Yorkshire video game developers win big across 2023 awards

The year also saw North of England game network Game Republic name its Best Game Ever Made in Yorkshire and The North, at the 20th iteration of its industry awards ceremony.

The wins come, however, in a turbulent year for the video games industry, with thousands of job cuts announced over the last 12 months including at some of the sector’s biggest companies such as Epic Games and Ubisoft.

Yorkshire’s Team 17 also announced a major restructure which is expected to result in a number of job cuts.

Judi Alston, co-director at Wakefield-based Dreaming Methods, said: “I think the games developing industry has had a hard year this year. There's a lot of current stories about redundancies and some of the big studios have been making people redundant, so to actually have good news at this time is really important.

“I think what the awards show is that the Yorkshire region is a real hotbed of talent, and especially up and coming talent.”

Dreaming Methods was one of many companies in Yorkshire to win a string of awards this year. In August, the firm released The Abandoned Library, a part-game part-film narrative story designed to be played on a virtual reality headset.

The release would see Dreaming Methods win Most Innovative Use of Technology at the Game Republic awards.

The Abandoned Library also received Official Selection to two BAFTA recognised Film Festivals, Aesthetica and Bolton, as well as winning a Technical Excellence Award at Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival and the Virtual Reality Award at Los Angeles Film Awards.

Ms Alston added: “We’ve had some amazing reactions to this story, and it’s had some profound responses.

“We’ve shown it in quite a lot of different places and it hits home to a lot of people, whether they are young or old.”

Barnsley-based PitStop Productions this year provided sound design for games including Baldur's Gate 3 and Horizon Call of the Mountain.

Bauldur’s Gate 3 took home six awards, including Game of the Year at the industry’s biggest event, The Game Awards.

Its other wins at the ceremony included Best Community Support, Best RPG, Best Score and Music, Players Choice, Best Narrative, Best Game Direction and Best Multiplayer.

The game also took home Best Performance for Neil Newbon, an actor casted and recorded by PitStop.

Both Baldur’s Gate 3 and Horizon Call of the Mountain also picked awards at the Golden Joystick Awards, including Ultimate Game of the Year and Best Story Telling for Baldur’s Gate 3, and Best VR Game for Horizon Call of the Mountain.

Speaking on the Yorkshire region’s success, John Sanderson, CEO at PitStop Productions, said: “There has always been a vibrant games community in Yorkshire, and what's even more impressive is the way in which we’ve always supported each other.

“Whether you look at big success stories like Sumo Digital or Red Kite, we’ve always managed to network together, be friends, and at the same time support each other, and its that spirit of cooperation rather than an attitude of brutal business that is quite unique in Yorkshire.

“You’ve also got to look at the way in which the universities and groups like Game Republic have supported people through their networks.

“It's interesting to see what's coming up in the future, because the industry is massively changing. You’re going to see far bigger and better games being made here, but then there's also the huge under current of indie games evolving, and the chance to succeed with both of these is only made better by the way in which we work together.”

Mr Sanderson was nominated as Best Company Boss in Game Republic’s 2023 awards.

Held at Tileyard North in Wakefield, Game Republic’s 20th Anniversary Awards brought in a crowd of over 400 developers.

Studios to take home awards on the night included Middlesbrough-based Double Eleven, which took home Best Large Studio and Sheffield-based Sumo Group, which won the Inclusivity Award. Anne Van Der Merwe of Leeds-based Red Kite Games also won the Studio Hero award.

York’s Revolution Software took home two of the night’s biggest awards, with co-founders Charles Cecil and Noirin Carmody winning the Games Legend Award. The firm also won the Best Game Ever Made in Yorkshire and The North award for Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars, beating 19 other games in a public vote.