21st British Academy Games Awards


The 21st British Academy Video Game Awards were hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on 8 April 2025 to honour the best video games of 2024. Held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the ceremony was hosted by comedian Phil Wang for the second time following his debut at the previous ceremony. Nominations were announced on 4 March 2025, with Ninja Theory's psychological action-adventure game Senua's Saga: Hellblade II earning a leading eleven nominations, followed by platformer Astro Bot and horror game Still Wakes the Deep, both with eight nominations respectively. Astro Bot received the most awards on the night, winning five, followed by Still Wakes the Deep with three wins, and multiplayer shooter game Helldivers 2 with two wins. The BAFTA Fellowship was presented to Japanese composer Yoko Shimomura.
The ceremony was opened with a performance by Peredur ap Gwynedd, and also featured the live debut of "I Can't Hear It Now" from the Arcane League of Legends: Season 2 soundtrack performed by Freya Ridings.

Background

Eligibility

Any game released between 25 November 2023 and 15 November 2024 was eligible for nomination.

Awards changes

For the 21st BAFTA Games Awards, the following changes were announced:
  • All eligible entered games will be automatically considered for Best Game and British Game, which were previously opt-in categories.
  • British Game entrants will be required to answer a set of questions designed to address diversity & inclusion and bullying & harassment in the UK games industry. This work will support the BFI Diversity Standards for Games and build on BAFTA’s long-standing work to help tackle bullying and harassment across the screen industries, as part of BAFTA's wider, ongoing collective cross-sector activity.
  • The criteria for New Intellectual Property has been amended to take into consideration the originality and innovation of entered games.
  • The criteria for Evolving Game has been amended. From 2024, only games with a roadmap for substantial future updates are eligible in this category.

Longlist

On 10 December 2024, BAFTA released their official longlist, featuring fifty-eight games. The longlist for the Best Game was revealed for the first time, revealing which ten games were in contention to be nominated for the top prize.

Fellowship

Japanese composer Yoko Shimomura, known for her work on the at Capcom and Square Enix, and notably as the composer of the Kingdom Hearts series, was announced as the recipient of the BAFTA Fellowship on 31 March 2025. In a statement, BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip explained, "It is a real privilege to honour Yoko Shimomura with the BAFTA Fellowship this year, a pioneer in video game music, pianist and composer, Yoko has created unforgettable soundtracks for so many beloved games and paved the way for women in the industry at a time when it was overwhelmingly male-dominated. Her groundbreaking work has already inspired countless artists and will continue to resonate for generations."

Winners and nominees

The nominees were announced on 4 March 2025 via a livestream on the official BAFTA YouTube channel hosted by journalist Ali Plumb.