Here’s the TIGA Games Industry Awards 2023’s shortlist

TIGA, a trade association for the UK video games industry, has published the shortlist for the TIGA Games Industry Awards 2023.

The shortlist – which TIGA describes as featuring “some of the most exciting games from the last 12 months, plus the cream of the UK’s game development, business and education community” – is wide-ranging and aims to recognise the best front- and back-of-house teams in the games industry the UK.

The shortlists are as follows:

BEST ACTION AND ADVENTURE GAME

• Auroch Digital: Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
• Out of the Bit Ltd: Full Void
• Pentakill Studios: The Occultist
• Rain Games: Teslagrad 2
• Sloclap: SiFU
• Sony Interactive Entertainment/Guerilla: Horizon: Call of the Mountain
• Sony Interactive Entertainment/Santa Monica Studio: God of War Ragnarök
• Supermassive Games: The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me
• The Parasight: Blacktail

BEST ARCADE GAME

• Exient: Ultimate Sackboy
• Island Bender Games: Island Bender
• Ping Creates: Super Stretchy Chicken Legs
• Secret Base Pte Ltd: Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons
• Staffordshire University: MechHead
• Sumo Digital Academy: Zool Redimensioned
• Supermassive Games: The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR

BEST CASUAL GAME

• Awaceb: Tchia
• Deadpan and Gaziter: Wildfrost
• Exient: Ultimate Sackboy
• FuturLab: PowerWash Simulator
• Gearbox Publishing: Blanc
• Kwalee: Hunt and Seek
• Outplay Entertainment: Subway Surfers Blast
• Outright Games: DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos
• Terahard Studios: Monster Mop Up

BEST SOCIAL GAME

• Disney Games/Dlala Studios: Disney Illusion Island
• Dovetail Games: CATAN – Console Edition
• FuturLab: PowerWash Simulator
• GameXPlosion Ltd: Ultimate Supremacy
• Gearbox Publishing: Tribes of Midgard
• Gearbox Publishing: Homeworld Mobile
• Gearbox Publishing: Blanc
• Hugecalf Studios: Turbo Golf Racing
• Outright Games: DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos

BEST EDUCATIONAL, SERIOUS OR SIMULATION GAME

• Auroch Digital: Brewmaster: Beer Brewing Simulator
• BBC/Mobile Pie: Planet Planners
• BBC/Playerthree: Operation Ouch! It Take Guts!
• Charles Games: Beecarbonize
• FuturLab: PowerWash Simulator
• Fish in a Bottle / BBC: Divided Islands
• Frontier Developments: F1 Manager 2023
• Frontier Developments/Haemimont Games: Stranded: Alien Dawn
• litherine Software UK Ltd: Command: Modern Operations
• Somewhat Unsettling: The Longest Walk

BEST STRATEGY GAME

• Abylight: One Military Camp
• Deadpan & Gaziter: Wildfrost
• Dovetail Games: CATAN – Console Edition
• Gearbox Publishing: Homeworld Mobile
• Kraken Empire: Toy Tactics
• Only4Gamers: Space Menace
• Slitherine Software UK Ltd: Starship Troopers: Terran Command
• The Iterative Collective: Homeseek
• Thing Trunk: Hellcard

BEST RPG GAME

• BBC / Jollywise: Silverpoint: The Game
• GameXPlosion Ltd: Ultimate Supremacy
• Gearbox Publishing: Tribes of Midgard
• Imperia Online JSK: Crush Them All
• Pentakill Studios: The Occultist
• The Iterative Collective: Knight Crawlers
• Ustwo Games: Desta: The Memories Between

BEST PUZZLE GAME

• ARTE France: How to say Goodbye
• Chanko Studios: It’s a Wrap!
• Disney Games/Dlala Studios: Disney Illusion Island
• Max Inferno: A Little to the Left
• Outplay Entertainment: Gordon Ramsay’s Chef Blast
• Space Ape Games: Chrome Valley Customs
• Staffordshire University: Mental Block
• Supersolid: Cook & Merge
• Trailmix: Love & Pies
• Wired Productions: Tin Hearts

