SXSW_Gaming_Awards Knowpia

SXSW Gaming Awards
SXSW Gaming Awards
Awarded for	Outstanding achievements in the video game industry
Country	United States
First awarded	March 7, 2014; 10 years ago
Last awarded	March 12, 2022; 2 years ago
Website	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 edit

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.^[1]

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.^[2] The new awards in fifteen different categories were announced in September 2013 to be awarded during the 2014 festival.^[3] However, Crump died from a heart attack just before the festival.^[2] 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.^[4] The Gaming Awards were discontinued by SXSW in 2023 due to a desire to "streamline our festival a bit more."^[5]

Format edit

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).^[3] 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.^[6]

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.^[6]

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.^[7]

Ceremonies edit

Year	Date	Location	Hosts
2014	March 7	Long Center for the Performing Arts, Austin, TX	Justine "iJustine" Ezarik and Smosh^[3]
2015	March 14	Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater, Austin, TX	Janet Varney and Mark Edward "Markiplier" Fischbach^[8]
2016	March 19	Hilton Austin Downtown, Austin, TX	Séan "Jacksepticeye" William McLoughlin and Rachel "Seltzer" Quirico^[9]
2017	March 18		OMGitsfirefoxx and Xavier Woods^[10]
2018	March 17		Alanah Pearce and Rich Campbell^[11]
2019	March 16		Lindsay Jones and Alex Corea^[12]
2020	March 24	None	None^[7]
2021	March 20		None^[13]
2022	March 12		None^[14]

Awards edit

Video Game of the Year edit

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^[4]
2015 – Dragon Age: Inquisition, BioWare^[15]
2016 – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red^[16]
2017 – Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Naughty Dog^[17]
2018 – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo^[11]
2019 – God of War, Sony Interactive Entertainment^[12]
2020 – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, FromSoftware/Activision^[7]
2021 – Hades, Supergiant Games^[13]
2022 – Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, Square Enix^[14]

Tabletop Game of the Year edit

2015 – Star Realms, White Wizard Games^[15]
2016 – Pandemic Legacy, Z-Man Games^[16]
2017 – Arkham Horror: The Card Game, Fantasy Flight Games^[17]
2018 – Gloomhaven, Cephalofair Games^[11]
2019 – Root, Leder Games^[12]
2020 – Paladins of the West Kingdom, Renegade Game Studios^[7]
2021 – The Search for Planet X, Renegade Game Studios^[13]
2022 – Dune: Imperium, Dire Wolf Digital^[14]

XR Game of the Year edit

Formally "VR Game of the Year" prior 2020

2018 – Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Capcom^[11]
2019 – Beat Saber, Beat Games^[12]
2020 – No Man's Sky VR, Hello Games^[7]
2021 – Half-Life: Alyx, Valve Corporation^[13]
2022 – Resident Evil IV VR, Armature Studio/Oculus Studios^[14]

Indie Game of the Year edit

2021 – Deep Rock Galactic, Ghost Ship Games/Coffee Stain Publishing^[13]
2022 – Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Ember Lab^[14]

Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award edit

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^[4]
2015 – This War of Mine, 11 bit studios^[15]
2016 – Undertale, tobyfox^[16]
2017 – That Dragon, Cancer, Numinious Games^[17]
2018 – Doki Doki Literature Club!, Team Salvato^[11]
2019 – Celeste, Matt Makes Games^[18]
2020 – Disco Elysium, ZA/UM^[7]
2021 – Dreams, Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment^[13]
2022 – Unpacking, Witch Beam/Humble Bundle^[14]

Excellence in Animation, Art, and Visual Achievement edit

Combined the three former awards.

