The British Academy Video Games Award for Animation is an award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is given in honor to "the highest level of excellence in bringing a game to life," considering elements such as "player control, non-player characters, ambient/environmental animation, facial animation and cinematics". The category also considers the style, fluidity and responsiveness of the character.
The current holder of the award is Dispatch by AdHoc Studio, which won at the 22nd British Academy Games Awards in 2026.
History The category was first presented to Soulcalibur II at the 1st British Academy Games Awards in 2004 under the name Animation or Intro. The following year, it received its current name but was subsequently discontinued. The category was revived at the 16th British Academy Games Awards in 2019. As developers, six studios have received two nominations in the category, though only Insomniac Games and Naughty Dog have achieved any wins. For publishers, Sony Interactive Entertainment hold the record for most nominations, with eleven, and also have the most wins in the category, with four.
Winners and nominees In the following table, the years are listed as per BAFTA convention, and generally correspond to the year of game release in the United Kingdom. + Table keyIndicates the winner Animation or Intro YearGameRecipient(s)Developer(s)Publisher(s)2002/03 (1st) Soulcalibur II Project Soul Namco Big Mutha Truckers Eutechnyx Empire Interactive Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Rockstar North Rockstar Games Primal SCE Studio Cambridge Sony Computer Entertainment Tekken 4 Namco Viewtiful Joe Capcom
Animation YearGameRecipient(s)Developer(s)Publisher(s)2003/04 (2nd) Half-Life 2 Valve Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Rockstar North Rockstar Games Halo 2 Bungie Microsoft Game Studios Jak 3 Naughty Dog Sony Computer Entertainment Killzone Guerrilla Games Onimusha 3: Demon Siege Capcom2019 (16th) Luigi's Mansion 3 Next Level Games Nintendo Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Infinity Ward Activision Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice FromSoftware Control Remedy Entertainment 505 Games Death Stranding Kojima Productions Sony Interactive Entertainment Sayonara Wild Hearts Simogo Annapurna Interactive2020 (17th) The Last of Us Part II Naughty Dog Sony Interactive Entertainment Doom Eternal id Software Bethesda Softworks Final Fantasy VII Remake Square Enix Spider-Man: Miles Morales Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment Ori and the Will of the Wisps Moon Studios Xbox Game Studios Spiritfarer Thunder Lotus Kowloon Nights2021 (18th) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment Call of Duty: Vanguard Sledgehammer Games Activision It Takes Two Hazelight Studios Electronic Arts Kena: Bridge of Spirits Hunter Schmidt Ember Lab Life Is Strange: True Colors Deck Nine Square Enix Psychonauts 2 Double Fine Xbox Game Studios2022 (19th) God of War Ragnarök Bruno Velazquez, Erica Pinto, Mehdi Yssef Santa Monica Sony Interactive Entertainment Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Mark Grigsby, Bruce Ferris, Khoa Le Infinity Ward Activision Horizon Forbidden West Guerrilla Sony Interactive Entertainment Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga TT Games Warner Bros Interactive Sifu Sloclap Sloclap & Kepler Interactive Stray Jophray Mikolajczyk, Jean-Marie Vouillon, Simon Jacquart BlueTwelve Annapurna Interactive2023 (20th) Hi-Fi Rush Tango Gameworks Bethesda Softworks Alan Wake 2 Remedy Entertainment Epic Games Hogwarts Legacy Avalanche Software Warner Bros. Games Spider-Man 2 Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Respawn Entertainment Electronic Arts Super Mario Bros. Wonder Nintendo2024 (21st) Astro Bot Team Asobi Sony Interactive Entertainment Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Treyarch, Raven Software Activision Lego Horizon Adventures Guerrilla Games Sony Interactive Entertainment Senua's Saga: Hellblade II Ninja Theory Xbox Game Studios Thank Goodness You're Here! Will Todd, James Carbutt Coal Supper Panic Inc. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Saber St. Petersburg Focus Entertainment2025 (22nd) Dispatch AdHoc Studio Battlefield 6 Battlefield Studios Electronic Arts Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Hideo Kojima, Masaaki Kawata, Neil Johnson Kojima Productions Sony Interactive Entertainment Ghost of Yōtei Sucker Punch Productions Sony Interactive Entertainment Hades II Craig Harris, Nikita Taranduke, Jen Zee Supergiant Games Hollow Knight: Silksong Team Cherry
(*Note: The games that don't have recipients on the table had Development Team credited on the awards page.)
Multiple nominations and wins Developers Developer Nominations Wins Insomniac Games 3 1 Naughty Dog 2 1 Capcom 2 0 Guerrilla Games 2 0 Infinity Ward 2 0 Rockstar North 2 0
Publishers Developer Nominations Wins Sony Computer/Interactive Entertainment 10 3 Activision 4 0 Namco 2 1 Annapurna Interactive 2 0 Bethesda Softworks 2 0 Electronic Arts 2 0 Nintendo 2 0 Rockstar Games 2 0 Square Enix 2 0 Warner Bros. Games 2 0 Xbox Game Studios 2 0
References
External links Official website