BEST CREATIVITY IN GAMES

• Disney Games/Dlala Studios: Disney Illusion Island
• Fireshine Games: Shadows of Doubt
• FuturLab: PowerWash Simulator
• Hugecalf Studios: Turbo Golf Racing
• Jump Over the Age: Citizen Sleeper
• Noun Town: Nown Toun: VR Language Learning
• Supermassive Games: The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR
• Supermassive Games: The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me
• Ustwo Games: Desta: The Memories Between
• Wired Productions: Tin Hearts

HERITAGE IN GAMES

• Cave Monsters: Lord Winklebottom Investigates
• D’Avekki Studios: Murderous Muses
• Frogwares: Sherlock Holmes The Awakened
• The Parasight: Blacktail
• Sugar Creative: 878 AD: Winchester Revealed
• Sumo Digital Academy: Zool Redimensioned
• Ustwo Games: Desta: The Memories Between
• Wales Interactive, Dead Pixel Productions, Good Gate Media: Mia and the Dragon Princes
• Wales Interactive and Good Gate Media: Ten Dates

DIVERSITY AWARD

• Awaceb: Tchia
• D’Avekki Studios: Murderous Muses
• DON’T NOD: Harmony: The Fall of Reverie
• GameXPlosion Ltd: Ultimate Supremacy
• Sony Interactive Entertainment/Santa Monica Studio: God of War Ragnarök
• Staffordshire University: Staffordshire University Games Development
• Trailmix: Love & Pies
• Ustwo Games: Desta: The Memories Between
• Wales Interactive and Good Gate Media: Ten Dates
• Women in Games

BEST AUDIO DESIGN

• Air Edel Associates Ltd: After Us
• Auroch Digital: Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
• Dovetail Games: Train Sim World 3
• Frontier Developments: F1 Manager 2023
• Frontier Developments: Deliver Us Mars
• Sony Interactive Entertainment/Santa Monica Studio: God of War Ragnarök
• Sony Interactive Entertainment/Guerilla: Horizon Call of the Mountain
• Supermassive Games: The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me
• TiMi Studio Group: Honor of Kings – Mayene
• Wired Productions: Tin Hearts

BEST VISUAL DESIGN

• Arte France: To Hell with Ugly
• DON’T NOD: Harmony: The Fall of Reverie
• Gearbox Publishing: Blanc
• Max Inferno: A Little to the Left
• Plot Twist: the Last Case of Benedict Fox
• Sony Interactive Entertainment/Guerilla: Horizon Call of the Mountain
• The Parasight: Blacktail
• Trailmix: Love and Pies
• Wales Interactive, Dead Pixel Productions, Good Gate Media: Mia and the Dragon Princes
• Wired Productions: The Last Worker

BEST VR/AR/XR/MR GAME

• Maze Theory: Peaky Blinders: The King’s Ransom
• nDreams: Synapse
• Noun Town: Nown Town: VR Language Learning
• Squido Studio: No More Rainbows
• Sony Interactive Entertainment/Guerilla: Horizon Call of the Mountain
• Sugar Creative: 878AD: Winchester Revealed
• Supermassive Games: The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR
• Wired Productions: The Last Worker
• XR Games: Zombieland: Headshot Fever Reloaded

BEST SMALL STUDIO

• D’Avekki Studio
• Dlala Studios
• Exient
• Fireshine Games
• Huge Calf Studios
• Party for Introverts
• Purple Yonder
• Trailmix
• Ustwo Games
• Wired Productions

BUSINESS CATEGORIES
BEST ART/ANIMATION TRAILER SUPPLIER

• Airship Interactive
• Atomhawk
• Liquid Crimson
• Maverick Media
• Sony Interactive Entertainment/PlayStation Studios
• TrailerFarm
• 1518 Studios

BEST AUDIO SERVICES PROVIDER

• PitStop Productions
• SIDE
• Sony Interactive Entertainment/PlayStation Studios/Creative Arts
• Soundcuts Ltd
• Tazman-Audio

