SXSW Gaming Awards


The SXSW Gaming Awards were awards given to video games during the annual South by Southwest Festival, held in Austin, Texas typically in March of that year. The Awards were part of the SXSW Gaming Expo which is part of the SXSW Interactive branch of the festival.

History

Video games had been part of the SXSW within the SXSW Interactive branch. in 2006, the festival launched "Screenburn" as a special portion of the Interactive branch for video games, and later renamed this to SXSW Gaming in 2013.
Matthew Crump, a veteran game developer, joined SXSW in 2012 and spearheaded the efforts to create the SXSW Gaming Awards to premiere during the 2014 festival. The new awards in fifteen different categories were announced in September 2013 to be awarded during the 2014 festival. However, Crump died from a heart attack just before the festival. The event organizers opted to rename the "Cultural Innovation in Gaming" to the "Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award" to honor Crump's contributions to the festival.
The Gaming Awards were discontinued by SXSW in 2023 due to a desire to "streamline our festival a bit more."

Format

Developers and publishers must submit their games for consideration to the festival organizers prior to a deadline; these games generally must have had public release in the preceding calendar year to the festival.
The festival's organizers along with a panel of industry experts review all submissions and select the top five for each of the game categories. These are then opened to public voting for the final winner for each award to be chosen.
The Gamer's Voice awards are exceptional to these: they are limited only to indie games released in the previous calendar year or the current year, and which any member of the public may nominate. The festival organizers select multiple games after playing through each as nominees for the award. These games are featured in playable form at the SXSW festival to allow attendees to try them before they vote for their favorite.
The awards ceremony is held near the end of the SXSW event, with celebrity and gaming hosts presenting the awards.
The 2020 SXSW event was cancelled in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the award winners were still named online on March 24, 2020.

Ceremonies

Awards

Video Game of the Year

This award was named "Game of the Year" in 2014, but was renamed when the Mobile and Tabletop awards were added.
Formally "VR Game of the Year" prior 2020
  • 2018 – Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Capcom
  • 2019 – Beat Saber, Beat Games
  • 2020 – No Man's Sky VR, Hello Games
  • 2021 – Half-Life: Alyx, Valve Corporation
  • 2022 – Resident Evil IV VR, Armature Studio/Oculus Studios

    Indie Game of the Year

  • 2021 – Deep Rock Galactic, Ghost Ship Games/Coffee Stain Publishing
  • 2022 – Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Ember Lab

    Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award

Awarded for a game that challenges the normal idea of video gaming, offering a culturally innovative view of the world
  • 2014 – Papers, Please, 3909 LLC
  • 2015 – This War of Mine, 11 bit studios
  • 2016 – Undertale, tobyfox
  • 2017 – That Dragon, Cancer, Numinious Games
  • 2018 – Doki Doki Literature Club!, Team Salvato
  • 2019 – Celeste, Matt Makes Games
  • 2020 – Disco Elysium, ZA/UM
  • 2021 – Dreams, Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • 2022 – Unpacking, Witch Beam/Humble Bundle

    Excellence in Animation, Art, and Visual Achievement

Combined the three former awards.
  • 2021 – Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • 2022 – Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios

    Excellence in Audio Design

  • 2021 – Doom Eternal - id Software/Bethesda Softworks
  • 2022 – Resident Evil Village, Capcom

    Excellence in Game Design

Formerly "Excellence in Design and Direction"
Formerly "Excellence in Musical Score"
  • 2014 – The Last of Us, Naughty Dog
  • 2015 – Transistor, Supergiant Games
  • 2016 – Ori and the Blind Forest, Moon Studios
  • 2017 – Doom, id Software
  • 2018 – Nier: Automata, PlatinumGames
  • 2019 – Tetris Effect, Enhance, Inc.
  • 2020 – Death Stranding, Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • 2021 – Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios
  • 2022 – Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, Square Enix

    Excellence in Multiplayer

Formally "Best Multiplayer Game" until 2016
  • 2014 – Super Mario 3D World, Nintendo
  • 2015 – Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Nintendo
  • 2016 – Rocket League, Psyonix
  • 2017 – Overwatch, Blizzard Entertainment
  • 2018 – PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, PUBG Corp.
  • 2019 – Fortnite, Epic Games
  • 2020 – Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, Square Enix
  • 2021 – Deep Rock Galactic, Ghost Ship Games/Coffee Stain Publishing
  • 2022 – It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts

    Excellence in Narrative

  • 2014 – The Last of Us, Naughty Dog
  • 2015 – The Wolf Among Us, Telltale Games
  • 2016 – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red
  • 2017 – Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Naughty Dog
  • 2018 – What Remains of Edith Finch, Giant Sparrow
  • 2019 – Detroit: Become Human, Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • 2020 – Disco Elysium, ZA/UM
  • 2021 – The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • 2022 – Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, Square Enix

    Excellence in Technical Achievement

  • 2014 – Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar Games
  • 2015 – Destiny, Bungie
  • 2016 – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red
  • 2017 – Battlefield 1, EA DICE
  • 2018 – Nier: Automata, PlatinumGames
  • 2019 – Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar Games
  • 2020 – Death Stranding, Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • 2021 – Microsoft Flight Simulator, Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios
  • 2022 – Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment

    Retired awards

Excellence in Animation

  • 2014 – Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Namco Bandai
  • 2015 – Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Monolith Productions
  • 2016 – Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics
  • 2017 – Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Naughty Dog
  • 2018 – Cuphead, StudioMDHR
  • 2019 – Marvel's Spider-Man, Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • 2020 – Kingdom Hearts III – Square Enix

    Excellence in Art

  • 2014 – BioShock Infinite, Irrational Games
  • 2015 – Child of Light, Ubisoft
  • 2016 – Bloodborne, FromSoftware
  • 2017 – Firewatch, Campo Santo
  • 2018 – Cuphead, StudioMDHR
  • 2019 – Octopath Traveler, Nintendo
  • 2020 – The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Nintendo

    Excellence in Gaming Marketing

  • 2014 – Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Ubisoft

    Excellence in Convergence

Awarded for a game that exemplifies crossover medium appeal. Formally the "Convergence Award" until 2016
  • 2014 – Injustice: Gods Among Us, Warner Bros. Interactive
  • 2015 – South Park: The Stick of Truth, Obsidian Entertainment
  • 2016 – Batman: Arkham Knight, Rocksteady Studios
  • 2017 – Batman: The Telltale Series, Telltale Games
  • 2018 – Star Wars Battlefront II, EA DICE
  • 2019 – Marvel's Spider-Man, Sony Interactive Entertainment

    Excellence in Gameplay

  • 2014 – Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, 505 Studios
  • 2015 – Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Monolith Productions
  • 2016 – Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Kojima Productions
  • 2017 – Doom, id Software
  • 2018 – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo
  • 2019 – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Nintendo
  • 2020 – Devil May Cry 5, Capcom

    Excellence in SFX

  • 2014 – The Last of Us, Naughty Dog
  • 2015 – Alien: Isolation, Creative Assembly
  • 2016 – Star Wars Battlefront, EA DICE
  • 2017 – Battlefield 1, EA DICE
  • 2018 – Super Mario Odyssey, Nintendo
  • 2019 – Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar Games
  • 2020 – Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts