The BAFTA Games Awards 2025 Nominations Officially Revealed

The 21st annual BAFTA Games Awards ceremony is fast approaching, and ahead of the April 8 show, the nominations for 2025 have been officially revealed. An initial longlist of 58 games across 17 categories, voted for by over 1300 BAFTA members, has been narrowed down to 41 titles. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 leads the way with the most nominations at an impressive 11.

2024 was another big year for gaming, and titles like Astro Bot, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and Black Myth: Wukong received praise for their innovation and technical brilliance. While these games are up for awards again here, they are joined by many other titles, some much lesser known than their AAA counterparts. The BAFTA global voting panel comprises a wide range of experienced games industry practitioners from various backgrounds in game development and production, and the voting process is incredibly robust, ensuring each win will feel like it has been hard-earned for the respective studio.

BAFTA Game Awards Nominations 2025

BAFTA Game Awards 2025 Categories and Nominations

Animation

• Astro Bot Development Team – Team ASOBI/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Development Team- Treyarch, Raven Software/Activision
• LEGO Horizon Adventures Development Team – Guerilla, Studio Gobo/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Development Team – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios
• Thank Goodness You’re Here! Will Todd, James Carbutt- Coal Supper/Panic
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Development Team – Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment

Artistic Achievement

• Astro Bot Development Team – Team ASOBI/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Black Myth: Wukong Development Team – Game Science/Game Science
• Harold Halibut Ole Tillmann, Fabian Preuschoff, Onat Hekimoglu- Slow Bros./Slow Bros.
• Neva Development Team- Nomada Studio/Devolver Digital
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Development Team – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios
• Still Wakes The Deep Development Team – The Chinese Room/Secret Mode

Audio Achievement

• Animal Well Billy Basso – Billy Basso/Bigmode
• Astro Bot Development Team – Team ASOBI/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Helldivers 2 Development Team – Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Development Team – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios
• Star Wars Outlaws Development Team – Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft
• Still Wakes The Deep Development Team – The Chinese Room/Secret Mode

Best Game

• Astro Bot Development Team – Team ASOBI/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Balatro LocalThunk – LocalThunk/Playstack
• Black Myth: Wukong Development Team – Game Science/Game Science
• Helldivers 2 Development Team – Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Development Team – Nintendo/Nintendo
• Thank Goodness You’re Here! Will Todd, James Carbutt- Coal Supper/Panic

British Game

• A Highland Song Development Team – inkle Ltd
• LEGO Horizon Adventures Development Team- Guerilla, Studio Gobo/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Paper Trail Development Team – Newfangled Games/Newfangled Games
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Development Team- Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios
• Still Wakes The Deep Development Team- The Chinese Room/Secret Mode
• Thank Goodness You’re Here! Will Todd, James Carbutt- Coal Supper/Panic

Debut Game

• Animal Well Billy Basso – Billy Basso/Bigmode
• Balatro LocalThunk – LocalThunk/Playstack
• Pacific Drive Development Team – Ironwood Studios/Kepler Interactive
• The Plucky Squire Development Team – All Possible Futures/Devolver Digital
• Tales of Kenzera: ZAU Development Team – Surgent Studios/Electronic Arts
• Thank Goodness You’re Here! Will Todd, James Carbutt- Coal Supper/Panic

Evolving Game

• Diablo 4 Development Team – Blizzard Entertainment/Blizzard Entertainment
• Final Fantasy 14 Online Development Team – Creative Studios 3/Square Enix
• No Man’s Sky Development Team – Hello Games/Hello Games
• Sea of Thieves Development Team – Rare/Xbox Game Studios
• Vampire Survivors Development Team – Poncle/Poncle
• World of Warcraft Development Team – Blizzard Entertainment/Blizzard Entertainment

Family

• Astro Bot Development Team – Team ASOBI/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Cat Quest 3 Desmond Wong Liang Wai, Nursyazana binte Zainal – The Gentlebros/Keplar Interactive
• LEGO Horizon Adventures Development Team – Guerilla, Studio Gobo/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Little Kitty, Big City Development Team – Double Dagger Studio/Double Dagger Studio
• The Plucky Squire Development Team – All Possible Futures/Devolver Digital
• Super Mario Party Jamboree Development Team – Nintendo/Nintendo

Game Beyond Entertainment

• Botany Manor Development Team – Balloon Studios/Whitethorn Games
• Kind Words 2 (LOFI CITY POP) Ziba Scott, Luigi Guatieri, Clark Aboud – Popcannibal/Popcannibal
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Development Team- Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios
• Tales of Kenzera: ZAU Development Team – Surgent Studios/Electronic Arts
• Tetris Forever Development Team – Digital Eclipse/Digital Eclipse
• Vampire Therapist Cyrus Nemati, Sheila Fell, Kim Schumacher – Little Bat Games/Little Bat Games

