BAFTA Games Awards 2025 interview: Proof that variety is the spice of life

This year’s BAFTA Games Awards nominations have arrived, with Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II leading the charge with an incredible 11 nods. As wonderful as the game is, I must admit, I’m surprised to see that it is leading the pack. At December’s The Game Awards, the title garnered just four nods, going home with the trophies for Best Audio Design and Best Performance for Melina Juergens.

It’s perhaps apt though that I find myself surprised, gladly so, by the game’s success with BAFTA voters. If you asked me to define 2024 as a year in gaming, I’d describe it as one filled with twists and turns. PlayStation welcomed major success with Astro Bot, a family platformer - a far cry from the grounded, narrative-driven first-party exclusives we’re used to seeing from the company. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree garnered a Game of the Year nomination at The Game Awards, a controversial turn of events considering that it is, in fact, an expansion. Interestingly, Shadow of the Erdtree failed to pick up a single BAFTA nod compared to its five nominations at The Game Awards. And I can’t fail to mention Balatro, an unsuspecting solo dev-made super success that dominated the year’s chatter with its moreish gameplay despite seemingly coming from nowhere.

That concept of ‘expect the unexpected’ is reflected in the nominations for the upcoming 21st BAFTA Games Awards, due to be held on 8 April amidst the London Games Festival. An incredible 41 games have been nominated across the 17 different categories. British indie Still Wakes The Deep ties for the second most nominations with Astro Bot, both games garnering eight nods. They’re followed by another British indie Thank Goodness You’re Here! with five. And over in the performance categories, 11 of the 13 nominees receive their first-ever BAFTA nomination. It really feels as if we’re entering an exciting new era that’s embracing every facet that the games industry has to offer.

Astro Bot is in contention for the coveted Best Game award.

That’s something I had the opportunity to discuss with BAFTA’s CEO, Jane Millichip, and chair of BAFTA’s Games Committee, Tara Saunders.

“2024 brought us a bewildering array of different genres from single developers to big studio games. It’s a very international mix, with 2024 a particularly strong year for British studios. 11 British studios are represented in the nominees, all the way from Brighton to Yorkshire,” Jane said.

“I always think it’s really interesting that you see nominees for Best Game also appearing in Game Beyond Entertainment, which shows really thoughtful game design. There are lots of first-time nominees in the performance categories, with 54% of the nominees being women which is something I find particularly heartening.”

“You’ve hit the nail on the head,” Jane said of my description of 2024 as a year of surprises. “There’s something for everyone. I don’t know how anybody would call it. I’m relieved I’m not a voter.”

Tara added, “It’s a good showcase of the breadth of the industry in the awards this year. There's almost every flavour of something represented there, which I think just really puts a great spotlight onto the industry, and the UK games industry, as Jane said, with great representation of British talent in this year's awards.”

I, myself, was particularly thrilled to see that so many independent games featured across major categories, including the top honour of Best Game. In an era where big studios are increasingly struggling to recoup the development costs of AAA releases, it’s refreshing to see players supporting independent projects.

“When the industry goes through turbulent times, we do see it reshape and reform itself,” Tara began. “And I think that's what we're seeing right now. Whether it’s the downsizing or the closure of these big teams, we’re seeing really strong talent that are going on to do their own thing, and I think we will continue to see that.”

“It’s going to be interesting to see where the industry is in five or 10 years time following these quite challenging two years, but I'm quite optimistic. I think the industry is hugely resilient and always has been, and it's really good at adapting to change. Although it's been a challenge, I think we will see a lot of strength coming out, and a lot of teams that just say, ‘Let's go and do our own thing’, and you'll get some real magic and innovation coming back into the industry as well.”

Best Debut is perhaps where that magic and innovation is best highlighted, with several titles bringing something new to the table.

“Thank Goodness You’re Here! is just so fun to play and exceptionally British,” Tara said. “And there's some really interesting games like The Plucky Squire. I love that one. I love the artistic look and feel of it, going between 2D and 3D. There was a lot of innovation within that that shone through.”

