· BAFTA Games Awards partners with EE to announce the return of the EE Game of the Year Award – the only award to be voted for by the public
· The 2023 nominees are: Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, Immortality, Marvel Snap and Stray
· Games fans can now vote for the EE Game of the Year Award at: https://ee.co.uk/baftagames
· Nominations for all other categories will be announced on Thursday 2nd March with the winners announced at the BAFTA Games Awards on Thursday 30th March
Tuesday 28th February, London: Today, the six nominees for the EE Game of the Year Award have been announced ahead of the BAFTA Games Awards on Thursday 30th March 2023.
Brought to fans by EE and its unbeatable network for gaming, the award – which was first announced in 2021 – is the only category to be voted for by gaming fans. For the third year running, the shortlist was decided by a jury of games experts earlier this month who were tasked with nominating six games that had resonated most with players around the world – capturing imaginations and keeping us entertained and connected over the past year.
The jury has now handed over control, with the final decision in the hands of the public. Voting for the EE Game of the Year opens from today and closes at 06.00pm GMT Sunday 26th March.
The EE Game of the Year nominees for 2023 are:
ELDEN RING is an action role playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by BandaiNamco Europe. In the grand fields where the player’s journey begins, mythic creatures prowl the veldts, ineffable horrors lurk in the bogs and marshes, and all manner of soldiers and itinerant. Throughout the Lands Between, Demigods holding shards of the Elden Ring squabble and make war over the ruins of a perfect realm, now abandoned by the golden guidance of the Greater Will. As the echoes of this conflict thunder in the distance, an outcast arrives. They are the Tarnished, and they have returned to claim the Elden Lordship promised to them by legend. This is the world of Elden Ring. As a Tarnished, the Lands Between awaits the player’s exploration. Players will ride through the vast fields, gallop over rolling hills, and leap to the top of rocky crags on the player’s ephemeral steed, revealing a world teeming with life and danger. The game is available on PlayStation® 5, PlayStation® 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One and on PC.
GOD OF WAR RAGNAROK is an action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Main characters, Kratos and Atreus do their best to stay hidden from their enemies, training for the inevitable war they might have kicked off. Atreus seeks to further understand the clues left behind by his mother, and piece together his prophesied role in Ragnarök. Meanwhile, Kratos struggles with his son’s desire to uncover more about his identity, knowing it will draw them towards the vengeful Aesir. If that happens, they’ll be even closer to repeating bloody mistakes of the past. Together, father and son seek to change the course of fate, journeying across the mythical nine realms and facing fearsome enemies in the form of Norse gods and monsters. As the threat of Ragnarök grows ever closer, Kratos and Atreus find themselves faced with a choice: between their own safety or the safety of the realms. The game is available on PlayStation® 5 and PlayStation® 4.
HORIZON FORBIDDEN WEST is an action role playing game developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game features an expansive and complex world full of compelling characters, vibrant settlements, and awe-inspiring machines and nature. At the heart of this world is its protagonist, a young machine hunter called Aloy. Her story is one of survival, self-discovery, and sacrifice, which many people can relate to. Play as Aloy as she braves the Forbidden West – a majestic but dangerous frontier that conceals mysterious new threats. Explore distant lands, fight bigger and more awe-inspiring machines, and encounter astonishing new tribes as the player returns to the far-future, post-apocalyptic world of Horizon. The game is available on PlayStation® 5 and PlayStation® 4.
IMMORTALITY is an interactive film video game developed and published by Half Mermaid. The haunting new game from Sam Barlow focuses on actress, Marissa Marcel, who disappeared. Marissa made three movies but none were ever released. Use the game’s cinematic ability to teleport from scene to scene via match-cut and explore a treasure trove of newly unearthed footage from the lost films of Marissa Marcel. Traverse decades of movie history across Ambrosio (1968), Minsky (1970) and Two of Everything (1999). The player can cut their own path through the footage and solve the mystery of: What happened to Marissa Marcel?. The game is available on iOS, Android, macOS, Xbox Series X and Series S, Mac and PC.
MARVEL SNAP is a digital collectible card game developed by Second Dinner Studios and published by Nuverse for Microsoft Windows. Players can assemble their own MARVEL dream team from a super roster of their favourite heroes and villains. MARVEL SNAP is fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping, strategic card battler that puts the player in control. The game is available on iOS, Android and PC.