2021 – Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment^[13]
2022 – Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios^[14]

Excellence in Audio Design edit

2021 – Doom Eternal - id Software/Bethesda Softworks^[13]
2022 – Resident Evil Village, Capcom^[14]

Excellence in Game Design edit

Formerly "Excellence in Design and Direction"

2014 – Tearaway, Media Molecule^[4]
2015 – Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Monolith Productions^[15]
2016 – Bloodborne, FromSoftware^[16]
2017 – Dishonored 2, Arkane Studios^[17]
2018 – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo^[11]
2019 – God of War, Sony Interactive Entertainment^[12]
2020 – Control, Remedy Entertainment/505 Games^[7]
2021 – Hades, Supergiant Games^[13]
2022 – Inscryption, Daniel Mullins/Devolver Digital^[14]

Excellence in Original Score edit

Formerly "Excellence in Musical Score"

2014 – The Last of Us, Naughty Dog^[4]
2015 – Transistor, Supergiant Games^[15]
2016 – Ori and the Blind Forest, Moon Studios^[16]
2017 – Doom, id Software^[17]
2018 – Nier: Automata, PlatinumGames^[11]
2019 – Tetris Effect, Enhance, Inc.^[12]
2020 – Death Stranding, Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment^[7]
2021 – Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios^[13]
2022 – Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, Square Enix^[14]

Excellence in Multiplayer edit

Formally "Best Multiplayer Game" until 2016

2014 – Super Mario 3D World, Nintendo^[4]
2015 – Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Nintendo^[15]
2016 – Rocket League, Psyonix^[16]
2017 – Overwatch, Blizzard Entertainment^[17]
2018 – PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, PUBG Corp.^[11]
2019 – Fortnite, Epic Games^[12]
2020 – Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, Square Enix^[7]
2021 – Deep Rock Galactic, Ghost Ship Games/Coffee Stain Publishing^[13]
2022 – It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts^[14]

Excellence in Narrative edit

2014 – The Last of Us, Naughty Dog^[4]
2015 – The Wolf Among Us, Telltale Games^[15]
2016 – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red^[16]
2017 – Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Naughty Dog^[17]
2018 – What Remains of Edith Finch, Giant Sparrow^[11]
2019 – Detroit: Become Human, Sony Interactive Entertainment^[12]
2020 – Disco Elysium, ZA/UM^[7]
2021 – The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment^[13]
2022 – Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, Square Enix^[14]

Excellence in Technical Achievement edit

2014 – Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar Games^[4]
2015 – Destiny, Bungie^[15]
2016 – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red^[16]
2017 – Battlefield 1, EA DICE^[17]
2018 – Nier: Automata, PlatinumGames^[11]
2019 – Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar Games^[12]
2020 – Death Stranding, Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment^[7]
2021 – Microsoft Flight Simulator, Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios^[13]
2022 – Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment^[14]

Retired awards edit

Excellence in Convergence edit

Awarded for a game that exemplifies crossover medium appeal. Formally the "Convergence Award" until 2016

2014 – Injustice: Gods Among Us, Warner Bros. Interactive^[4]
2015 – South Park: The Stick of Truth, Obsidian Entertainment^[15]
2016 – Batman: Arkham Knight, Rocksteady Studios^[16]
2017 – Batman: The Telltale Series, Telltale Games^[17]
2018 – Star Wars Battlefront II, EA DICE^[11]
2019 – Marvel's Spider-Man, Sony Interactive Entertainment^[12]

Excellence in Gameplay edit

2014 – Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, 505 Studios^[4]
2015 – Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Monolith Productions^[15]
2016 – Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Kojima Productions^[16]
2017 – Doom, id Software^[17]
2018 – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo^[11]
2019 – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Nintendo^[12]
2020 – Devil May Cry 5, Capcom^[7]

Excellence in SFX edit

2014 – The Last of Us, Naughty Dog^[4]
2015 – Alien: Isolation, Creative Assembly^[15]
2016 – Star Wars Battlefront, EA DICE^[16]
2017 – Battlefield 1, EA DICE^[17]
2018 – Super Mario Odyssey, Nintendo^[11]
2019 – Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar Games^[12]
2020 – Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts^[7]

Excellence in Visual Achievement edit

2015 – Far Cry 4, Ubisoft^[15]
2016 – The Order: 1886, Ready at Dawn^[16]
2017 – Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Naughty Dog^[17]
2018 – Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games^[11]
2019 – God of War, Sony Interactive Entertainment^[12]
2020 – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, FromSoftware/Activision^[7]