Game Design

• Animal Well Billy Basso – Billy Basso/Bigmode
• Astro Bot Development Team – Team ASOBI/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Balatro LocalThunk – LocalThunk/Playstack
• Helldivers 2 Development Team – Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Development Team – Nintendo/Nintendo
• Tactical Breach Wizards Tom Francis, Steve Lee, John Roberts – Suspicious Developments/Suspicious Developments

Multiplayer

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Development Team – Treyarch, Raven Software/Activision
• Helldivers 2 Development Team – Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• LEGO Horizon Adventures Development Team – Guerilla, Studio Gobo/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Super Mario Party Jamboree Development Team – Nintendo/Nintendo
• Tekken 8 Development Team – BANDAI NAMCO Studios/BANDAI NAMCO Studios
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Development Team – Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment

Music

• Astro Bot Development Team – Team ASOBI/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Black Myth: Wukong Development Team – Game Science/Game Science
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Development Team – Square Enix/Square Enix
• Helldivers 2 Development Team – Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Development Team – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios
• Star Wars Outlaws Development Team – Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft

Narrative

• Black Myth: Wukong Development Team – Game Science/Game Science
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard Development Team – Bioware/Electronic Arts
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Development Team – Square Enix/Square Enix
• Metaphor: Refantazio Development Team – ATLUS/SEGA
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Development Team – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios
• Still Wakes The Deep Development Team – The Chinese Room/Secret Mode

New Intellectual Property

• Animal Well Billy Basso – Billy Basso/Bigmode
• Balatro LocalThunk – LocalThunk/Playstack
• Black Myth: Wukong Development Team – Game Science/Game Science
• Metaphor: Refantazio Development Team- ATLUS/SEGA
• Still Wakes The Deep Development Team – The Chinese Room/Secret Mode
• Thank Goodness You’re Here! Will Todd, James Carbutt- Coal Supper/Panic

Performer in a Leading Role

• Alec Newman (Cameron ‘Caz’ Mcleary- Still Wakes The Deep) – The Chinese Room/Secret Mode
• Humberley Gonzalez (Kay Vess- Star Wars Outlaws) – Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft
• Isabella Inchbald (Indika- Indika) – Odd Meter/11 Bit Studios
• Luke Roberts (James Sunderland- Silent Hill 2) – Bloober Team/Konami Digital Entertainment
• Melina Juergens (Senua- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2) – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios
• Y’Lan Noel (Troy Marshall- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6) – Treyarch, Raven Software/Activision

Performer in a Supporting Role

• Abbi Greenland & Helen Goalen (The Furies- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2) – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios
• Aldis Amah Hamilton (Astrior- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2) – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios
• Jon Blyth (Big Ron- Thank Goodness You’re Here!) – Coal Supper/Panic
• Karen Dunbar (Finlay- Still Wakes The Deep) – The Chinese Room/Secret Mode
• Matt Berry (Herbert The Gardener- Thank Goodness You’re Here!) – Coal Supper/Panic
• Michael Abubakar (Brodie- Still Wakes The Deep) – The Chinese Room/Secret Mode

Technical Achievement

• Astro Bot Development Team – Team ASOBI/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Black Myth: Wukong Development Team – Game Science/Game Science
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Development Team – Treyarch, Raven Software/Activision
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Development Team – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios
• Tiny Glade Tomasz Stachowiak, Anastasia Opara – Pounce Light/Pounce Light
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Development Team – Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment

Astro Bot has already taken home plenty of awards and looks like a strong bet for more here, garnering 8 nominations. The BAFTAs don’t always go the way of public opinion though, so plenty of games that may have flown under some people’s radars are represented here too. Indie titles Still Wakes The Deep and Thank Goodness You’re Here!, developed by The Chinese Room and Coal Supper respectively, both find themselves well represented, with the former up for 8 awards and the latter 7.

The performance categories are filled with new names this year, with 11 of the 13 nominations up for their very first BAFTA. Some names to watch out for here are Alec Newman, who brought lots of depth and emotion to the lead role of Cameron ‘Caz’ Mcleary in the horror title Still Wakes The Deep, and Melina Juergens, who captures a wide range of emotions during her frenzied turn as the protagonist Senua in Senua’s Saga: Hellbade 2.

Either way, as it is every year, the BAFTA Game Awards 2025 are a celebration of all things gaming.

The BAFTA Game Awards take place on April 8.