SXSW Gaming Awards#Tabletop Game of the Year

{{Infobox award

| name = SXSW Gaming Awards

| image = Sxsw gaming awards trophy.png

| awarded_for = Outstanding achievements in the video game industry

| country = United States

| year = {{start date and age|2014|03|07}}

| year2 = {{start date and age|2022|03|12}}

| website = {{URL|https://www.sxsw.com/awards/gaming-awards/}}

}}

The SXSW Gaming Awards were awards given to video games during the annual South by Southwest Festival (SXSW), held in Austin, Texas typically in March of that year. The Awards were part of the SXSW Gaming Expo which is part of the SXSW Interactive branch of the festival.

History

Video games had been part of the SXSW within the SXSW Interactive branch; in 2006, the festival launched "Screenburn" as a special portion of the Interactive branch for video games, and later renamed this to SXSW Gaming in 2013.[http://iqu.com/blog/south-by-southwest-interactive-video-games SXSW Interactive: A Growing Outlet For Video Games], Matt Clark, iQU, March 14, 2012 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524055251/http://iqu.com/blog/south-by-southwest-interactive-video-games |date=May 24, 2013 }}

Matthew Crump, a veteran game developer, joined SXSW in 2012 and spearheaded the efforts to create the SXSW Gaming Awards to premiere during the 2014 festival.{{cite web | url = http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/3/5465858/matthew-crump-dead-game-developer-sxsw-gaming-expo-coordinator | title = SXSW Gaming Expo coordinator, developer Matthew Crump dies | first = Samit | last = Sarkar | date = March 3, 2014 | access-date = March 5, 2017 | work = Polygon}} The new awards in fifteen different categories were announced in September 2013 to be awarded during the 2014 festival.{{Cite web | url = http://www.polygon.com/2013/9/12/4724720/sxsw-gaming-expo-adding-gaming-awards-in-2014 | title = SXSW Gaming Expo adding Gaming Awards in 2014 | first = Dave | last= Tact | date = September 12, 2013 | access-date = March 5, 2017 | work = Polygon }} However, Crump died from a heart attack just before the festival. The event organizers opted to rename the "Cultural Innovation in Gaming" to the "Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award" to honor Crump's contributions to the festival.{{cite web | url = http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/sxsw/2014-03-08/sxsw-gaming-awards-winners/ | title = SXSW Gaming Awards Winners | first = James | last = Renovich | date = March 8, 2014 | access-date = March 5, 2017 | work = Austin Chronicle }} The Gaming Awards were discontinued by SXSW in 2023 due to a desire to "streamline our festival a bit more."{{cite web |title=GOTY Flashback: The Last of Us Won “Game of the Year” at the First-Ever SXSW Gaming Awards in 2013-2014 |url=https://www.videogamecanon.com/adventurelog/2013-2014-sxsw-gaming-awards/ |website=Video Game Canon |access-date=20 March 2023}}

Format

Developers and publishers must submit their games for consideration to the festival organizers prior to a deadline; these games generally must have had public release in the preceding calendar year to the festival (for example, for the inaugural 2014 awards, games had to be released in 2013). The festival's organizers along with a panel of industry experts review all submissions and select the top five for each of the game categories. These are then opened to public voting for the final winner for each award to be chosen.{{cite web | url = https://www.sxsw.com/awards/gaming-awards/ | title = SXSW Gaming Awards | publisher = SXSW | access-date = March 5, 2017 }}

The Gamer's Voice awards are exceptional to these: they are limited only to indie games released in the previous calendar year or the current year, and which any member of the public may nominate. The festival organizers select multiple games (typically more than five) after playing through each as nominees for the award. These games are featured in playable form at the SXSW festival to allow attendees to try them before they vote for their favorite.

The awards ceremony is held near the end of the SXSW event, with celebrity and gaming hosts presenting the awards.

The 2020 SXSW event was cancelled in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the award winners were still named online on March 24, 2020.

Ceremonies

class="wikitable"

! Year

! Date

! Location

! Hosts

2014

| March 7

| Long Center for the Performing Arts, Austin, TX

| Justine "iJustine" Ezarik and Smosh

2015

| March 14

| Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater, Austin, TX

| Janet Varney and Mark Edward "Markiplier" Fischbach{{cite web | url = https://www.sxsw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/2015-SXSW-Gaming-Awards-winners-release.pdf | title = Second Annual SXSW Gaming Awards Announces Top Winners in 21 Categories | publisher = South by Southwest | date = March 14, 2015 | access-date = March 12, 2017 }}

2016

| March 19

| rowspan="4" | Hilton Austin Downtown, Austin, TX

| Séan "Jacksepticeye" William McLoughlin and Rachel "Seltzer" Quirico{{cite web | url = http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/screens/2016-01-26/sxsw-gaming-awards-finalists-announced/ | title = SXSW Gaming Awards Finalists Announced | first = Tucker | last = Whatley | date = January 26, 2016 | access-date = March 12, 2017 | work = Austin Chronicle }}

