More Lists – Video Game Canon

The BAFTA Games Awards Polled the Public and Shenmue is “The Most Influential Video Game of All Time”

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts did more than select the winners of the 2024-2025 BAFTA Games Awards last month (once again, congratulations to Astro Bot).

In the leadup to this year’s ceremony, the group gave the public a chance to vote for “The Most Influential Video Game of All Time“. With all the votes now tallied, Sega’s Shenmue appeared at the top of the list, and it was followed by 20 additional titles.

Chris Schilling, formerly of Edge Magazine, helped introduce the breadth of games on display:

As more than one responder said, it’s unfair to have to choose just one. Do you pick the pioneers that shaped the early days of the medium, the innovators that were ahead of their time, the ones that proved formative to your own creative journey, or simply the ones that made you most emotional? As might be expected, among the extraordinary number of responses we received was a staggering variety of games — ranging from titles that launched the industry to contemporary giants released mere months ago. The top ten alone spans multiple genres, from platformers to shooters, sandbox adventures to simulations.

Shenmue launched to near universal acclaim in 2000 and is ostensibly about Ryo Hazuki’s search for his father’s killer. But the game also works as a massive life simulation, giving players the opportunity to also play arcade games, chat with NPCs, and even drive a forklift. It’s a bit of a surprising choice for the top spot, but also not, as you can see the ripple effect that Shenmue‘s open world design and focus on minigames caused in the 2000s (and beyond). Shenmue‘s influence can be seen clearly in subsequent games in the Grand Theft Auto and Yakuza franchises, but also in Animal Crossing, Final Fantasy, and the games of Quantic Dream.

“The Most Influential Video Game of All Time” is actually a pretty solid list top to bottom, with foundational games like Pong (#13), Tetris (#11), and Super Mario Bros. (#3) sitting alongside newer classics like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (#20) and Baldur’s Gate 3 (#16). Doom (1993) (#2) and Half-Life 2 (#9), two games that often make the cut on lists like this, were also well-represented in the top ten.

Though I have to admit, I was a bit baffled that you’ll also find Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (#7) sandwiched between Super Mario 64 (#8) and Minecraft (#6) in the top ten. Warhorse’s sequel has received some fantastic reviews so far this year, but it’s also only two months old and hasn’t influenced much of anything yet.

The complete list of games from BAFTA’s “The Most Influential Video Game of All Time” can be found after the break.

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2024 GOTY Scoreboard: Astro Bot, Balatro, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, More

People who focus on the business side of games predicted that 2024 would see fewer AAA releases than 2023 and more layoffs throughout the industry. Sadly, they were right on both counts. It’s rough out there for people who make games.

But the dour cloud that’s currently hanging over the industry is all the more reason to celebrate the developers that did great work last year.

The year’s biggest success story might be the most surprising, as Team Asobi’s Astro Bot collected the most “Game of the Year” hardware from journalists and players, as well as three of the four major awards (The Game Awards, the DICE Awards, and the BAFTA Games Awards). But there was plenty to celebrate from 2024, with a dozen other games earning at least one “Game of the Year” accolade and dozens more appearing further down the lists.

That cohort includes LocalThunk’s Balatro (which won “Game of the Year” at the GDC Awards), Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Atlus’s Metaphor: ReFantazio, and MachineGames’s Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

The latest adventure starring everyone’s favorite archeologist is an interesting case, as it released so late in the year that many outlets (including The Game Awards) were unable to properly evaluate it. Will its recent launch on the PS5 give a boost to its 2025 GOTY Scoreboard crusade? I wouldn’t rule it out, but it’s possible that Nintendo’s shiny new Switch 2 will steal this year’s spotlight.

But that’s a conversation that won’t begin until December. For now, you should definitely check out more of 2024’s most-acclaimed games after the break.

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BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has presented the BAFTA Games Awards almost every year since 2003 (they skipped 2005 for some reason). “The BAFTAs” are one of the game industry’s most prestigious awards, and they’re awarded each Spring, honoring games released during the previous calendar year.

