Why BAFTA is changing the way its games awards work

gamesindustry.biz:

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BAFTA is making some big changes to how its games awards are nominated, judged and decided.

Today, the Academy announced that nominations for the BAFTA Games Awards 2024 are open today – three months earlier than usual – and that a full longlist of games nominated will be made public in December for the first time. Previously, only the shortlisted nominees have been released.

There have also been alterations in the way two key categories will be voted for. Past winners of Best Game and British Game were decided by a jury of industry experts, but voting for these two accolades will now be opened up to all BAFTA Games members – over 1,000 members of the industry.

Additional changes include renaming the Original Property award to New Intellectual Property, and encouraging developers and publishers to submit their games for the awards within 30 days of launch. If submissions are made within this 30-day window, the entry fee is half-price (£175 + VAT), after which it rises to the full £350 + VAT.

Any game released between December 10, 2022 and November 24, 2023 is eligible for nomination. The deadline for submission is November 9.

"Our goal is to allow more people to play a broader selection of titles ahead of the first round voting"

GamesIndustry.biz caught up with Tara Saunders, chair of the BAFTA Games Committee and head of PlayStation's London Studio, to find out more about these changes.

In terms of opening the nominations earlier and pushing for submissions within 30 days of release, Saunders says it is "all about getting games into the hands of members as soon as possible."

"We hope that with more time to play, members will get to try