Randon, Andrew Thompson – Ovosonico/505 Games
- LIFE IS STRANGE: BEFORE THE STORM Development Team – Deck Nine Games, Square Enix/Square Enix
- NIGHT IN THE WOODS Scott Benson, Alec Holowka, Bethany Hockenberry – InfiniteFall/ Finji
- SEA HERO QUEST VR Matthew Hyde, Max Scott-Slade, Hugo Scott-Slade – Glitchers/ Glitchers
GAME DESIGN
- ASSASSIN’S CREED ORIGINS Development Team – Ubisoft Montreal/ Ubisoft
- HORIZON ZERO DAWN Development Team – Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
- THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD Development Team – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
- NIER AUTOMATA Development Team – Platinum Games; Square Enix/ Square Enix
- SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY Development Team – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
- WHAT REMAINS OF EDITH FINCH Development Team – Giant Sparrow/Annapurna Interactive
GAME INNOVATION
- GOROGOA Development Team – Jason Roberts, Buried Signal/Annapurna Interactive
- HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE Development Team – Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd
- THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD Development Team – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
- NIER AUTOMATA Development Team – Platinum Games; Square Enix/Square Enix
- SNIPPERCLIPS Development Team – SFB Games/Nintendo
- WHAT REMAINS OF EDITH FINCH Development Team – Giant Sparrow/Annapurna Interactive
MOBILE GAME
- BURY ME, MY LOVE Development Team – The Pixel Hunt & Fig/ ARTE & Playdius
- GOLF CLASH Paul Gouge, Alex Rigby, Gareth Jones – Playdemic/Playdemic
- GOROGOA Development Team – Jason Roberts, Buried Signal/Annapurna Interactive
- KAMI 2 Development Team – State of Play/State of Play
- MONUMENT VALLEY 2 Development Team – ustwo games/ustwo games
- STRANGER THINGS: THE GAME Development Team – BonusXP, Inc./BonusXP, Inc.
MULTIPLAYER
- DIVINITY: ORIGINAL SIN 2 Development Team – Larian Studios/ Larian Studios Games
- FORTNITE Development Team – Epic Games/ Epic Games
- GANG BEASTS Development Team – Boneloaf/ Double Fine Productions
- PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS Development Team – PUBG Corp/ Bluehole, Inc.
- SPLATOON 2 Development Team – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
- STAR TREK BRIDGE CREW Development Team – Red Storm Entertainment/ Ubisoft
MUSIC
- CUPHEAD Development Team – StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc./StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc.
- GET EVEN Development Team – The Farm 51/ Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe
- HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE David Garcia Diaz, Andy LaPlegua – Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd
- HORIZON ZERO DAWN Development Team – Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
- THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD Development Team – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
- WHAT REMAINS OF EDITH FINCH Jeff Russo – Giant Sparrow/Annapurna Interactive
NARRATIVE
- HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE Tameem Antoniades – Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd
- HORIZON ZERO DAWN Development Team – Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
- NIGHT IN THE WOODS Scott Benson, Alec Holowka, Bethany Hockenberry – InfiniteFall/ Finji
- TACOMA Steve Gaynor, Karla Zimonja – Fullbright/ Fullbright
- WHAT REMAINS OF EDITH FINCH Development Team – Giant Sparrow/Annapurna Interactive
- WOLFENSTEIN II: THE NEW COLOSSUS Jens Matthies, Tommy Tordsson Björk, Tom Keegan – Machine Games/ Bethesda
ORIGINAL PROPERTY
- CUPHEAD Chad Moldenhauer, Jared Moldenhauer – StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc./StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc.
- GOROGOA Development Team – Jason Roberts, Buried Signal/Annapurna Interactive
- HORIZON ZERO DAWN Development Team – Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
- NIGHT IN THE WOODS Scott Benson, Alec Holowka, Bethany Hockenberry – InfiniteFall/ Finji
- PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS Development Team – PUBG Corp/ Bluehole, Inc.
- WHAT REMAINS OF EDITH FINCH Development Team – Giant Sparrow/Annapurna Interactive
PERFORMER
- ABUBAKAR SALIM as Bayek in Assassin’s Creed Origins
- ASHLY BURCH as Aloy in Horizon Zero Dawn
- CLAUDIA BLACK as Chloe Frazer in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
- LAURA BAILEY as Nadine Ross in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
- MELINA JUERGENS as Senua in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
- VALERIE ROSE LOHMAN as Edith Finch in What Remains of Edith Finch