It’s important that we do highlight these projects. Major studios are so often having to return to reliable IPs amidst the industry’s financial uncertainty, but for the longevity of the industry, it’s important that the pursuit of new ideas is supported - something BAFTA can help with.

“Spotlighting these games at events like the awards is super important and this year’s nominations reflect that,” Tara said. “It’s not just big studios. It’s actually small creative teams that are doing something different, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the big teams. It shows that it’s about the excellence of what you make. It’s not size and scale that’s important.”

Jane added, “Also, two former BAFTA Breakthrough alumni are nominated this time, Abubakar Salim and Laure De May. It’s amazing that people who have been through our talent schemes then appear in the nominations list. And our alumni are very loyal to BAFTA. They pay it forward, and are very generous with their time for the next class of new and emerging talent.”

“There's a great community spirit within BAFTA that brings everybody together both when things are good and not so good,” Tara continued, following another turbulent 12 months for the video games industry. Layoffs and studio closures continue to affect many creatives.

“BAFTA’s socials do a wonderful job at bringing members together and building a community. There's an excellent supportive community across the whole industry, actually, and BAFTA just helps amplify that. And the awards are really important in celebrating both the teams and individuals who have crafted the standout games experiences of the year. It's not about celebrating the big business. It's actually about celebrating the individuals, and I think BAFTA does a great job of showcasing that and making this a special night for everyone who's contributed to those games.”

“We need a healthy industry and that means healthy studios and indies too,” explained Jane. “One isn't more important than the other. They co-exist, and you see that in this year’s nominees. Long may that continue, because without those big commercial drivers, we would be slightly whistling in the wind. It would be really difficult to support those indie developers and the indie studios if we didn't have a healthy studio system as well. It has been a difficult few years for the studios, but there’s incredible resilience in the sector.”

It’s fair to say that, in recent years, gaming’s prevalence has been growing beyond the traditional forms of ‘games media’ despite the financial struggles faced by the industry. This new age has perhaps been heralded by TV adaptations, bringing games to traditional non-gaming audiences. I was curious to learn what this growth of audience had looked like for BAFTA over the last 12 months.

“Well, I noticed a real shift at the awards last year,” Jane began. “There was really widespread coverage, not just by people like yourself, but quite broad mainstream media as well. And I felt the narrative change in that games were being discussed as a proper art form; as one of the three screen industries, rather than it being just this odd commercial entity. The general narrative has moved on in the last five years, certainly, but I felt that shift more so last year.”

“That’s absolutely a brilliant thing for us at BAFTA, but also for the entire community. Games are being held up as a proper art form. And finally, you know? This should have happened a long time ago. It’s not a temporary shift. We're not going to go backwards from here in terms of perception. And I think the breadth this year will speak to that as well. I don't think there are many art forms where you would have such variety in the big category of the year; it would be quite difficult.”

Tara added, “The industry has grown up a little bit and it understands the value of its IP now, across different kinds of media. The Last of Us did a huge amount to almost put game IP into the public domain. For people to now sit and say, ‘What? That’s based on a game? I’ll go and check that out’, that’s good. People are understanding that you can make really good quality entertainment in other forms based on game IP. We’re seeing more of that come through, which is really exciting.”

I was curious as to whether that meant we could see a Best Adaptation category at future BAFTA Games Award ceremonies.

“It's an interesting one. We always come together at the end of the award season and do a review of the awards. How's the industry reshaping, changing or adapting? And do the awards need to change in any way? It's a really, really good question to take forward,” responded Tara.

“I think games will become increasingly more relevant, whether it’s reflected in awards categories or not,” Jane added. “And not just in adaptations. Film and TV can learn a lot from storytelling in gaming. We’ve seen film and TV fuse much more closely in the last few years, and I’m fascinated to see what happens with games and the other two going forward. I think there’ll be a lot of talent going both ways.”

The 21st BAFTA Games Awards are to be held on 8 April.