The 20th annual BAFTA Game Awards will take place next week, celebrating the best of the best when it comes to video games from 2023.
The BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Game Awards show takes place on Thursday, April 11 at 19:00 BST/14:00 EST. If you want to tune in, the show will be streamed live on YouTube, Twitch, X, Instagram, TikTok, and a variety of other co-streamers.
The awards will honour the best games of 2023 across 18 different categories, including Animation, Game Design, Multiplayer, Narrative, Performer in a Leading Role, Evolving Game, and, of course, Best Game. Baldur’s Gate 3 currently leads the pack with 11 nominations, while Alan Wake 2 and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 follow behind with 10 nominations.
You can see the full list of nominations on BAFTA’s website, but here are the nominees for Best Game. Baldur’s Gate 3 has previously won Game of the Year at The Game Awards and DICE Awards.
- Alan Wake 2 – Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games
- Baldur’s Gate 3 – Larian Studio
- Dave the Diver – Mintrocket
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo EPD
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 – Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo EPD
Outside of the awards, BAFTA also recently held a Player’s Poll to decide “The Most Iconic Video Game Character of All Time,” and the results are a bit surprising. 4000 gamers contributed to the poll, which pitted 20 different household names against each other. None other than Lara Croft came out on top, beating the likes of Mario, Pikachu, and Kratos. Here’s the full list of characters.
- 20. Nathan Drake (Uncharted)
- 19. Ellie Williams (The Last of Us)
- 18. Kazuma Kiryu (Yakuza)
- 17. Astarion (Baldur’s Gate 3)
- 16. Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII)
- 15. Crash Bandicoot (Crash Bandicoot)
- 14. Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid)
- 13. Steve (Minecraft)
- 12. Pikachu (Pokémon)
- 11. Arthur Morgan (Red Dead Redemption)
- 10. Shadowheart (Baldur’s Gate 3)
- 9. Kratos (God of War)
- 8. Master Chief (Halo)
- 7. Link (The Legend of Zelda)
- 6. Pac-Man (Pac-Man)
- 5. Sackboy (LittleBigPlanet)
- 4. Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic)
- 3. Agent 47 (Hitman)
- 2. Mario (Mario)
- 1. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)
Make sure not to miss the BAFTA Game Awards on April 11th!
