BAFTA Revolutionizes Its Games Awards Process

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is implementing significant changes to its games awards nomination, judging, and decision-making process. The Academy has announced that nominations for the 2024 BAFTA Games Awards are now open, three months earlier than usual. For the first time, a comprehensive longlist of nominated games will be made public in December. Previously, only shortlisted nominees were released. Two key categories, Best Game and British Game, will now be voted on by all BAFTA Games members, comprising over 1,000 industry professionals. Previously, these awards were decided by a jury of experts. Additional changes include the rebranding of the Original Property award to New Intellectual Property. Developers and publishers are encouraged to submit their games within 30 days of launch, with a reduced entry fee of £175 + VAT. After this period, the full entry fee of £350 + VAT will apply. Games released between December 10, 2022, and November 24, 2023, are eligible for nomination. The submission deadline is November 9. Tara Saunders, chair of the BAFTA Games Committee and head of PlayStation's London Studio, discussed these changes with GamesIndustry.biz. She emphasized that the earlier nomination period and 30-day submission window are designed to get games into the hands of members as soon as possible. "We aim to provide members with more time to play a broader selection of titles before the first round of voting, making the awards more representative of the industry," she explained. While it is unclear whether each voting member will receive a copy of every nominated game, BAFTA encourages entrants to provide access to their games. The organization has agreements with Steam, Apple, and Epic Games Store to simplify this process. Saunders attributed the shift towards involving all BAFTA Games members in the voting process for Best Game and British Game to the organization's ongoing efforts to review and improve the awards. "BAFTA members are highly knowledgeable industry professionals, and our games membership is growing stronger each year," she said. "We trust our members' expertise and want to engage them in the awards process from start to finish." Saunders noted that other awards will continue to be decided by juries of industry professionals, as they have in the past. However, the changes made to the Best Game and British Game categories will have a positive impact on overall membership engagement and bring more diverse opinions into the awards. The BAFTA Games Awards process consists of two stages. First, voting members suggest which games should be shortlisted as nominees. Then, a jury for each category discusses the nominees and votes on a winner. Historically, developers were informed if they made the longlist, but the public only saw the shortlisted nominees. BAFTA will now publish the longlist on December 14, 2023, to increase transparency and recognize a wider selection of games. "The BAFTA Games Awards are a highlight of the annual games calendar, showcasing the industry's creativity and talent," Saunders said. "I love that indie teams can compete with larger, well-funded games and win. I hope these changes will continue to bring diversity to the content we celebrate at the awards next year."