Animal Crossing New Horizons
Image: Nintendo

In just a few weeks, it'll be time for the 2021 BAFTA Games Awards, which take place on March 25th. After Luigi's Mansion 3 took Best Animation in 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is Nintendo's heavy hitter this year, coming away with five nominations.

New Horizons is up for the "Best Game" award, and while no additional first-party Nintendo games were nominated this time around, the list has plenty of additional Switch titles. Hades, for example, has been nominated an impressive 8 times.

You can also spot notable Switch games like Ori and the Will of the Wisps, DOOM Eternal, Spiritfarer, Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition, and Minecraft Dungeons, too.

For the most part, though, this year's nominations are dominated by PlayStation exclusives. The Last of Us Part II has a record-breaking 13 nominations, Ghost of Tsushima took 10, and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales got 7.

You can check out the full nominations list below.

ANIMATION

  • DOOM ETERNAL Development Team - id Software/ Bethesda Softworks
  • FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Development Team -Square Enix/Square Enix
  • MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES Development Team -Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • ORI AND THE WILL OF THE WISPS Development Team - Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios
  • SPIRITFARER Development Team -Thunder Lotus/Kowloon Nights
  • THE LAST OF US PART II Development Team - Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe

ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT

  • CYBERPUNK 2077 Development Team - CD PROJEKT RED/CD PROJEKT x BANDAI NAMCO UK
  • DREAMS Development Team - Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • GHOST OF TSUSHIMA Jason Connell, Joanna Wang, Ian Jun Wei Chiew - Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • HADES Jen Zee - Supergiant Games/Supergiant Games
  • HALF-LIFE: ALYX Development Team – Valve/Valve
  • THE LAST OF US PART II Development Team - Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe

AUDIO ACHIEVEMENT

  • ASTRO’S PLAYROOM Development Team – SIE Japan Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • GHOST OF TSUSHIMA Rev. Dr. Bradley D. Meyer - Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • HADES Darren Korb - Supergiant Games/Supergiant Games
  • HALF-LIFE: ALYX Development Team – Valve/Valve
  • MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES Development Team - Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • THE LAST OF US PART II Development Team - Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe

BEST GAME

  • ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS Development Team - Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
  • GHOST OF TSUSHIMA Brian Fleming, Chris Zimmerman - Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • HADES Development Team - Supergiant Games/Supergiant Games
  • HALF-LIFE: ALYX Development Team –Valve/Valve
  • MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES – Development Team - Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • THE LAST OF US PART II Development Team - Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe

BRITISH GAME

  • DREAMS Development Team - Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • F1 2020 Development Team – Codemasters/Codemasters
  • FALL GUYS Development Team – Mediatonic/Devolver Digital
  • RÖKI Development Team - Polygon Treehouse/United Label
  • SACKBOY: A BIG ADVENTURE Ned Waterhouse, Jess Gaskell, Pete Smith - Sumo Digital Sheffield/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • THE LAST CAMPFIRE Development Team - Hello Games/Hello Games

DEBUT GAME

  • AIRBORNE KINGDOM Development Team - The Wandering Band/The Wandering Band
  • CALL OF THE SEA Tatiana Delgado, Manuel Fernandez - Out of the Blue/Raw Fury
  • CARRION Development Team -Phobia Game Studio/Devolver Digital
  • FACTORIO Development Team -Wube Software/Wube Software
  • RÖKI Development Team - Polygon Treehouse/United Label
  • THE FALCONEER Development Team - Tomas Sala/ Wired Productions

EVOLVING GAME

  • DESTINY 2: BEYOND LIGHT Development Team – Bungie/Bungie
  • DREAMS Development Team - Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • FALL GUYS Development Team – Mediatonic/Devolver Digital
  • FORTNITE Development Team - Epic Games/Epic Games
  • NO MAN’S SKY Development Team - Hello Games/Hello Games
  • SEA OF THIEVES Development Team - Rare Ltd/Xbox Game Studios

FAMILY

  • ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS Development Team - Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
  • ASTRO’S PLAYROOM Development Team – SIE Japan Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • DREAMS Development Team - Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • FALL GUYS Development Team – Mediatonic/Devolver Digital
  • MINECRAFT DUNGEONS Development Team - Mojang Studios, Double Eleven Limited
  • SACKBOY: A BIG ADVENTURE Joel Smith, Cesar Bittar, Pete Smith - Sumo Digital Sheffield/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe

GAME BEYOND ENTERTAINMENT

  • ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS Development Team - Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
  • BEFORE I FORGET Development Team - 3-Fold Games/3-Fold Games
  • DREAMS Development Team - Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • SPIRITFARER Development Team - Thunder Lotus/Kowloon Nights
  • TELL ME WHY Development Team - DONTNOD Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios
  • THE LAST OF US PART II Development Team -Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe

GAME DESIGN

  • ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS Development Team - Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
  • ASTRO’S PLAYROOM Development Team - SIE Japan Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • GHOST OF TSUSHIMA Development Team -Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • HADES Development Team - Supergiant Games/Supergiant Games
  • HALF-LIFE: ALYX Development Team –Valve/Valve
  • THE LAST OF US PART II Development Team -Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe

MULTIPLAYER

  • ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS Development Team - Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
  • DEEP ROCK GALACTIC Development Team - Ghost Ship Games/Coffee Stain Publishing
  • FALL GUYS Development Team –Mediatonic/Devolver Digital
  • GHOST OF TSUSHIMA Darren Bridges, Matt Goldhaber - Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • SACKBOY: A BIG ADVENTURE Jack Houghton, Tom Sampson, Jason Stewart - Sumo Digital Sheffield/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • VALORANT Development Team - Riot Games/Riot Games

MUSIC

  • GHOST OF TSUSHIMA Ilan Eshkeri, Shigeru Umebayashi, Peter Scaturro - Sucker Punch Productions/ Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • HADES Darren Korb - Supergiant Games/Supergiant Games
  • MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES John Paesano, Scott Hanau, Alex Hackford - Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • ORI AND THE WILL OF THE WISPS Gareth Coker - Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios
  • SACKBOY: A BIG ADVENTURE Jay Waters, Joe Thwaites, Joanna Skorupa - Sumo Digital Sheffield/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • THE LAST OF US PART II Gustavo Santaolalla, Mac Quayle, Scott Hanau - Naughty Dog/ Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe

NARRATIVE

  • ASSASSIN’S CREED VALHALLA Writing Team - Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft
  • CYBERPUNK 2077 Writing Team - CD PROJEKT RED/CD PROJEKT x BANDAI NAMCO UK
  • GHOST OF TSUSHIMA Nate Fox, Ian Ryan - Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • HADES Greg Kasavin - Supergiant Games/Supergiant Games
  • KENTUCKY ROUTE ZERO: TV EDITION Writing Team - Cardboard Computer/Annapurna Interactive
  • MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES Writing Team - Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe

ORIGINAL PROPERTY

  • CARRION Development Team -Phobia Game Studio/Devolver Digital
  • FALL GUYS Development Team –Mediatonic/Devolver Digital
  • GHOST OF TSUSHIMA Development Team - Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • HADES Development Team - Supergiant Games/Supergiant Games
  • KENTUCKY ROUTE ZERO: TV EDITION Development Team -Cardboard Computer/Annapurna Interactive
  • SPIRITFARER Development Team- Thunder Lotus/Kowloon Nights

PERFORMER IN A LEADING ROLE

  • ASHLEY JOHNSON as Ellie in The Last of Us Part II
  • CHERAMI LEIGH as Female V in Cyberpunk 2077
  • CODY CHRISTIAN as Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII Remake
  • DAISUKE TSUJI as Jin Sakai in Ghost of Tsushima
  • LAURA BAILEY as Abby in The Last of Us Part II
  • NADJI JETER as Miles Morales in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

PERFORMER IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

  • CARLA TASSARA as Judy Alvarez in CYBERPUNK 2077
  • JEFFREY PIERCE as Tommy in The Last of Us Part II
  • LOGAN CUNNINGHAM as Hades, Achilles, Poseidon, Asterius, Charon, and the Storyteller in Hades
  • PATRICK GALLAGHER as Khotun Khan in Ghost of Tsushima
  • SHANNON WOODWARD as Dina in The Last of Us Part II
  • TROY BAKER as Joel in The Last of Us Part II

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

  • DEMON’S SOULS Development Team - SIE Japan Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • DOOM ETERNAL Development Team - id Software/Bethesda Softworks
  • DREAMS Development Team - Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • FLIGHT SIMULATOR Sebastian Wloch, Duncan Lawler, Pavel Kuksa - Asobo Studio/ Xbox Game Studios
  • MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES Development Team - Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • THE LAST OF US PART II Development Team - Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe

EE GAME OF THE YEAR

  • ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
  • CALL OF DUTY: WARZONE Raven Software, Infinity Ward/Activision
  • GHOST OF TSUSHIMA Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • HADES Supergiant Games/Supergiant Games
  • THE LAST OF US PART II Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
  • VALORANT Riot Games/Riot Games

Voting has opened for the EE Game of the Year too - the only award to be chosen by the public - so make sure to get your vote in.

Are you hopeful for Animal Crossing's chances? Prefer to see Hades win big? Share your nomination thoughts below.

[source bafta.org]