Hellblade 2 will get most nominations

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II has picked up essentially the most nominations at this yr’s Bafta Video games Awards.

The action-adventure sport, developed by Cambridge-based studio Ninja Idea, is up for awards in 11 out of 14 classes on the annual ceremony.

It is within the operating for greatest sport alongside 3D platformer Astro Bot – up for eight awards – which clinched prime prize on the US-based Recreation Awards in December.

The occasion, thought of some of the prestigious within the video games business calendar, can be held in London on 8 April.

The opposite contenders in the very best sport class are:

• Balatro – a poker-inspired card sport
• Black Fantasy: Wukong – an action-adventure made in China and impressed by a well-liked delusion
• Helldivers II – a multiplayer co-operative shooter
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Knowledge – the primary sport in Nintendo’s in style collection to star the princess it is named after
• Thank Goodness You are Right here! – a wacky cartoon journey sport developed by two buddies from Barnsley

Bafta palms out prizes annually in a spread of classes, together with appearing, music and sport design.

Three of the six most-nominated video games this yr have been made within the UK.

Nonetheless Wakes the Deep, from Scottish studio The Chinese language Room, is up for eight awards, whereas Thank Goodness You are Right here! is up for seven.

Lego: Horizon Adventures, based mostly on the PlayStation collection and largely developed by London-based Studio Gobo, is nominated in 4 classes.

Indie hits Animal Properly and Balatro, every have 4 nominations, as does Name of Responsibility: Black Ops 6.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is a sequel to Senua’s Sacrifice – which picked up 5 awards at 2018’s gaming Baftas.

Its 11 nominations may shock some – the sport was a formidable technical showcase and acquired optimistic if not excellent critiques.

Nevertheless, like the primary sport, it was praised for its delicate depiction of the primary character’s psychosis.

Bafta Video games committee chair Tara Saunders tells BBC Newsbeat it represents “a powerful yr for British-made video games”.

She says the voting panel is made up of members internationally who take the awards “very severely” and vote based mostly on a spread of options.

“It is all about excellence,” she says.

“Excellence within the crafts and possibly a few of these video games have nailed all of these craft areas.”

Bafta CEO Jane Millichip agrees, and desires to embrace the actual fact they’ve a British sport class.

“Our members are worldwide and so they’re the individuals who select,” she says.

Organized by variety of classes:

• Senua’s Saga: 11
• Astro Bot and Nonetheless Wakes the Deep – eight
• Thank Goodness You are Right here! – seven
• Black Fantasy: Wukong – 5

Learn extra concerning the nominees:

The Bafta Video games Awards are not any stranger to the odd upset.

In 2023, Vampire Survivors – made by a tiny British studio – beat Sony’s God of Battle: Ragnarök to the highest prize.

This yr’s greatest sport subject has an analogous mixture of big-budget blockbusters and indie hits.

“I really like that Bafta can shock, I really like that it isn’t a given and we will get to that night time and we do not know what is going on to return out on prime,” Tara says.

“It is placing a highlight on some actually tiny video games which may have slipped by.”

Metaphor: Refantazio and Last Fantasy VII: Rebirth, two video games that featured prominently in nominations elsewhere, solely picked up three nominations between them.

Instances stay powerful for folks working within the video games business worldwide, with mass layoffs, studio closures and cancelled initiatives persevering with to make headlines.

Tara says awards just like the Baftas are “a beacon of sunshine at nighttime instances”.

“It is actually necessary to pause and rejoice the groups and people which have crafted these standout video games experiences,” she says.

And Jane, who additionally oversees Bafta’s occasions throughout movie, TV and different inventive industries, says the gaming awards are a spot for folks to help one another.

“I’ve by no means seen a neighborhood cheer a lot once they lose, it is a good factor to behold,” she says.

“It is so great to see the entire video games neighborhood being so supportive of one another and there to rejoice the sector, not themselves.

“It is sort of devoid of ego and that is nice.”

You could find a full listing of Bafta Video games Awards nominations for 2025 right here.

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