Vampire Survivors, the free mobile game in which you become a bullet hell boss cleaning up screens of monster hordes, beat out massive AAA games for BAFTA's Best Game award last night.
As well as getting the coveted top spot, British indie studio Poncle also snatched the Best Game Design award for Vampire Survivors, a game which you can buy on Steam for $5. Bit of a stick in the eye for three games that released in 2022 with combined budgets in the hundreds of millions.
God of War Ragnarök did manage the largest combined total of awards, with four for Animation, Audio Achievement, Music and the EE Game of the Year award, as well as performer awards for Christopher Judge in a leading role as Kratos and Laya Deleon Hayes supporting as Angrboda. Elden Ring walked away with Best Multiplayer and Original Property awards, while Horizon Forbidden West could only manage a Technical Achievement award.
Indies saw success in other categories, too, with Zelda-like fox adventure Tunic bagging Artistic Achievement and Best Debut Game, while British studio Roll7's stylish skate-shooter Rollerdrome won the Best British Game award. Final Fantasy XIV won the Evolving Game award, Kirby And The Forgotten Land won the Family category, Endling – Extinction Is Forever won the Game Beyond Entertainment award for its environmentalism, while Immortality got the Narrative nod.
You can see a full list of BAFTA game awards 2023 nominees below, with the winners of each group in bold at the top.
BAFTA Game Awards 2023 Nominees and Winners list
Animation
- God of War Ragnarök
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- Horizon Forbidden West
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Sifu
- Stray
Artistic Achievement
- TUNIC
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarök
- Immortality
- Pentiment
Audio Achievement
- God of War Ragnarök
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Metal: Hellsinger
- Stray
- TUNIC
Best Game
- Vampire Survivors
- Cult of the Lamb
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarök
- Marvel Snap
- Stray
Evolving Game
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Apex Legends
- Dreams
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- Forza Horizon 5
- No Man’s Sky
Original Property
- Elden Ring
- Citizen Sleeper
- Cult of the Lamb
- Sifu
- Stray
- Vampire Survivors
Game Design
- Vampire Survivors
- Cult of the Lamb
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarök
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Tunic
British Game
- Rollerdrome
- Citizen Sleeper
- OlliOlli World
- Total War: Warhammer III
- Two Point Campus
- Vampire Survivors
Multiplayer
- Elden Ring
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- EA Sports FIFA 23
- Overwatch 2
- Splatoon 3
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Narrative
- Immortality
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Citizen Sleeper
- God of War Ragnarök
- Pentiment
- Stray
Performer in a Supporting Role
- Laya Deleon Hayes as Angrboda in God of War Ragnarök
- Adam J Harrington as Sindri in God of War Ragnarök
- Alison Jaye as Alva in Horizon Forbidden West
- Charlotta Mohlin as The One in Immortality
- Danielle Bisutti as Freya in God of War Ragnarök
- Ryan Hurst as Thor in God of War Ragnarök
Performer in a Leading Role
- Christopher Judge as Kratos in God of War Ragnarök
- Alain Mesa as Alejandro Vargas in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- Charlotte McBurney as Amicia in A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Manon Gage as Marissa Marcel in Immortality
- Siobhan Williams as Laura in The Quarry
- Sunny Suljic as Atreus in God of War Ragnarök
Music
- God of War Ragnarök
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Cuphead - The Delicious Last Course
- Elden Ring
- Stray
- Tunic
EE Game of the Year
- God of War Ragnarök
- Elden Ring
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Immortality
- Marvel Snap
- Stray
Technical Achievement
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarök
- Immortality
- The Last of Us Part I
- Stray
Family
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
- Disney Dreamlight Valley
- Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
- Nintendo Switch Sports
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Debut Game
- Tunic
- As Dusk Falls
- The Case of the Golden Idol
- Stray
- Trombone
- Vampire Survivors
Game Beyond Entertainment
- Endling – Extinction Is Forever
- Citizen Sleeper
- Gibbon: Beyond The Trees
- I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
- Not For Broadcast
- We’ll Always Have Paris