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.
Astro Bot – Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment Balatro – LocalThunk Black Myth: Wukong – Game Science Helldivers 2 – Arrowhead/Sony Interactive Entertainment The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – Nintendo/Grezzo Thank Goodness You're Here! – Coal Supper/Panic |- | valign="top" |
Astro Bot – Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – Treyarch/Raven/Activision Lego Horizon Adventures – Guerrilla/Studio Gobo Senua's Saga: Hellblade II – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios Thank Goodness You're Here! – Coal Supper/Panic Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 – Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment | valign="top" |
Neva – Nomada Studio/Devolver Digital Astro Bot – Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment Black Myth: Wukong – Game Science Harold Halibut – Slow Bros Senua's Saga: Hellblade II – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios Still Wakes the Deep – The Chinese Room/Secret Mode |- | width="50%" valign="top" |
Astro Bot – Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment Animal Well – Shared Memory/Bigmode Helldivers 2 – Arrowhead/Sony Interactive Entertainment Senua's Saga: Hellblade II – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios Star Wars Outlaws – Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft Still Wakes the Deep – The Chinese Room/Secret Mode | valign="top" |
Thank Goodness You're Here! – Coal Supper/Panic A Highland Song – Inkle Lego Horizon Adventures – Guerrilla/Studio Gobo Paper Trail – Newfangled Games Senua's Saga: Hellblade II – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios Still Wakes the Deep – The Chinese Room/Secret Mode |- | width="50%" valign="top" |
Balatro – LocalThunk Animal Well – Shared Memory/Bigmode Pacific Drive – Ironwood Studios/Kepler Interactive The Plucky Squire – All Possible Futures/Devolver Digital Tales of Kenzera: Zau – Surgent Studios/Electronic Arts Thank Goodness You're Here! – Coal Supper/Panic | valign="top" |
Vampire Survivors – Poncle Diablo IV – Blizzard Entertainment Final Fantasy XIV – Square Enix No Man's Sky – Hello Games Sea of Thieves – Rare/Xbox Game Studios World of Warcraft – Blizzard Entertainment |- | width="50%" valign="top" |
Astro Bot – Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment Cat Quest III – The Gentlebros/Kepler Interactive Lego Horizon Adventures – Guerrilla/Studio Gobo Little Kitty, Big City – Double Dagger Studio The Plucky Squire – All Possible Futures/Devolver Digital Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Cube | valign="top" |
Tales of Kenzera: Zau – Surgent Studios/Electronic Arts Botany Manor – Balloon Studios/Whitethorn Games Kind Words 2 – Popcannibal Senua's Saga: Hellblade II – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios Tetris Forever – Digital Eclipse Vampire Therapist – Little Bat Games |- | width="50%" valign="top" |
Astro Bot – Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment Animal Well – Shared Memory/Bigmode Balatro – LocalThunk Helldivers 2 – Arrowhead/Sony Interactive Entertainment The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – Nintendo/Grezzo Tactical Breach Wizards – Suspicious Developments | valign="top" |
Helldivers 2 – Arrowhead/Sony Interactive Entertainment Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – Treyarch/Raven/Activision Lego Horizon Adventures – Guerrilla/Studio Gobo Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Cube Tekken 8 – Bandai Namco/Arika Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 – Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment |- | width="50%" valign="top" |
Helldivers 2 – Arrowhead/Sony Interactive Entertainment Astro Bot – Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment Black Myth: Wukong – Game Science Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – Square Enix Senua's Saga: Hellblade II – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios Star Wars Outlaws – Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft | valign="top" |
Metaphor: ReFantazio – Studio Zero/Sega Black Myth: Wukong – Game Science Dragon Age: The Veilguard – BioWare/Electronic Arts Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – Square Enix Senua's Saga: Hellblade II – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios Still Wakes the Deep – The Chinese Room/Secret Mode |- | width="50%" valign="top" |
Still Wakes the Deep – The Chinese Room/Secret Mode Animal Well – Shared Memory/Bigmode Balatro – LocalThunk Black Myth: Wukong – Game Science Metaphor: ReFantazio – Studio Zero/Sega Thank Goodness You're Here! – Coal Supper/Panic | valign="top" |
Alec Newman as Cameron "Caz" McLeary in Still Wakes the Deep Humberly González as Kay Vess in Star Wars Outlaws Isabella Inchbald as Indika in Indika Luke Roberts as James Sunderland in Silent Hill 2 Melina Juergens as Senua in Senua's Saga: Hellblade II Y'lan Noel as Troy Marshall in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Karen Dunbar as Finlay in Still Wakes the Deep Abbi Greenland & Helen Goalen as The Furies in Senua's Saga: Hellblade II Aldís Amah Hamilton as Ástríðr in Senua's Saga: Hellblade II Jon Blyth as Big Ron in Thank Goodness You're Here! Matt Berry as Herbert the Gardner in Thank Goodness You're Here! Michael Abubakar as Brodie in Still Wakes the Deep Senua's Saga: Hellblade II – Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios Astro Bot – Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment Black Myth: Wukong – Game Science Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – Treyarch/Raven/Activision Tiny Glade – Pounce Light Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 – Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment Yoko Shimomura
Games with multiple wins Game Wins Astro Bot 5 Still Wakes the Deep 3 Helldivers 2 2
Games with multiple nominations Game Nominations Senua's Saga: Hellblade II 11 Astro Bot 8 Still Wakes the Deep Thank Goodness You're Here! 7 Black Myth: Wukong 6 Helldivers 2 5 Animal Well 4 Balatro Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Lego Horizon Adventures Star Wars Outlaws 3 Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Final Fantasy VII Rebirth 2 The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of WisdomMetaphor: ReFantazio The Plucky SquireSuper Mario Party Jamboree
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