Mobile Game of the Year edit

2015 – Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment^[15]
2016 – Her Story, Sam Barlow^[16]
2017 – Pokémon Go, Niantic^[17]
2018 – Fire Emblem Heroes, Nintendo^[11]
2019 – Donut County, Annapurna Interactive^[12]
2020 – Sky: Children of the Light, Thatgamecompany^[7]

Most Promising New Intellectual Property edit

2016 – Splatoon, Nintendo^[16]
2017 – Overwatch, Blizzard Entertainment^[17]
2018 – Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games^[11]
2019 – Beat Saber, Beat Games^[12]
2020 – The Outer Worlds, Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division^[7]

Trending Game of the Year edit

2017 – Overwatch, Blizzard Entertainment^[17]
2018 – PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, PUBG Corp.^[11]
2019 – Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar Games^[12]
2020 – Pokémon Sword and Shield, Game Freak/The Pokémon Company, Nintendo^[7]

Texas Arts Achievement edit

Awarded to a Texas-based studio or game

2014 – Galactic Cafe^[4]

Most Valuable Character edit

2015 – Ellie, The Last of Us^[15]
2016 – Lara Croft, Rise of the Tomb Raider^[16]
2017 – Nathan Drake, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Naughty Dog^[17]

Most Promising New Esports Game edit

Formerly "Esports Game of the Year" until 2019.

2017 – Overwatch, Blizzard Entertainment^[17]
2018 – PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, PUBG Corp.^[11]
2019 – Fortnite, Epic Games^[12]

Most Valuable eSports Team edit

2015 – Cloud9^[15]
2016 – Evil Geniuses^[16]

Most Valuable Online Channel edit

2015 – Rooster Teeth^[15]

Most Entertaining Online Personality edit

2016 – Greg Miller, Kinda Funny^[16]

Most Valuable Add-On Content edit

2015 – Left Behind, The Last of Us^[15]

Most Anticipated Crowdfunded Game edit

2015 – Star Citizen^[15]

Most Fulfilling Community-Funded Game edit

Formerly "Most Fulfilling Crowdfunded Game" until 2018.

2016 – Undertale, tobyfox^[16]
2017 – Starbound, Chucklefish^[17]
2018 – Night in the Woods, Infinite Fall^[11]
2019 – CrossCode, Deck13^[12]

Most Evolved Game edit

2019 – No Man's Sky Next, Hello Games^[12]

Fan Creation of the Year edit

2017 – Brutal Doom 64, Sergeant_Mark_IV^[17]

Gamer's Voice Award edit

Award to an indie game voted by the public; split into Single and Multi-player categories in 2016.

2014 – Nidhogg, Messhof^[4]
2015 – SpeedRunners, DoubleDutch Games^[15]

Single Player edit

2016 – Superhot, Superhot Team^[16]
2017 – Owlboy, D-Pad Studio^[17]

Multiplayer edit

2016 – Gang Beasts, Boneloaf^[16]
2017 – Arena Gods, Supertype Games^[17]

