The British Academy Video Games Award for Debut Game is an award presented annually by the

British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

(BAFTA). It is given in honor of the best first game from any studio or individual. Since its inception, the award has been given to eleven games. The category was first presented at the

8th British Academy Video Games Awards The 8th British Academy Video Game Awards (known for the purposes of sponsorship as GAME British Academy Video Games Awards) awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, was an award ceremony held on 16 March 2012 in the London Hil ...

ceremony, held in 2012, with the

Microsoft Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher and part of the Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, ...

-published title '' Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet'' as the inagurual recipient. The publishers

Annapurna Interactive Annapurna Games, LLC (trade name: Annapurna Interactive) is an American video game publisher. The company is a division of Annapurna Pictures, and was founded in 2016. Notable games released by the company include ''Donut County'', ''Kentucky Rout ...

has received the most nominations in this category with six, followed by

Xbox Game Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher and part of the Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, ...

with five. To date, no publisher has won in the category more than once. The current holder of the award is ''

Tunic A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin ''tunica'', the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Ro ...

'', developed and published by

Finji Adam Saltsman, also known as Adam Atomic, is an American indie video game designer best known for creating the endless runner '' Canabalt''. He is a founder of Semi Secret Software and Finji video game studios. Career Flixel (2008-11) Salt ...

, which won at the 19th British Academy Games Awards in 2023.

Winners and nominees

In the following table, the years are listed as per BAFTA convention, and generally correspond to the year of game release in the United Kingdom.

Multiple nominations

The following publishers received two or more Debut Game nominations:

References

External links

British Academy Video Games Awards official website
{{British Academy Games Awards Debut Game