BAFTA to Present Rockstar Games with Highest Accolade

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts will present this year’s Fellowship to Rockstar Games for its contributions to the video game industry and its record-breaking success with the Grand Theft Auto series.

The Fellowship, awarded annually, is the Academy’s highest accolade and is presented in recognition of “an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, television or games.”

“It is hugely exciting to be able to recognise the amazing contribution made by Rockstar to the games industry over the past 16 years,” said Harvey Elliott, Chair of BAFTA’s Games Committee. “The creativity and passion exhibited by the Rockstar teams have inspired a generation of game developers to raise the bar in every aspect of game development.

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[T]he Rockstar teams have inspired a generation of game developers to raise the bar in every aspect of game development.

“From design and mechanics, through to storytelling, cinematics and audio immersion, and in the process creating games that compete so profoundly on a global stage across all entertainment media. Rockstar, this Fellowship is wholly deserved.”

Co-founders and Rockstar Games chiefs Sam and Dan Houser will attend the ceremony with Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies and Rockstar North art director Aaron Garbut to accept the award on behalf of the company.

“We have long believed in the potential for videogames to become a new form of cultural expression and worked to show that in our games, so for us accepting the BAFTA Fellowship is incredibly humbling,” said Sam Houser. “This honour reflects the creative vision and dedication of a huge number of people over many years, and we look forward to accepting the Fellowship on their behalf.”

Previous Fellowship recipients include Gabe Newell, Peter Molyneux, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Will Wright.

The British Academy Games Awards take place on March 12. 43 games have been nominated across 17 categories. The Last of Us leads this year’s pack with 10 nominations, followed by Grand Theft Auto V with nine nominations and PS Vita charmer Tearaway with eight.

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Luke is Games Editor at IGN AU. You can find him on IGN here or on Twitter @MrLukeReilly, or chat with him and the rest of the Australian team by joining the IGN Australia Facebook community.

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