- Public Voting Now Live Online
- “Kena: Bridge of Spirits” Scores Four Nominations
- March 12th Virtual Show to be Produced by Georgia-Based Peach Maria Productions
The South by Southwest® Gaming Awards (SXSW®), celebrating the wide reach of gaming across areas such as art, design, narrative, gameplay, cultural innovation, and more, has today announced the Final Nominees across 12 categories in the ninth annual celebration of the industry. The SXSW Gaming Awards will be produced by Georgia-based Peach Maria Productions (pronounced muh-RY-uh), executive produced by Laurie Lockliear (upcoming esports reality series GameMaster,), and offered digitally as part of SXSW Online on March 12, 2022 at 7 p.m. CT, during the overall March 11-20, 2022 festivities.
Leading nominees include: “Kena: Bridge of Spirits,” from developer and publisher Ember Lab, scored four nominations. Five titles – “Deathloop,” “Inscryption,” “Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker,” “Forza Horizon 5” and “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart” – each took three nominations.
Additionally, 12 titles received two nominations each, including “Before Your Eyes,” “Chicory: A Colorful Tale,” “Hell Let Loose,” “It Takes Two,” “Loop Hero,” “Lost Words: Beyond the Page,” “Resident Evil Village,” “Returnal,” “The Medium,” “The Wild At Heart,” “Unpacking” and “Valheim.”
Each year the SXSW Gaming Awards honor excellence throughout the industry, celebrating the talent that influences the medium and culture of gaming. The annual Gaming Awards celebrate the technical, artistic and design achievements of each year’s best titles and their creators.
Following a rigorous process of nominee selections, this year’s Awards will feature 40 unique games contending for honors in 12 categories. As with each year, the SXSW community will vote to help determine the final winners. Browse the list of nominees below, and vote here for favorite titles — the polls are open now through 11:59 p.m. CT on Tuesday, February 8.
Once the voting closes, the winners will be determined through a weighted total of public voting, advisory board and SXSW staff input. The most innovative, culturally-influential and technically-perfect games of the year will be presented at the SXSW Gaming Awards ceremony on March 12. More information about the entry and judging process is available here.
“In a year where the convergence of the gaming and entertainment industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace, SXSW is proud to showcase the most creative and innovative titles,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer for SXSW. “For a second year, SXSW is excited to bring the awards digitally to a global audience with our new partners Peach Maria Productions.
“Having attended and participated in SXSW programming for many years, we are excited and honored to produce this year’s SXSW Gaming Awards show, which emphasizes the ever-increasing convergence between gaming and the rest of the entertainment industry,” said Peach Maria Productions Executive Producer Laurie Lockliear. “Our goal is to make this year’s Awards fun, accessible and memorable for casual fans, hard-core gamers, industry insiders, game makers, producers and more.”
2022 FINAL NOMINEES
SXSW GAME OF THE YEAR
GAME | DEVELOPER | PUBLISHER |
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker | SQUARE ENIX® | SQUARE ENIX® |
It Takes Two | Hazelight | Electronic Arts |
Psychonauts 2 | Double Fine Productions | Xbox Game Studios |
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart | Insomniac Games | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
Resident Evil Village | Capcom | Capcom |
INDIE GAME OF THE YEAR
GAME | DEVELOPER | PUBLISHER |
Chicory: A Colorful Tale | Greg Lobanov | Finji |
Death’s Door | Acid Nerve | Devolver Digital |
Inscryption | Daniel Mullins Games | Devolver Digital |
Kena: Bridge of Spirits | Ember Lab | Ember Lab |
Loop Hero | Four Quarters | Devolver Digital |
Lost Words: Beyond the Page | Sketchbook Games | Modus Games |
The Medium | Bloober Team | Bloober Team |
The Wild At Heart | Moonlight Kids | Humble Games |
Unpacking | Witch Beam | Humble Games |
Valheim | Iron Gate Studio | Coffee Stain Publishing |
TABLETOP GAME OF THE YEAR
GAME | DEVELOPER | PUBLISHER | |||
Cascadia | Randy Flyn, Beth Sobel, Dylan Mangini, Molly Johnson, Robert Melvin, Kevin Russ, and Shawn Stankewich | Flatout Games | |||
Dune: Imperium | Dire Wolf Digital | Dire Wolf Digital | |||
Oath: Chronicles of
| Empire & Exile
|
| Cole Wehrle |
Leder Games |
|
Roll Camera! The Filmmaking Board Game | Malachi Ray Rempen | Keen Bean Studio | |||
That Time You Killed Me | Peter C. Hayward, Jeff Fraser, and Alex Cutler | Pandasaurus Games |
VR GAME OF THE YEAR
GAME | DEVELOPER | PUBLISHER |
After The Fall | Vertigo Games | Vertigo Games |
Demeo | Resolution Games | Resolution Games |
Lone Echo II | Ready at Dawn | Oculus Studios |
Resident Evil 4 VR | Armature Studio | Oculus Studios |
Song in the Smoke | 17-BIT | 17-BIT |
MATTHEW CRUMP CULTURAL INNOVATION AWARD
Awarded to the game that best challenges the “norm” of everyday gaming and offers a culturally innovative view of a game world, character, or gameplay.
