BAFTA Games Awards show to go digital with online live stream

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BAFTA Games Awards 2020 is going digital with an online live stream in lieu of its usual red carpet event. 

Set to broadcast globally on April 2, the decision to change the format has been taken in response to the “growing concerns over the spread of coronavirus”, and the fact that several of the nominees would have to travel from overseas. BAFTA released a statement in a press release (opens in new tab) shedding more light on the change of format for the awards show: 

“Amid growing concerns over the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and the number of nominees due to travel from overseas, we have made the decision to change the format of next month’s BAFTA Games Awards from a red carpet ceremony at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London to an online live stream, which will broadcast globally on the same day as scheduled (Thursday 2 April).

The health and wellbeing of our guests and our staff remain our top priority, so there will be no live audience and we are now in the process of informing all our nominees, guests, partners and suppliers of the change. The new format will include the announcement of the Games Awards winners and we look forward to sharing more updates in the coming weeks.” 

The BAFTA Games Awards 2020 (opens in new tab) show celebrates the best video games of the past year, with the likes of Control (opens in new tab) and Death Stranding (opens in new tab) getting 11 nominations each. Hideo Kojima is also set to be awarded the highest individual honour (opens in new tab) with the BAFTA fellowship award.  

The awards show isn’t the first to go digital amid concerns surrounding COVID-19. After it was announced that E3 2020 is officially cancelled (opens in new tab) this year, Xbox and Ubisoft have committed to digital events (opens in new tab), and other publishers appear to be following suit. Both Nintendo (opens in new tab) and Square Enix (opens in new tab)are considering alternative ways to engage with fans. 

Stay up to date with the latest releases with our guide to all of the upcoming games 2020 (opens in new tab).