BEST LARGE STUDIO

• Auroch Digital
• Dovetail Games
• Flix Interactive
• Guerrilla
• Kwalee
• nDreams
• Outplay Entertainment
• Rebellion
• Santa Monica Studio
• Space Ape Games
• Sumo Digital
• Supermassive Games

OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP AWARD

• Ben Forrester, Head of PC and Console, Kwalee
• Ben Lavery, Studio Head TrailerFarm
• Bobby Thandi CEO XR Games
• John Sanderson, CEO PitStop Productions
• John Tearle, CEO Flix Interactive
• Nathan Burlow Studio Director and Darius Sadeghian Studio Production Director, Rocksteady Studios.
• Patrick O’Luanaigh, CEO nDreams
• Professor Martin Jones, Vice-Chancellor Staffordshire University
• Russ Clarke, CEO, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Payload Studios
• Simon Iwaniszak, Studio Director Red Kite Games
• Trevor Williams, Studio Head, Playground Games
• Viki Freeman, Chief Strategy Officer Airship Interactive and Tim Horton, Chief Commercial Officer Airship Interactive

COMMITMENT TO ESG AWARD

• Airship Interactive
• Behaviour Interactive
• London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London
• PlanetPlay
• Rebellion
• Rocksteady Studios
• Santa Monica Studio
• Sumo Group
• Testronic
• Ubisoft Reflections and Ubisoft Leamington Spa
• University of Portsmouth

COMMITMENT TO WORKPLACE WELLBEING AWARD

• Airship Interactive
• Dovetail Games
• nDreams
• Outplay Entertainment
• Payload Studios
• Playground Games
• PlayStation London Studio
• Rebellion
• Rocksteady Studios
• Sumo Group
• TrailerFarm
• Ubisoft Reflections and Ubisoft Leamington Spa

BEST EDUCATION INITIATIVE

• Birmingham City University STEAMHOUSE
• London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London
• Norwich University of the Arts
• Staffordshire University
• University of Hertfordshire
• University of Portsmouth

BEST TALENT DEVELOPMENT

• Dlala Studios
• Dovetail Games
• Flix Interactive
• Grads in Games
• nDreams Academy
• PlayStation London Studio
• Rocksteady Studios
• Sumo Group
• XR Games

BEST EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

• Birmingham City University
• Bournemouth University
• London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London
• Norwich University of the Arts
• Staffordshire University
• University of Gloucestershire
• University of Greenwich
• University of Hertfordshire
• University of Portsmouth
• University of the West of England
• University of the West of Scotland

EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR
Dovetail Games
Rebellion
Sumo Group

LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDER

• Charles Russell Speechlys
• Eaton Smith LLP
• Lewis Silkin LLP
• Stevens & Bolton LLP
• Wiggin LLP

BEST PUBLISHER

• Curve Games
• Kwalee
• nDreams
• Rebellion
• Secret Mode
• Sony Interactive Entertainment

BEST QA and/or LOCALISATION PROVIDER

• PTW
• Testronic
• Universally Speaking

BEST RECRUITMENT AGENCY

• Aardvark Swift
• Amiqus
• Avatar
• Big Planet

BEST SERVICES PROVIDER

• Airship Interactive
• Big Planet
• Flix Interactive
• Liquid Crimson
• Magic Media
• Maverick Media
• PitStop Productions
• PTW Family of Brands
• Testronic
• TrailerFarm
• Sky Life Accountancy
• RSM

TECHNICAL INNOVATION

• CG Hero Ltd
• Rebellion
• Speech Graphics
• TrailerFarm & Big Farmer

“The TIGA Games Industry Awards celebrate excellence in the video games industry. Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations to our Awards and congratulations to all of our finalists,” said CEO of TIGA, Dr Richard Wilson OBE.

“The finalist shortlist illustrates the depth of talent and creativity to be found amongst our game developers, service providers and educators.”

TIGA’s vision is to “make the UK the best place in the world to develop video games”. This year’s TIGA Awards presentation ceremony will take place on the evening of November 16th in London, UK.