Epic Games to receive BAFTA Special Award

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced plans to present Epic Games with its Special Award during E3 2019.

Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney will accept the honour at a June 12 event at The London West Hollywood hotel in LA.

Read our E3 2019 dates schedule for every conference and live stream date.

The award is in acknowledgement of the company’s contribution to game development since its foundation in 1991.

On the games front, Epic is perhaps best known as the creator of the Unreal and Gears of War shooter series, and more recently Fortnite, titles built using various iterations of its widely adopted Unreal Engine.

BAFTA noted in its announcement that Unreal Engine has been used to develop a wide range of commercially and critically successful games, including BAFTA-winning titles Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, What Remains of Edith Finch, Rocket League, BioShock and Mass Effect.

Dr Jo Twist, chair of BAFTA’s games committee, said: “Epic is at the forefront of the evolution of the global games industry and the impact of their innovation is undeniable.

“Having powered the creativity and imaginations of development teams of all sizes over the years – many of whom have gone on to win BAFTAs – it’s right to mark their huge contribution with this Special Award as part of BAFTA’s commitment to celebrating and promoting the very best in games.”

Sweeney commented: “All of us at Epic Games are honoured that BAFTA has awarded Unreal Engine for excellence in technology, and we share this recognition with our partners and the creative community.”

Previous winners of BAFTA’s Special Award include Nolan North, Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill on behalf of Riot Games, Brenda Romero, Amy Hennig and Markus Persson.

PS4 exclusive God of War was the big winner at the British Academy Games Awards 2019, taking home five prizes at last month’s event including Best Game.