^{Credit: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive, Kepler Interactive)}

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can add the British Academy Games Award to the long list of prizes it's already picked up. The debut title from developer Sandfall Interactive previously won top prizes at the Golden Joystick Awards, the D.I.C.E. Awards, and the Game Awards. It didn't come as a surprise to see it win the BAFTA for Best Game next. While the RPG further solidified itself as the previous year's most acclaimed game, it didn't outright sweep the 22nd BAFTAs. Of its thirteen nominations, Clair Obscur only won two other awards: Debut Game and Performer in a Leading Role for Jennifer English as Maelle. 

Clair Obscur tied Dispatch for the ceremony's most wins. AdHoc Studio's episodic superhero games won three awards for Animation, Audio Achievement, and Performer in a Supporting Role for Jeffrey Wright as Chase. Ghost of Yōtei also picked up two awards for Technical Achievement and Music. Overall, voters managed to spread the love with Death Stranding 2: On the Beach winning Artistic Achievement, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II winning Narrative, Blue Prince winning Game Design, ARC Raiders winning Multiplayer, and Atomfall winning British Game. 

Perhaps one of the bigger surprises was Lego Party beating out the smash hit Donkey Kong Bananza in the Family category. Despite being up for Best Game, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle failed to turn any of its six nominations into wins. Hades II, Split Fiction, and Hollow Knight: Silksong are just a few other games with passionate followings that went home empty-handed. Internet personality Elz the Witch hosted the ceremony at Queen Elizabeth Hall. The BAFTA Fellowship went to Ilkka Paananen, co-founder of Supercell, the company behind mobile games such as Clash of Clans, among others. 

Check out the full list of the 22nd British Academy Games Awards winners and nominees below:

Best Game
ARC Raiders – Embark Studios    
Blue Prince – Dogubomb / Raw Fury
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive (Winner)   
Dispatch – AdHoc Studio    
Ghost of Yōtei – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment    
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – MachineGames / Bethesda Softworks    

Animaiton     
Battlefield 6
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment    
Dispatch – AdHoc Studio (Winner)
Ghost of Yōtei – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment    
Hades II – Supergiant Games    
Hollow Knight: Silksong – Team Cherry    
    
Artistic Achievement
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive    
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment (Winner)   
Dispatch – AdHoc Studio 
Ghost of Yōtei – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment    
Hollow Knight: Silksong – Team Cherry    
South of Midnight – Compulsion Games / Xbox Game Studios    
    
Audio Achievement
ARC Raiders – Embark Studios    
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive    
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment    
Dispatch – AdHoc Studio (Winner)
Ghost of Yōtei – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment    
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – MachineGames / Bethesda Softworks    
    
British Game
Atomfall – Rebellion Developments (Winner)   
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector – Jump Over the Age / Fellow Traveller    
Mafia: The Old Country – Hangar 13 / 2K
Monument Valley 3 – Ustwo Games    
PowerWash Simulator 2 – FuturLab    
Two Point Museum – Two Point Studios / Sega    
    
Debut Game
Blue Prince – Dogubomb / Raw Fury    
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive (Winner)    
Consume Me – Jenny Jiao Hsia and AP Thomson / Hexacutable    
Despelote – Julián Cordero, Sebastián Valbuena / Panic    
Dispatch – AdHoc Studio    
The Midnight Walk – MoonHood / Fast Travel Games    
    
Evolving Game
Fallout 76 – Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks    
Helldivers 2 – Arrowhead Game Studios / Sony Interactive Entertainment    
Hitman World of Assassination – IO Interactive    
No Man's Sky – HelloGames (Winner)   
Vampire Survivors – Poncle    
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 – Saber St. Petersburg / Focus Entertainment    
    
Family 
Donkey Kong Bananza – Nintendo EPD    
Is This Seat Taken? – Poti Poti Studio / Wholesome Games    
Lego Party – SMG Studio / Fictions (Winner)   
Mario Kart World – Nintendo EPD    
PowerWash Simulator 2 – FuturLab    
Two Point Museum – Two Point Studios / Sega    
    
Game Beyond Entertainment 
And Roger – TearyHand Studio / Kodansha    
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector – Jump Over the Age / Fellow Traveller    
Consume Me – Jenny Jiao Hsia and AP Thomson / Hexacutable    
Despelote – Julián Cordero, Sebastián Valbuena / Panic (Winner)   
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl – GSC Game World    
The Alters – 11 Bit Studios    
    
Game Design 
Ball x Pit – Kenny Sun / Devolver Digital    
Blue Prince – Dogubomb / Raw Fury (Winner)   
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive    
Ghost of Yōtei – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment    
Hades II – Supergiant Games    
Split Fiction – Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts    
    
Multiplayer 
ARC Raiders – Embark Studios (Winner)   
Dune: Awakening – Funcom    
Elden Ring Nightrein – FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment    
Lego Party – SMG Studio / Fictions    
Peak – Aggro Crab / Landfall Games    
Split Fiction – Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts    

Music 
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
Dispatch – AdHoc Studio
Ghost of Yōtei – Sucker Punch Productions (Winner)
Hollow Knight: Silksong – Team Cherry
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – MachineGames / Bethesda Softworks

Narrative 
Blue Prince – Dogubomb / Raw Fury
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – MachineGames / Bethesda Softworks
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II – Warhorse Studios / Deep Silver (Winner)
The Alters – 11 Bit Studios

New Intellectual Property 
ARC Raiders – Embark Studios
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive
Dispatch – AdHoc Studio
South of Midnight – Compulsion Games / Xbox Game Studios (Winner)
Split Fiction – Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts
The Alters – 11 Bit Studios

Performer in a Lead Role
Aaron Paul as Robert Robertson in Dispatch
Ben Starr as Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Erika Ishii as Atsu in Ghost of Yōtei
Jennifer English as Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Winner)
Tom McKay as Henry of Skalitz in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Troy Baker as Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Performer in a Supporting Role
Alix Wilton Regan as Lea Florence Monad in Lies of P: Overture
Charlie Cox as Gustave in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Jane Perry as Lia Cain in Dead Take
Jeffrey Wright as Chase in Dispatch (Winner)
Kirsty Rider as Lune in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Troy Baker as Higgs in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Technical Achievement
ARC Raiders – Embark Studios
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
Doom: The Dark Ages – id Software / Bethesda Softworks
Ghost of Yōtei – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment (Winner)
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – MachineGames / Bethesda Softworks
Split Fiction – Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts 

BAFTA Fellowship - Ilkka Paananen

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Available Now!