Since 2016, the BAFTA Games Awards ceremony has coincided with the London Games Festival.

A secret ballot cast by the British Academy’s membership, which includes “experienced games industry practitioners from a range of backgrounds in game development and production,” chooses the nominees and winners each year. A variety of sponsored awards are also offered by the BAFTAs, and the winners are typically decided by a public vote.

All the “Best Game” winners from the BAFTA Games Awards can be found here…

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The 2024-2025 BAFTA Games Awards Goes With the Flow as Astro Bot is Named “Best Game”

The voting body behind the BAFTA Games Awards has gained something of a reputation as a group that is always interested in the road not taken. Just look at these examples…

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a certifiable phenomenon at this point, but the BAFTA Game Awards chose to honor Portal 2 as the “Best Game” from 2011. And while we all got swept up in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in 2017, the “Best Game” statuette at the BAFTAs went to What Remains of Edith Finch. Even two years ago, while everyone else was gushing over Elden Ring, it was Vampire Survivors that won “Best Game” at the BAFTA Games Awards.

But what happened at the 2024-2025 BAFTA Games Awards? This year, the folks who make up the British Academy chose to join the crowd and give the “Best Game” statuette to Team Asobi’s Astro Bot. Sony’s robotic mascot took home four additional awards last night, including “Animation”, “Audio Achievement”, “Family”, and “Game Design”.

Did any other games win some awards last night? You bet!

The Chinese Room’s Still Wakes the Deep led the rest of the pack with wins in three categories (“New Intellectual Property”, “Performer in a Leading Role” for Alec Newman, and “Performer in a Supporting Role” for Karen Dunbar). Arrowhead’s Helldivers II also picked up a pair of awards (“Multiplayer” and “Music”) during the show.

And then there was Balatro.

The game’s pseudonymous developer, LocalThunk, was a no-show at the BAFTA Games Awards, but he sent actor Ben Starr (dressed as Balatro‘s Jimbo the Joker) to the show in his stead. So it was Starr who accepted the “Best Debut” statuette for Balatro on LocalThunk’s behalf and delivered an acceptance speech for the ages:

“I can say having met him personally, LocalThunk is really rich now. He has shoes made of gold and he thanks you for making him that way. He says here at the bottom, he wishes he could thank more people, but if he’s being honest, it was just him who made it. Everyone else is a freeloader, especially you, PlayStack.”

It was all fun and games until the end, when Starr closed by saying, “Play more independent games like Animal Well. They are the lifeblood of this industry and they deserve your respect.”

The 2024-2025 BAFTA Games Awards marks the end of awards season, and you can find a replay of the ceremony, as well as the rest of the winners and all the nominees, after the break. The extended Longlist, which includes more than 60 titles, is also available on BAFTA’s website.

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GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today

Chris Crawford opened the doors to the very first Computer Game Developers Conference after welcoming two dozen other developers into his living room in 1988. The annual gathering has grown considerably in the years since (including being rechristened the Game Developers Conference in 1999), though Crawford bowed out of organizing the event in 1994.

UBM TechWeb, a company that specialized in trade shows and conferences, took over organizing the Game Developers Conference in the 1990s and they launched the Game Developers Choice Awards (GDC Awards) in 2001. Informa Tech, a British publishing company, took over as the organizer of the Game Developers Conference in 2020.

The GDC Awards are awarded every Spring at the Game Developers Conference, and both the nominees and the winners are selected by a group of “leading game creators from all parts of the industry.” Membership in this panel, which is known as the International Choice Awards Network, is available by invitation-only.

Before the creation of the GDC Awards, the Game Developers Conference hosted the Spotlight Awards from 1997 through 1999.

All the “Game of the Year” winners from the GDC Awards and the Spotlight Awards can be found here…

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Balatro Draws “Game of the Year” Honors at the 2024-2025 GDC Awards

It was a tale of two games last night in San Francisco at the 2024-2025 Game Developers Choice Awards. As they’ve done throughout awards season, Team Asobi’s Astro Bot was competing head-to-head with Localthunk’s Balatro in most categories, including “Game of the Year”.

