Vampire Survivors, Balatro Triumph at BAFTA Games Awards

• The BAFTA Games Awards concluded last night
• Key winners featured Balatro and Vampire Survivors
• Does the absence of platform-specific categories impact recognition?

While it may not match the massive scale of Geoff Keighley's Game Awards, many consider the BAFTAs to surpass them in prestige, if not in glamour. Although the BAFTA Games Awards 2024 included no dedicated mobile categories, we witnessed significant victories from major mobile releases over the past year.

Unsurprisingly, Balatro secured the Debut Game award. This recognition is somewhat bittersweet, as Localthunk's innovative roguelike deckbuilder has captivated the industry, leading many to observe publishers scrambling to find the next indie breakout hit—which may not even exist.

Meanwhile, Vampire Survivors, last year's Best Game winner, earned the Best Evolving Game title. This is particularly impressive considering it competed against giants like Diablo IV and Final Fantasy XIV Online.

The BAFTA Games Awards maintain a unique approach by avoiding platform-specific honors, as you might have noticed. This policy led to the removal of the mobile category in 2019, and despite notable successes from major mobile and cross-platform titles like Vampire Survivors and Genshin Impact, the award structure has remained consistent.

Previously, I had the opportunity to speak with Luke Hebblethwaite from the BAFTA games team, who explained that the organization believes platform-specific awards undermine their philosophy that games should compete on equal footing, regardless of their platform.

Regardless of your stance on this approach, few would dispute that Balatro and Vampire Survivors, in particular, benefited significantly from their mobile presence. So perhaps we can find some satisfaction in this, viewing it as a form of recognition for mobile gaming.

But that's just my perspective. If you're curious for more insights, why not check out the latest episode of the Pocket Gamer Podcast, where Will and I team up to discuss all things mobile gaming—and much more?