2017

| March 18

| OMGitsfirefoxx and Xavier Woods{{cite web | url = http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/02/06/sxsw-gaming-awards-voting-ends-soon | title = SXSW Gaming Awards Voting Ends Soon | first = Brandon | last = Krajewski | date = February 6, 2017 | access-date = March 12, 2017 | work = IGN }}

2018

| March 17

| Alanah Pearce and Rich Campbell{{cite web | url = http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/03/18/sxsw-gaming-awards-2018-winners-revealed | title = 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners Revealed | date = March 18, 2018 | access-date = March 18, 2018 | work = IGN }}

2019

| March 16

| Lindsay Jones and Alex Corea{{cite web |last=Trent |first=Logan |date=March 17, 2019 |url=https://gaming.sxsw.com/news/2019/2019-sxsw-gaming-awards-winners-announced/ |title=2019 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners Announced |work=SXSW |access-date=March 17, 2019}}

2020

| March 24

| rowspan="3" | None

| None{{cite web | url = https://www.sxsw.com/news/2020/announcing-the-2020-sxsw-gaming-awards-winners/ | title = Announcing the 2020 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners | publisher = SXSW | date = March 24, 2020 | access-date = March 28, 2020}}

2021

| March 20

| None{{cite web | url = https://www.ign.com/articles/sxsw-gaming-awards-2021-winners-announced-hades-video-game-of-year-award | title= SXSW Gaming Awards 2021 Winners Announced: Hades Awarded Video Game of the Year | first = Adele | last= Akers | date = March 20, 2021 | accessdate = March 20, 2021 | work =IGN}}

2022

| March 12

| None{{cite web | url = https://www.sxsw.com/news/2022/2022-sxsw-gaming-awards-winners-announced/ | title = 2022 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners Announced | first = Gary | last = Watkins | date = March 12, 2022 | access-date = April 3, 2022 | work = South by Southwest}}

Awards

=Video Game of the Year=

This award was named "Game of the Year" in 2014, but was renamed when the Mobile and Tabletop awards were added.

2014 – The Last of Us, Naughty Dog
2015 – Dragon Age: Inquisition, BioWare{{cite web | url = http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/16/dragon-age-inquisition-wins-sxsw-game-of-the-year | title = Dragon Age: Inquisition Wins SXSW Game of the Year | first = Luke | last= Karmali | date = March 16, 2015 | access-date = March 5, 2017 | work = IGN }}
2016 – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red{{cite magazine | url = http://ew.com/article/2016/03/21/sxsw-gaming-awards-2016-winners/ | title = SXSW Gaming Awards 2016 winners | first= Jonathan | last= Dornbrush | date = March 21, 2016 | access-date = March 5, 2017 | magazine =Entertainment Weekly }}
2017 – Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Naughty Dog{{Cite web | url = http://www.gamespot.com/articles/uncharted-4-wins-game-of-the-year-at-sxsw-awards/1100-6448819/ | title = Uncharted 4 Wins Game Of The Year At SXSW Awards | first = Eddie | last = Makuch | date = March 19, 2017 | access-date = March 19, 2017 | work = GameSpot}}
2018 – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo
2019 – God of War, Sony Interactive Entertainment
2020 – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, FromSoftware/Activision
2021 – Hades, Supergiant Games
2022 – Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, Square Enix

=Tabletop Game of the Year=

2015 – Star Realms, White Wizard Games
2016 – Pandemic Legacy, Z-Man Games
2017 – Arkham Horror: The Card Game, Fantasy Flight Games
2018 – Gloomhaven, Cephalofair Games
2019 – Root, Leder Games
2020 – Paladins of the West Kingdom, Renegade Game Studios
2021 – The Search for Planet X, Renegade Game Studios
2022 – Dune: Imperium, Dire Wolf Digital

=XR Game of the Year=

Formally "VR Game of the Year" prior 2020

2018 – Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Capcom
2019 – Beat Saber, Beat Games
2020 – No Man's Sky VR, Hello Games
2021 – Half-Life: Alyx, Valve Corporation
2022 – Resident Evil IV VR, Armature Studio/Oculus Studios

=Indie Game of the Year=

2021 – Deep Rock Galactic, Ghost Ship Games/Coffee Stain Publishing
2022 – Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Ember Lab

=Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award=

Awarded for a game that challenges the normal idea of video gaming, offering a culturally innovative view of the world

2014 – Papers, Please, 3909 LLC
2015 – This War of Mine, 11 bit studios
2016 – Undertale, tobyfox
2017 – That Dragon, Cancer, Numinious Games
2018 – Doki Doki Literature Club!, Team Salvato
2019 – Celeste, Matt Makes Games{{cite web|url=https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2019/03/17/sxsw-gaming-awards-winners-2019/#/slide/1|title=God of War Takes Home 'Game of the Year' at SXSW 2019 Gaming Awards|last=Khan|first=Zarmena|date=March 17, 2019|publisher=PlayStation LifeStyle|access-date=March 17, 2019}}
2020 – Disco Elysium, ZA/UM
2021 – Dreams, Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment
2022 – Unpacking, Witch Beam/Humble Bundle