Astro Bot was victorious at The Game Awards and the DICE Awards, but the little automaton couldn’t go three-for-three as Balatro won “Game of the Year” at this year’s GDC Awards. The poker roguelike also went all in to collect the “Innovation Award”, “Best Design”, and “Best Debut”.

But don’t worry, Team Asobi didn’t go home empty handed last night. Astro Bot was the only other game to win multiple awards as it took home two statuettes for “Best Technology” and “Best Audio”.

The rest of the ceremony spread a handful of awards among some of 2024’s most acclaimed titles including Black Myth: Wukong (“Best Visual Art”), Metaphor: ReFantazio (“Best Narrative”), Life Is Strange: Double Exposure (“Social Impact Award”), and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (“Audience Award”).

Balatro has reshuffled awards season with the BAFTAs still ahead of us, and it’ll be interesting to see if it and Astro Bot can continue their winning ways in London.

A complete list of all the nominees and winners from the 2024-2025 GDC Awards, as well as a short video montage of the winners, can be found after the break.

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DICE Awards: All the Winners from 1997 to Today

The DICE Awards have been awarded by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences as part of the DICE Summit (“Design Innovate Communicate Entertain”) since 1998. The ceremony is held each Winter, honoring games released during the previous calendar year.

The nominees are chosen annually by a select group of Academy members known as “Peer Panelists.” In their attempt to harvest a wide-ranging set of opinions each year, the AIAS reaches out to industry experts from all corners of the game industry, including art, design, engineering, animation, performance, and production.

For the final vote, the entire Academy votes for the four major awards (“Game of the Year,” “Mobile Game of the Year,” “Online Game of the Year,” and “Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game”), while voting on creative/technical categories is limited to developers within that field (“Game Design & Production,” “Art, Animation & Programming,” and “Audio Design & Music”).

From 1998 through 2012, the ceremony was known as the Interactive Achievement Awards, though the public would often refer to it as the “DICE Awards” because of its connection to the DICE Summit. After more than a decade, the AIAS officially adopted the new name in 2013.

All the “Game of the Year” winners from the DICE Awards can be found here…

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2024-2025 DICE Awards Deals its “Game of the Year” Award to Astro Bot

Astro Bot had the momentum coming out of the 2024 Game Awards with four total wins, including “Game of the Year” honors. But there wasn’t a clear frontrunner going into awards season, and there was no guarantee it would be able to fend off the rest of this year’s field of contenders forever.

All that said, Sony’s adorable little automaton ended up dominating the 2024-2025 DICE Awards in similar fashion. Astro Bot, and developers from Team Asobi, took home the “Game of the Year” prize last night, as well as statuettes for “Family Game of the Year”, “Outstanding Achievement in Game Design”, “Outstanding Technical Achievement”, and “Outstanding Achievement in Animation”.

Not to be outdone, the rest of the “Game of the Year” contenders performed pretty well during rest of the ceremony, with Helldivers II, Balatro, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle divvying up the majority of the remaining awards.

Helldivers II nearly matched Astro Bot‘s total as it collected four statuettes for “Online Game of the Year”, “Action Game of the Year”, “Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition”, and “Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design”.

Meanwhile, Balatro (“Mobile Game of the Year”, “Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year”, and “Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game”) and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (“Adventure Game of the Year”, “Outstanding Achievement in Character”, and “Outstanding Achievement in Story”) earned three awards apiece.

Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller and IGN’s Stella Chung returned to host this year’s DICE Awards, and you can watch a full replay of the ceremony (as well as find a complete list of all the winners and nominees) after the break.

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The Game Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today

The Game Awards have been produced and hosted since 2014 by journalist Geoff Keighley. The annual ceremony is held each December and recognizes games released during the previous 12 months.