STRAY is an adventure game developed by BlueTwelve Studio and published by Annapuma Interactive. Stray is a third-person cat adventure game set amidst the detailed, neon-lit alleys of a decaying cybercity and the murky environments of its seedy underbelly. Roam surroundings high and low, defend against unforeseen threats and solve the mysteries of this unwelcoming place inhabited by curious droids and dangerous creatures. See the world through the eyes of a cat and interact with the environment in playful ways. Be stealthy, nimble, silly, and sometimes as annoying as possible with the strange inhabitants of this mysterious world. The game is available on PlayStation® 5, PlayStation® 4 and PC.
Tara Saunders, Chair of BAFTA’s Games Committee, said: “Huge congratulations to all of this year’s nominees for the EE Game of The Year award. All six of these games have captured the imaginations of people around the world and represent a diverse range of genres, storylines and gaming experiences. Our other category nominations will be revealed live on BAFTA’s Twitch channel on Thursday 2nd March, and we can’t wait to announce the winners on Thursday 30th March.”
Pete Jeavons, Marketing Communications Director at EE, said: “We are delighted to announce the return of the EE Game of the Year Award with a shortlist of six games that have resonated most with fans over the last year. We are proud to continue our partnership with the BAFTA Games Awards and to give the gaming community a platform to celebrate the games that mean the most to them.”
Voting for the EE Game of the Year opens from today until 6pm GMT Sunday 26th March. Vote now at https://ee.co.uk/why-ee/baftagames.The EE Game of the Year winner will be announced at the BAFTA Games Awards on Thursday 30th March.
EE’s partnership with the BAFTA Games Awards forms part of a wider ambition to become the UK’s number one destination for gaming, with bespoke gaming bundles, interest-free flexible payment options and collaborations with the best partners, including UK E-sports organisation, EXCEL ESPORTS. All of this is designed to create a gaming experience that customers can count on. For more information, visit ee.co.uk/gaming
@EE #EEGameOfTheYear
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For more information, please contact M&C Saatchi Talk on [email protected]
EE Game of the Year Award Jury Panel
1. Tara Saunders, Chair of BAFTA Games Committee and Studio Head at PlayStation
2. Julia Hardy, TV Presenter
3. Mark Carter, Commercial Director at EXCEL
4. Richie Shoemaker, Editor in Chief at MCV/Develop
5. Danielle Udogaranya, Twitch Gamer Influencer
6. James Batchelor, Editor in Chief at Games Industry Biz
7. Jake Tucker, Commissioning Editor at NME
8. Sam Loveridge, Editor in Chief at Games Radar
9. Elle Osili-Wood, Video Game Presenter and Journalist
10. Ryan Brown, Writer and PR at Super Rare Games
About EE
EE runs the UK’s biggest and fastest mobile network, offering superfast connections in more places than any other operator. EE brought the first 4G network to the UK in October 2012 and launched the UK’s first 5G network in May 2019.
EE has received extensive independent recognition, including being named the UK’s no.1 5G network by RootMetrics® in 2020 and 2021, and the UK’s best network every year since 2014 for the following awards: The Mobile Choice Awards, The Mobile Industry Awards and by RootMetrics®.
As well as delivering mobile services to consumers, small and medium businesses, corporate customers and Government programmes, EE also provides home and business broadband using both 4G and fixed line connections.
EE is committed to being number one for service in the industry and has nearly 600 shops across the UK. EE remains the only mobile provider to answer 100% of customer calls in the UK and Ireland and was recognised as the UK’s Best Large Contact Centre by the UK Customer Experience Awards 2018 and Welsh Contact Centre Awards 2019. EE was awarded The Sunday Times’ Best 100 Companies to Work for in 2018 and 2019, as well as being named Best Employer 2018 by the European Contact Centre & Customer Service awards.
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About BAFTA
BAFTA – the British Academy of Film and Television Arts – is a world-leading independent arts charity that brings the very best work in film, games and television to public attention and supports the growth of creative talent in the UK and internationally. Through its Awards ceremonies and year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – which includes workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes in the UK, USA and Asia – BAFTA identifies and celebrates excellence, discovers, inspires and nurtures new talent, and enables learning and creative collaboration. For more, visit www.bafta.org. BAFTA is a registered charity (no. 216726).
Source: EE Newsroom
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