British Academy Games Award for Animation
# British Academy Games Award for Animation

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.

## 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 nine, and also have the most wins in the category, with three.

The 2023 winner of the award is God of War Ragnarök by Santa Monica Studio and Sony Interactive Entertainment.

## 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 key :

* Indicates the winner

### Animation or Intro

| Year | Game | Recipient(s) | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2002/03 (1st) | Soulcalibur II | Soulcalibur II | Project Soul | Namco |
| 2002/03 (1st) | Big Mutha Truckers | Big Mutha Truckers | Eutechnyx | Empire Interactive |
| 2002/03 (1st) | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | Rockstar North | Rockstar Games |
| 2002/03 (1st) | Primal | Primal | SCE Studio Cambridge | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2002/03 (1st) | Tekken 4 | Tekken 4 | Namco | Namco |
| 2002/03 (1st) | Viewtiful Joe | Viewtiful Joe | Capcom | Capcom |

### Animation

| Year | Game | Recipient(s) | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2003/04 (2nd) | Half-Life 2 | Half-Life 2 | Valve | Valve |
| 2003/04 (2nd) | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Rockstar North | Rockstar Games |
| 2003/04 (2nd) | Halo 2 | Halo 2 | Bungie | Microsoft Game Studios |
| 2003/04 (2nd) | Jak 3 | Jak 3 | Naughty Dog | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2003/04 (2nd) | Killzone | Killzone | Guerrilla Games | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2003/04 (2nd) | Onimusha 3: Demon Siege | Onimusha 3: Demon Siege | Capcom | Capcom |
| 2019 (16th) | Luigi's Mansion 3 | Luigi's Mansion 3 | Next Level Games | Nintendo |
| 2019 (16th) | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | Infinity Ward | Activision |
| 2019 (16th) | Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | FromSoftware | Activision |
| 2019 (16th) | Control | Control | Remedy Entertainment | 505 Games |
| 2019 (16th) | Death Stranding | Death Stranding | Kojima Productions | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2019 (16th) | Sayonara Wild Hearts | Sayonara Wild Hearts | Simogo | Annapurna Interactive |
| 2020 (17th) | The Last of Us Part II | The Last of Us Part II | Naughty Dog | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2020 (17th) | Doom Eternal | Doom Eternal | id Software | Bethesda Softworks |
| 2020 (17th) | Final Fantasy VII Remake | Final Fantasy VII Remake | Square Enix | Square Enix |
| 2020 (17th) | Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Insomniac Games | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2020 (17th) | Ori and the Will of the Wisps | Ori and the Will of the Wisps | Moon Studios | Xbox Game Studios |
| 2020 (17th) | Spiritfarer | Spiritfarer | Thunder Lotus | Kowloon Nights |
| 2021 (18th) | Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart | Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart | Insomniac Games | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2021 (18th) | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Sledgehammer Games | Activision |
| 2021 (18th) | It Takes Two | It Takes Two | Hazelight Studios | Electronic Arts |
| 2021 (18th) | Kena: Bridge of Spirits | Hunter Schmidt | Ember Lab | Ember Lab |
| 2021 (18th) | Life Is Strange: True Colors | Life Is Strange: True Colors | Deck Nine | Square Enix |
| 2021 (18th) | Psychonauts 2 | Psychonauts 2 | Double Fine | Xbox Game Studios |
| 2022 (19th) | God of War Ragnarök | Bruno Velazquez, Erica Pinto, Mehdi Yssef | Santa Monica | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2022 (19th) | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II | Mark Grigsby, Bruce Ferris, Khoa Le | Infinity Ward | Activision |
| 2022 (19th) | Horizon Forbidden West | Horizon Forbidden West | Guerrilla | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2022 (19th) | Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | TT Games | Warner Bros Interactive |
| 2022 (19th) | Sifu | Sifu | Sloclap | Sloclap & Kepler Interactive |
| 2022 (19th) | Stray | Jophray Mikolajczyk, Jean-Marie Vouillon, Simon Jacquart | BlueTwelve | Annapurna Interactive |

* 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 | 2 | 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 | 9 | 3 |
| Activision | 4 | 0 |
| Namco | 2 | 1 |
| Annapurna Interactive | 2 | 0 |
| Rockstar Games | 2 | 0 |
| Square Enix | 2 | 0 |
| Xbox Game Studios | 2 | 0 |