The nominees are selected by an international panel made up of more than 95 media outlets and influencers. This same jury, along with the aggregated results of an online fan vote, also determines the winners each year. The final ballot is weighted with 90% of the vote coming from the panel and the remaining 10% coming from the general public. Contrary to popular belief, Geoff Keighley has no say in selecting the nominees or the winners.

The Game Awards are a direct continuation of the Spike Video Game Awards, which Keighley produced for Spike TV from 2003 until 2013. After the cable channel declined to sponsor the show in 2014, he chose to move forward with The Game Awards as an independent production.

All the “Game of the Year” winners from The Game Awards and the Spike Video Game Awards can be found here…

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Astro Bot is “Game of the Year” at the 2024 Game Awards

Is this a new era for The Game Awards? Geoff Keighley, the producer and host, seemed to take the many complaints about last year’s show to heart.

Many viewers were bothered by the excessive amount of “World Premiere” trailers in 2023, as well as the scant amount of time the winners were given to speak. Leaning into this criticism, the 2024 Game Awards seemed to be packed with more trailers than ever, shifting the balance of the show to operate more like a Winter E3 with the actual awards serving as a secondary segment. And that’s okay. There are lots of awards shows out there. The Game Awards can be the fun one while the GDC Awards, the DICE Awards, and the BAFTAs give out the real “Game of the Year” honors.

Keighley also received criticism from the press and the public about his lack of concern for the huge number of layoffs that ravaged the video game industry in 2023. This year saw even more job losses, and The Game Awards responded by creating the “TGA Game Changer” award, which was given to Amir Satvat for his curation of Amir Satvat’s Games Community, a website that offers support, mentorship, and job postings for game developers.

Keighley’s introduction to this part of the show was particularly good:

“The sad reality is that over the past few years the gaming industry has suffered significant and unprecedented industry-wide layoffs. Those affect the games we get to play and even more importantly, the people who make the games we love. We can debate and certainly disagree with the reasons why, and honestly, as a show, we kind of struggle how to address these topics in a constructive way. But this year, inside of these challenges, we found greatness. I’m proud to share with you the story of a single individual who saw developers in need and did something truly extraordinary.”

Even the awards themselves felt different this year, as Team Asobi’s Astro Bot won the “Game of the Year”. Astro Bot is the first family-friendly game to win the top prize in the ten-year history of The Game Awards, beating out flashier competition such as Black Myth: Wukong, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Metaphor: ReFantazio. All of those games got their chance to shine, but it was Team Asobi’s night, as the developer also won “Best Game Direction”, “Best Action/Adventure Game”, and “Best Family Game” for Astro Bot.

Not only is Astro Bot an extreme outlier among previous Game Awards winners, but so is the next most-honored game of the night. Balatro didn’t win “Game of the Year”, but developer LocalThunk did collect statuettes for “Best Independent Game”, “Best Mobile Game”, and “Best Debut Indie”. Atlus’s Metaphor: ReFantazio also picked up three statuettes last night, winning for “Best Narrative”, “Best Art Direction”, and “Best Role Playing Game”.

Black Myth: Wukong parlayed its strong fan support into wins for “Best Action Game” and the public-voted “Player’s Voice” award. While Final Fantasy VII Rebirth had to settle for the statuette for “Best Score and Music”.

Finally, let’s talk about that lineup of “World Premiere” trailers, because it really was pretty impressive this year. There were blockbuster sequels, which included The Witcher IV, Elden Ring: Nightreign, Borderlands 4, The Outer Worlds 2, Dying Light: The Beast, and Slay the Spire 2. There were the shocking returns of long-forgotten franchises such as Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Turok: Origins, Virtua Fighter 6, and Okami 2. And there was plenty of new stuff including Warren Specter’s Thick As Thieves, the currently untitled next game from Fumito Ueda, Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and the absolutely bonkers Shadow Labyrinth (which is being pitched as a Pac-Man spinoff). It was almost overwhelming.

And that’s it for the 2024 Game Awards. A complete list of all the winners and nominees, as well as a full replay of the ceremony, can be found after the break.

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