Kingdom Hearts veteran to be awarded special prize at BAFTA

Yoko Shimomura, the composer behind Final Fantasy XV, Xenoblade Chronicles and Kingdom Hearts, is to be honored with a special award at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards.

Shimomura will receive the BAFTA Fellowship, marking her contribution to the video game industry over the years.

Shimomura’s credits include the Kingdom Hearts series, Final Fantasy XV, Mario & Luigi, Xenoblade Chronicles, Streets of Rage, the Mana series, Super Mario RPG, Live A Live, Radiant Historia, Parasite Eve, Breather of Fire, and Street Fighter 2.

Shimomura said: “I am delighted to receive such an amazing and prestigious award as this, although, honestly speaking, I still cannot quite believe it.

“I am who I am today thanks to all the people who have supported me, allowing me to continue being involved with the music that I love and discovering the medium of games where that music can flourish. I am deeply grateful to everyone in the games industry, to those who ask me to write my music and to all those who listen to it. I would like for them, and for everyone who has been a part of my life, to join with me in celebrating this award. Thank you so much.”

Former BAFTA Fellowship winners include Shuhei Yoshida, Warwick Davis, Hideo Kojima, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Martin Scorsese, Gabe Newell, Siobhan Reddy, Helen Mirren, Hideo Kojima, Tim Schafer, Shigeru Miyamoto, John Carmack, Peter Molyneux, and Thelma Schoonmaker.

The 2025 BAFTA Games Awards nominations were announced earlier this month, with Xbox’s Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 leading with 11 nominations, followed by PlayStation’s Astro Bot, and The Chinese Room’s Still Wakes the Deep with eight each.

The winners will be announced at the 21st BAFTA Games Awards in London on Tuesday, April 8, which will stream live at 19.00 BST / 14.00 ET / 11.00 PT on BAFTA’s YouTube and Twitch.