16th British Academy Games Awards
{{Short description|Game award ceremony in 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox British Academy video games awards
|name=16th British Academy Games Awards
|image=
|date=2 April 2020
|site=Live-streamed
|host=Dara Ó Briain
|most_nominations= Control and Death Stranding (11)
|last=15th
|next=17th
|best_game=Outer Wilds
|most_wins=Disco Elysium and Outer Wilds (3)
}}
The 16th British Academy Video Game Awards was hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on 2 April 2020 to honour the best video games of 2019. Though originally planned to be presented at a ceremony at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the event was instead presented as a live stream due to concern over the coronavirus pandemic. The nominees were announced on 3 March 2020, with Control and Death Stranding leading the group with eleven nominations each, breaking the record of ten set by Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, The Last of Us, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and God of War as the most nominations received by a game.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bafta.org/games/awards/bafta-games-awards-nominations-and-winners-2020|title=2020 BAFTA Games Awards: The Winners|date=3 March 2020|website=www.bafta.org}}
Category changes
For the 16th BAFTA Game Awards, one new category was added. The Best Animation category covers all elements of animation (including ambient, facial and cinematics) and aims to celebrate the role that animation plays in creating believable and engaging worlds, seeking to complement the already existing Artistic Achievement category. Additionally, the Best Performer category has been expanded and split into two new categories, Performer in a Leading Role and Performance in a Supporting Role, a decision that moves to highlight and recognize the increasing importance of voice over and motion capture performance in video games.
Furthermore, the Game Innovation category has been abolished and assimilated into a new Technical Achievement category which intends to celebrate all elements of gameplay programming and visual engineering. The Mobile Game category has also been retired though the public-voted EE Mobile Game of the Year award remains.
Due to these category changes, the 16th BAFTA Game Awards will feature 18 competitive categories in total.{{Cite news|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-09-10-bafta-announces-new-categories-for-2020-video-game-awards-submissions-now-open|title=BAFTA announces new categories for 2020 video game awards, submissions now open|first=Matt|last=Wales|newspaper=Eurogamer.net |date=9 September 2019}}
Presentation
The awards had been planned to be presented at a live ceremony at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on 2 April 2020. However, with the coronavirus pandemic, the Academy opted to forego the live ceremony and instead present the awards through a pre-recorded streamed event via YouTube.{{cite web | url = https://variety.com/2020/biz/entertainment-industry/baftas-to-live-stream-game-awards-amid-coronavirus-fears-1203531869/ | title = BAFTAs to Live Stream Game Awards Amid Coronavirus Fears | first = Manori | last = Raindran | date = 12 March 2020 | accessdate = 12 March 2020 | work = Variety }} Dara Ó Briain, who had been set to host the live event, served as host from his home for the stream, with pre-recorded acceptance speeches for the winners shown.{{cite web | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/arts/coronavirus-bafta-game-awards.html | title = How to Hold an Awards Show in a Pandemic | first = Alex | last = Marshall | date = 3 April 2020 | accessdate = 4 April 2020 | work = The New York Times }}
Winners and nominees
The nominations were announced on 3 March 2020, and winners named on 2 April.{{cite web | url = https://variety.com/2020/digital/games/outer-wilds-bafta-games-awards-1234569647/| title = 'Outer Wilds' Wins Best Game at BAFTA Games Awards | first = Leo | last = Barraclough | date = 2 April 2020 | accessdate = 2 April 2020 | work = Variety }}
BAFTA Fellowship: Hideo Kojima{{Cite web|url=http://www.bafta.org/media-centre/press-releases/hideo-kojima-to-receive-bafta-fellowship-2020|title=Hideo Kojima to receive BAFTA Fellowship|date=27 February 2020|website=www.bafta.org}}
=Games with multiple nominations and wins=
{{Col-begin}}
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==Nominations==
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" width="55" | Nominations ! scope="col" align="center" | Game |
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" | 11
| Control |
| Death Stranding |
| style="text-align:center" | 7
| Disco Elysium |
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center" | 5
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare |
| Life is Strange 2 |
| Outer Wilds |
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center" | 4
| Knights and Bikes |
| Luigi's Mansion 3 |
| Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice |
| Untitled Goose Game |
| rowspan="1" style="text-align:center" | 3
| Wattam |
| rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | 2
| Ape Out |
| Apex Legends |
| Baba Is You |
| Concrete Genie |
| Sayonara Wild Hearts |
| Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order |
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{{Col-2-of-2}}
==Wins==
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" width="55" | Wins ! scope="col" align="center" | Game |
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" | 3
| Disco Elysium |
| Outer Wilds |
{{col-end}}