Who’s in the running at tonight’s gaming BAFTAs – and how cats helped bring one contender to life

Film awards season may have been and gone, but BAFTA is rolling out the red carpet once again this week.

This time, video games are in the spotlight – with everything from the biggest blockbusters to some of 2022’s most celebrated indie darlings in the running.

PlayStation action epic God Of War Ragnarok leads the way with 14 nominations, but its closest rival is Stray – an inspiring debut from French studio BlueTwelve that casts players as a cute cat.

The BAFTA Game Awards take place in central London on Thursday from around 7pm.

Here’s the full list of nominees and what you need to know about each category.

Animation

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II
God Of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Sifu
Stray

Did you know: Stray‘s adorably convincing cat protagonist was animated with the help of three real felines who were invited into the studio’s office. The team closely studied Murtaugh, Oscar, and Jun for inspiration and reference points throughout development.

Artistic achievement

A Plague Tale: Requiem
Elden Ring
God Of War Ragnarok
Immortality
Pentiment
Tunic

Did you know: One of Tunic‘s most eye-catching features was an in-game instruction manual that evoked the retro guide books that used to come packed in with just about every video game. The pages – hidden throughout the game’s levels – were rendered in such detail that they even appear to be tainted with the odd smudge or fold.

Audio achievement

A Plague Tale: Requiem
God Of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Metal: Hellsinger
Stray
Tunic

Did you know: Not one for the squeamish, one of A Plague Tale: Requiem‘s calling cards is a disease-carrying “tsunami of rats” that regularly obstructs the player on their journey. Asobo Studio tasked its sound engineers with coming up with what 300,000 rats scurrying around might sound like – and the results will likely haunt your dreams.

Best game

Cult Of The Lamb
Elden Ring
God Of War Ragnarok
Marvel Snap
Stray
Vampire Survivors

Did you know: Elden Ring may be the favourite here if The Game Awards are anything to go by, where the open world RPG from Japanese developer FromSoftware took home the biggest prize. It received unanimous critical acclaim for its immense scope and challenge, and is widely considered one of the best games of all time.

British game

Citizen Sleeper
OlliOlli World
Rollerdrome
Total War: Warhammer III
Two Point Campus
Vampire Survivors

Did you know: If you’re ever lacking for inspiration, know that Vampire Survivors – one of the most popular video games of 2022 – was the work of a solo developer. Luca Galante quit his full-time job to work on it, and it’s now up for five awards at the BAFTAs.

Debut game

As Dusk Falls
The Case Of The Golden Idol
Stray
Trombone Champ
Tunic
Vampire Survivors

Did you know: The brilliantly named Trombone Champ is essentially a fresh take on Guitar Hero – a rhythm game tasking you with playing along to songs. It went viral upon release, as people took tremendous pleasure in sharing ridiculous videos of them toot-ifying famous anthems.

Evolving game

Apex Legends
Dreams
The Elder Scrolls Online
Final Fantasy XIV
Forza Horizon 5
No Man’s Sky

Did you know: Six years after its initial release, No Man’s Sky ended up being one of the standout launch titles for PlayStation VR2 last month. Its huge galaxy, stuffed with an endless number of randomly generated planets, is now completely explorable in virtual reality.

Family

Disney Dreamlight Valley
Kirby And The Forgotten Land
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope
Nintendo Switch Sports
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Did you know: The latest from British developer TT Games, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was such a mammoth undertaking that it came six years after the previous entry in the series. It encompassed all nine core films in the iconic film franchise, and some of its most famous actors reprised their roles.

Game beyond entertainment

Citizen Sleeper
Endling: Extinction Is Forever
Gibbon: Beyond The Trees
I Was A Teenage Exocolonist
Not For Broadcast
We’ll Always Have Paris

Did you know: While many still come to games for film-like action and virtual warfare, the people behind them are increasingly considering how the medium could help us go greener. Gibbon: Beyond The Trees puts players into a family of endangered apes during a journey that tackles deforestation, poaching, and climate change.

Game design

Cult Of The Lamb
Elden Ring
God Of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Tunic
Vampire Survivors

Did you know: Understandably keen to recognise a home-grown success story, Cult Of The Lamb cleaned up at the Australian Game Developer Awards – winning best game, music, art, and gameplay. This unusual indie game casts players as a lamb saved from death, who must then create a loyal cult in the name of the deity that spared them.

Multiplayer

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II
FIFA 23
Elden Ring
Overwatch 2
Splatoon 3
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Did you know: EA Sports will be hoping its long-running football series will be recognised, given FIFA 23 is the final instalment before the company launches a replacement franchise. EA Sports FC will debut later this year after a licensing agreement with football’s governing body came to an end.

Music

A Plague Tale: Requiem
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
Elden Ring
God Of War Ragnarok
Stray
Tunic

Did you know: Last year was a big one for God Of War Ragnarok composer Bear McCreary, who also penned the music for Amazon’s Lord Of The Ring series. He had help on the game, though, as popular Irish artist Hozier wrote and performed an original song called Blood Upon The Snow.

Narrative

A Plague Tale: Requiem
Citizen Sleeper
God Of War Ragnarok
Immortality
Pentiment
Stray

Did you know: Immortality bills itself as more of an interactive film than a traditional game, and actually premiered at Tribeca Film Festival last summer. Perhaps fittingly, one of the platforms it’s available on is Netflix.

Original property

Citizen Sleeper
Cult Of The Lamb
Elden Ring
Sifu
Stray
Vampire Survivors

Did you know: The kung-fu action game Sifu may have been a totally new release, but it seems to already have franchise potential. A film adaptation was announced in December, to be written by the creator of John Wick.

Performer in a leading role

Alain Mesa in Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II
Charlotte McBurney in A Plague Tale: Requiem
Christopher Judge in God Of War Ragnarok
Manon Gage in Immortality
Siobhan Williams in The Quarry
Sunny Suljic in God Of War Ragnarok

Did you know: Prepare for a long list of thank-yous if God Of War Ragnarok‘s Christopher Judge replicates his success at December’s The Game Awards, given he set a new record for the longest acceptance speech in the ceremony’s history. The actor, who plays lead character Kratos, went on for seven minutes and 59 seconds.

Performer in a supporting role

Adam J Harrington in God Of War Ragnarok
Alison Jaye in Horizon Forbidden West
Charlotta Mohlin in Immortality
Danielle Bisutti in God Of War Ragnarok
Laya Deleon Hayes in God Of War Ragnarok
Ryan Hurst in God Of War Ragnarok

Did you know: God Of War Ragnarok‘s Danielle Bisutti was also BAFTA nominated for her role as Freya in the franchise’s previous instalment, which released in 2018. She lost out to one of her co-stars on that occasion, so will be hoping to rise above them this time round.

Technical achievement

Elden Ring
God Of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Immortality
The Last Of Us: Part I
Stray

Did you know: Developer Naughty Dog may be hoping recency bias gives The Last Of Us: Part I a boost, given the success of the recent TV adaptation. This version of the game is a big-budget remake of the 2013 original, which released just in time for the show’s premiere.