GAME | DEVELOPER | PUBLISHER |
Before Your Eyes | GoodbyeWorld Games | Skybound Games |
Chicory: A Colorful Tale | Greg Lobanov | Finji |
Life is Strange: True Colors | Deck Nine Games | SQUARE ENIX® |
Lost Words: Beyond the Page | Sketchbook Games | Modus Games |
Unpacking |
Witch Beam | Humble Games |
EXCELLENCE IN ANIMATION, ART, & VISUAL ACHIEVEMENT
GAME | DEVELOPER | PUBLISHER |
Deathloop |
Arkane Lyon | Bethesda Softworks |
Exo One |
Exbleative | Future Friends Games |
Forza Horizon 5 | Playground Games | Xbox Game Studios |
Kena: Bridge of Spirits | Ember Lab | Ember Lab |
The Wild At Heart | Moonlight Kids | Humble Games |
EXCELLENCE IN GAME DESIGN
GAME | DEVELOPER | PUBLISHER |
Deathloop |
Arkane Lyon | Bethesda Softworks |
Inscryption | Daniel Mullins Games | Devolver Digital |
Loop Hero |
Four Quarters | Bethesda Softworks |
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart | Insomniac Games | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
Returnal | Housemarque | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
EXCELLENCE IN ORIGINAL SCORE
GAME | DEVELOPER | PUBLISHER |
---|---|---|
The Artful Escape | Beethoven & Dinosaur | Annapurna Interactive |
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker | SQUARE ENIX® | SQUARE ENIX® |
Kena: Bridge of Spirits | Ember Lab | Ember Lab |
The Medium | Bloober Team | Bloober Team |
Wytchwood | Alientrap Games | Whitethorn Games |
EXCELLENCE IN MULTIPLAYER
GAME | DEVELOPER | PUBLISHER |
Back 4 Blood | Turtle Rock Studios | Warner Bros. Games |
Halo Infinite | 343 Industries | Xbox Game Studios |
It Takes Two | Hazelight | Electronic Arts |
Riders Republic | Ubisoft Annecy | Ubisoft |
Valheim | Iron Gate Studio | Coffee Stain Publishing |
EXCELLENCE IN NARRATIVE
GAME | DEVELOPER | PUBLISHER | |||
Deathloop | Arkane Lyon | Bethesda Softworks | |||
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker | SQUARE ENIX® | SQUARE ENIX® | |||
Marvel’s Guardians of the
| Galaxy
|
| Eidos-Montréal |
SQUARE ENIX® |
|
Kena: Bridge of Spirits | Ember Lab | Ember Lab | |||
Lost in Random | Zoink Games | Electronic Arts |
EXCELLENCE IN AUDIO DESIGN
GAME | DEVELOPER | PUBLISHER |
Forza Horizon 5 | Playground Games | Xbox Game Studios |
Hell Let Loose | Black Matter | Team17 |
Inscryption |
Daniel Mullins Games | Devolver Digital |
Resident Evil Village | Capcom | Capcom |
Twelve Minutes | Luis Antonio | Annapurna Interactive |
EXCELLENCE IN TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
GAME | DEVELOPER | PUBLISHER |
Before Your Eyes | GoodbyeWorld Games | Skybound Games |
Hell Let Loose | Black Matter | Team17 |
Forza Horizon 5 | Playground Games | Xbox Game Studios |
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart | Insomniac Games | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
Returnal | Housemarque | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
All nominees will receive two SXSW Platinum Registrations to attend SXSW 2022.
SXSW will offer a hybrid event (in-person with online viewing and participation options). Recognizing that the Covid-19 landscape is changing rapidly, SXSW has updated its Covid-19 guidelines and will continue to coordinate with both the City of Austin and Austin Public Health on further guidance. More details on SXSW’s Covid protocols are available at sxsw.com/covid19-guidelines
The online SXSW Schedule provides a complete rundown of 2022 programming, broken down by time and event category, with the ability to build a customized schedule. To get started, please visit schedule.sxsw.com.SXSW dedicates itself to helping creative people achieve their goals. Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW is best known for its conference and festivals that celebrate the convergence of tech, film, music, education, and culture. An essential destination for global professionals, the annual March event features sessions, music and comedy showcases, film screenings, exhibitions, professional development and a variety of networking opportunities. SXSW proves that the most unexpected discoveries happen when diverse topics and people come together. SXSW 2022 will take place March 11 – 20, 2022. For more information, please visit sxsw.com. To register for the event, please visit sxsw.com/attend.
SXSW 2022 is sponsored by White Claw, Blockchain Creative Labs, Porsche, and The Austin Chronicle.
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