BAFTA shuffles categories for 2020 Games Awards as submissions open

Submissions have opened for the 2020 BAFTA Games Awards, but those that follow the event closely will notice a handful of changes in the long-running award show’s categories this time around.

Namely, the mobile game category has been removed from the running as part of an effort to focus the awards show on “celebrating craft excellence.”

Organizers note that the now-retired award was the last remaining platform-specific category left in the show, but add that the audience-selected EE Mobile Game of the Year will remain as-is.

A handful of new categories have sprung up in its absence, all aiming to hone in on the importance of craft and technical expertise in game development.

Those include an Animation category to cover all aspects of animation and cinematics, a Technical Achievement category to replace the Game Innovation category and cover gameplay programming and visual engineering, and categories Leading Role and a Performer in a Supporting Role to replace the single Performer category and bring video games in line with the BAFTA’s film and television awards.

Submissions for the 2020 Games Awards are open through November 14, 2019 (for games released before December 13) and December 13 (for games released between December 13 and December 31). Nominations will then be announced on March 3, 2020, while the show itself kicks off on April 2, 2020.