VR edit

2019 – Intruders: Hide & Seek, Tessera Studios^{[citation needed]}

References edit

^ SXSW Interactive: A Growing Outlet For Video Games, Matt Clark, iQU, March 14, 2012 Archived May 24, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
^ ^a ^b Sarkar, Samit (March 3, 2014). "SXSW Gaming Expo coordinator, developer Matthew Crump dies". Polygon. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c Tact, Dave (September 12, 2013). "SXSW Gaming Expo adding Gaming Awards in 2014". Polygon. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p Renovich, James (March 8, 2014). "SXSW Gaming Awards Winners". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
^ "GOTY Flashback: The Last of Us Won "Game of the Year" at the First-Ever SXSW Gaming Awards in 2013-2014". Video Game Canon. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
^ ^a ^b "SXSW Gaming Awards". SXSW. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s "Announcing the 2020 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners". SXSW. March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
^ "Second Annual SXSW Gaming Awards Announces Top Winners in 21 Categories" (PDF). South by Southwest. March 14, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
^ Whatley, Tucker (January 26, 2016). "SXSW Gaming Awards Finalists Announced". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
^ Krajewski, Brandon (February 6, 2017). "SXSW Gaming Awards Voting Ends Soon". IGN. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u "2018 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners Revealed". IGN. March 18, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u Trent, Logan (March 17, 2019). "2019 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners Announced". SXSW. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Akers, Adele (March 20, 2021). "SXSW Gaming Awards 2021 Winners Announced: Hades Awarded Video Game of the Year". IGN. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Watkins, Gary (March 12, 2022). "2022 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners Announced". South by Southwest. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u Karmali, Luke (March 16, 2015). "Dragon Age: Inquisition Wins SXSW Game of the Year". IGN. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v Dornbrush, Jonathan (March 21, 2016). "SXSW Gaming Awards 2016 winners". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Makuch, Eddie (March 19, 2017). "Uncharted 4 Wins Game Of The Year At SXSW Awards". GameSpot. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
^ Khan, Zarmena (March 17, 2019). "God of War Takes Home 'Game of the Year' at SXSW 2019 Gaming Awards". PlayStation LifeStyle. Retrieved March 17, 2019.

External links edit

Official website

[1] SXSW Interactive: A Growing Outlet For Video Games, Matt Clark, iQU, March 14, 2012 Archived May 24, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

[crump-2] Sarkar, Samit (March 3, 2014). "SXSW Gaming Expo coordinator, developer Matthew Crump dies". Polygon. Retrieved March 5, 2017.

[news-3] Tact, Dave (September 12, 2013). "SXSW Gaming Expo adding Gaming Awards in 2014". Polygon. Retrieved March 5, 2017.

[2014_win-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p Renovich, James (March 8, 2014). "SXSW Gaming Awards Winners". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved March 5, 2017.

[5] "GOTY Flashback: The Last of Us Won "Game of the Year" at the First-Ever SXSW Gaming Awards in 2013-2014". Video Game Canon. Retrieved 20 March 2023.

[rules-6] "SXSW Gaming Awards". SXSW. Retrieved March 5, 2017.

[winners_2020-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s "Announcing the 2020 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners". SXSW. March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.

[8] "Second Annual SXSW Gaming Awards Announces Top Winners in 21 Categories" (PDF). South by Southwest. March 14, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2017.

[9] Whatley, Tucker (January 26, 2016). "SXSW Gaming Awards Finalists Announced". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved March 12, 2017.

[10] Krajewski, Brandon (February 6, 2017). "SXSW Gaming Awards Voting Ends Soon". IGN. Retrieved March 12, 2017.

[winners_2018-11] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u "2018 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners Revealed". IGN. March 18, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2018.

[winners_2019-12] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u Trent, Logan (March 17, 2019). "2019 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners Announced". SXSW. Retrieved March 17, 2019.

[winners_2021-13] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Akers, Adele (March 20, 2021). "SXSW Gaming Awards 2021 Winners Announced: Hades Awarded Video Game of the Year". IGN. Retrieved March 20, 2021.

[winners_2022-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Watkins, Gary (March 12, 2022). "2022 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners Announced". South by Southwest. Retrieved April 3, 2022.

[2015_win-15] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u Karmali, Luke (March 16, 2015). "Dragon Age: Inquisition Wins SXSW Game of the Year". IGN. Retrieved March 5, 2017.

[2016_win-16] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v Dornbrush, Jonathan (March 21, 2016). "SXSW Gaming Awards 2016 winners". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 5, 2017.

[2017_win-17] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Makuch, Eddie (March 19, 2017). "Uncharted 4 Wins Game Of The Year At SXSW Awards". GameSpot. Retrieved March 19, 2017.

[winners_2019_psl-18] Khan, Zarmena (March 17, 2019). "God of War Takes Home 'Game of the Year' at SXSW 2019 Gaming Awards". PlayStation LifeStyle. Retrieved March 17, 2019.

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Summary