Sponsored By

Santa Monica Studio's acclaimed sequel has been nominated a record 14 times.

Chris Kerr, News Editor

March 2, 2023

3 Min Read
A screenshot of God of War Ragnarok featuring Kratos in combat

God of War Ragnarok has been nominated across 14 categories at this year's BAFTA Games Awards, making it the most-nominated game since the BAFTA Game Awards began in 2004.

Santa Monica Studio's acclaimed sequel is up for numerous awards including EE Game of the Year, Technical Achievement, and Game Design.

Stray, the feline adventure from indie outfit BlueTwelve Studio, nabbed eight nominations across categories such as Animation, Debut Game, Best Game, and EE Game of the Year.

Elden Ring, meanwhile, received seven nominations and is also in the running for EE Game of the Year.

Other titles such as A Plague Tale: Requiem, Horizon Forbidden West, Immortality, Tunic, and Vampire Survivors each nabbed five nominations apiece, while Citizen Sleeper received four nods.

A total of 45 games received nominations this year, including other notable releases such as Cult of the Lamb, Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, Splatoon 3, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope.

Tara Saunders, chair of BAFTA's Games Committee, described this year's nominees as "broad and diverse" bunch.

"It is heartening to see so many games, especially those in Game Beyond Entertainment category, that tackle complex issues and discuss the world around through engaging and enriching stories in ways only possible within our medium," said Saunders.

"I firmly believe that all these nominees represent the very best in their craft and, whether deep and meaningful or just good honest fun, show us just how essential games are in our lives, culture and society."

You can find a select list of nominees below. For the full round-up, head on over to the BAFTA Games website.

BAFTA Games Awards 2023 Nominations

BEST GAME

  • CULT OF THE LAMB Development Team - Massive Monster/Devolver Digital

  • ELDEN RING Development Team – FromSoftware/BANDAI NAMCO Europe

  • GOD OF WAR RAGNARÖK Eric Williams, Chad Cox, Yumi Yang - Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

  • MARVEL SNAP Development Team – Second Dinner Studios/Nuverse

  • STRAY Development Team - BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna Interactive

  • VAMPIRE SURVIVORS Development Team – poncle/poncle

BRITISH GAME

  • CITIZEN SLEEPER Gareth Damian Martin, Guillaume Singelin, Amos Roddy - Jump Over the Age/Fellow Traveller

  • OLLIOLLI WORLD Development Team - Roll7/Private Division

  • ROLLERDROME Development Team - Roll7/Private Division

  • TOTAL WAR: WARHAMMER III Development Team - Creative Assembly/SEGA

  • TWO POINT CAMPUS Development Team - Two Point Studios/SEGA

  • VAMPIRE SURVIVORS Development Team – poncle/poncle

EVOLVING GAME

  • APEX LEGENDS Development Team – Respawn/Electronic Arts

  • DREAMS Development Team - Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment

  • THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE Development Team - Zenimax Online Studios/Bethesda Softworks

  • FINAL FANTASY XIV ONLINE Development Team - Creative Business Unit III/Square Enix

  • FORZA HORIZON 5 Development Team - Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios

  • NO MAN’S SKY Development Team - Hello Games/Hello Games

GAME DESIGN

  • CULT OF THE LAMB Development Team - Massive Monster/Devolver Digital

  • ELDEN RING Development Team – FromSoftware/BANDAI NAMCO Europe

  • GOD OF WAR RAGNARÖK Jason McDonald, Andrew Chrysafidis, Luis Sanchez - Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

  • HORIZON FORBIDDEN WEST Development Team – Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Entertainment

  • TUNIC Development Team - TUNIC Team/FINJI

  • VAMPIRE SURVIVORS Development Team – poncle/poncle

NARRATIVE

  • A PLAGUE TALE: REQUIEM Writing Team - Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment

  • CITIZEN SLEEPER Gareth Damian Martin - Jump Over the Age/Fellow Traveller

  • GOD OF WAR RAGNARÖK Matt Sophos, Richard Gaubert - Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

  • IMMORTALITY Sam Barlow, Amelia Gray, Allan Scott - Half Mermaid Productions/Half Mermaid Productions

  • PENTIMENT Josh Sawyer, Kate Dollarhyde, Zoe Franznick - Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studio

  • STRAY Writing Team - BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna Interactive

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

  • ELDEN RING Development Team – FromSoftware/BANDAI NAMCO Europe

  • GOD OF WAR RAGNARÖK Josh Hobson, Jon Burke - Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

  • HORIZON FORBIDDEN WEST Development Team - Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Entertainment

  • IMMORTALITY Connor Carson, Lizi Attwood, Dylan Nelkin - Half Mermaid Productions/Half Mermaid Productions

  • THE LAST OF US PART I Development Team - Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment

  • STRAY Development Team - BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna Interactive

EE GAME OF THE YEAR (voted for by the public)

  • ELDEN RING FromSoftware/BANDAI NAMCO Europe

  • GOD OF WAR RAGNARÖK Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

  • HORIZON FORBIDDEN WEST Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Entertainment

  • IMMORTALITY Half Mermaid Productions/Half Mermaid Productions

  • MARVEL SNAP Second Dinner Studios/Nuverse

  • STRAY BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna Interactive

About the Author(s)

Chris Kerr

News Editor, GameDeveloper.com

Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.

Daily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inbox

You May Also Like