The BAFTA Games Awards were held on the night of Thursday, April 11. Considered the most prestigious video game awards in England, they are on par with other major awards such as the Game Awards or the Steam Awards. Awarding prizes in nineteen different categories, they have an advantage over all other awards: they reward games from the previous year. This allows for a better perspective than other awards that are given in December.
This year’s big winner, however, had already been the winner throughout 2023. Because Baldur’s Gate 3 has taken home five different awards. Winning the award for best game, best music, best narrative, and the audience award, it basically takes the two main awards, as well as two of the three design awards. And in addition, Andrew Wincott, who plays Raphael in the game, won the award for best supporting actor. Thus, Baldur’s Gate 3 emerges as the big winner not only of the BAFTA, but also of the video games of 2023.
However, the gala was not only endless Baldur’s Gate 3. Dave The Diver won the award for best game design, the extraordinary Venba won the best game debut, and the fascinating Viewfinder won both the award for best British game and the award for new intellectual property. Thus highlighting the effort of games outside the AAA sphere.
All of this should not come as a surprise as Baldur’s Gate 3 has been sweeping all the awards in 2023. Declared game of the year by the Game Awards and the Steam Awards, it has also been chosen as game of the year in numerous gaming publications. All this while sitting at number 24 of the most played games, as of April 12, 2024, with 81,482 simultaneous players. An absolute feat for a single-player game with no online functionality or DLC.
