Vampire Survivors and Balatro make their mark at the BAFTA Games Awards

The BAFTA Games Awards, which took place last night, celebrated some remarkable achievements in the gaming world, with Balatro and Vampire Survivors emerging as top winners. However, the absence of platform-specific categories at the BAFTAs raises an intriguing question: Does this affect the visibility of mobile games?

While the BAFTA Games Awards may not boast the extensive reach of Geoff Keighley's Game Awards, they arguably surpass them in prestige, if not in sheer spectacle. Despite the lack of a dedicated mobile category in the 2024 BAFTA Games Awards, we witnessed significant victories from major mobile releases over the past year.

Balatro, a standout roguelike deckbuilder from Localthunk, clinched the Debut Game award. This win has sparked both excitement and concern within the industry, as many publishers now scour indie projects in hopes of discovering the next big hit. On the other hand, Vampire Survivors, which was crowned Best Game in 2023, took home the Best Evolving Game award this year. This is a remarkable feat, especially considering the competition from heavyweights like Diablo IV and Final Fantasy XIV Online.

What, no mobile? The BAFTA Games Awards adopt a unique stance by not recognizing platform-specific achievements, a decision made evident since the mobile category was discontinued in 2019. Despite significant wins by mobile and multiplatform titles like Vampire Survivors and Genshin Impact, the structure of the awards has remained unchanged.

In a past conversation with Luke Hebblethwaite from the BAFTAs game team, it was explained that the organization believes that games should be judged on their merits regardless of platform, as they compete on equal footing. This perspective is certainly debatable, but it's hard to argue against the fact that games like Balatro and Vampire Survivors have greatly benefited from their mobile accessibility, which could be seen as a form of recognition in itself.

But that's just my take on it. If you're interested in diving deeper into the world of mobile gaming, why not check out the latest episode of the Pocket Gamer Podcast? My colleague Will and I team up to discuss all things mobile gaming and more.