Laura Cress
Technology reporter, reporting from the red carpet

Jennifer English is nominated for her performance as Maelle in Clair Obscur.

But did she ever expect it to reach the huge success it did?

"Not in my wildest dreams!" she says excitedly. "We thought it'd be a lovely cult thing and that'd be it, we never thought it'd be like this!"

Does she mind being up against her friend and co-actor Ben Starr for his performance in Clair Obscur?

"Not in the slightest - if he wins I win."

Tom Richardson
BBC Newsbeat

Image source, Sucker Punch Productions

One of the big criticisms of Sony's PlayStation 5 era has been the lack of single-player blockbusters from its in-house studios.

Games now take longer and cost more to make, but fans have blamed a largely ill-fated pivot towards online games for the perceived drought.

But action-adventure Ghost of Yōtei, from Seattle-based Sucker Punch Productions, suggests the console-maker is getting back to what it does best.

A follow-up to 2020's Ghost of Tsushima, this revenge tale set in 17th Century northern Japan casts players as Atsu, a mercenary on a quest to take out the six rogue samurai who killed her family.

Praised for its stunning environments and immersive swordplay, but with opinions split on its narrative, Ghost of Yōtei is arguably the least revolutionary of this year's best game nominees.

But its critical and commercial success shows that audiences will always have time for a game that delivers what it promises.

Jacob Phillips
Live reporter, reporting from the red carpet

The Walking Dead star Lennie James is among the many celebrities on the red carpet today ahead of the release of the James Bond game 007 First Light.

James plays John Greenway, Bond’s mentor, in the game. He tells the BBC he has been “learning as I go along” with the project, as he is not a gamer.

It’s the first time he has worked with motion capture and the most time he has ever spent on a single project.

“Gradually as it goes along and the closer it gets to release you realise the size and scope of it,” he says.

Tom Richardson
BBC Newsbeat

Image source, MachineGames

The secret to a successful movie tie-in video game is making players feel like they're stepping into the shoes of the main character.

Few have done this as well as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

This loving homage to cinema's favourite bullwhip-wielding archaeologist launches players straight into a faithful recreation of Raiders of the Lost Ark's opening scene, before whisking them off on a globe-trotting adventure through the Vatican, Egypt and Thailand.

With an uncanny performance from actor Troy Baker, who delivers a pitch-perfect imitation of OG Indy Harrison Ford, The Great Circle is about as close as most of us will get to becoming the famous fedora-wearing hero.

Despite excellent review scores, the game's late 2024 release meant it was ineligible for many awards that year and was mostly overlooked at major ceremonies in 2025.

So many will feel its six nominations from Bafta are well-deserved.

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Tom Richardson
BBC Newsbeat

Image source, Raw Fury

Post-Its and colour-coded notebooks aren’t the first things you’d think of when it comes to video games, but best game nominee Blue Prince certainly helped stationers make a few extra sales after its release last April.

The puzzle game asks players to enter a mountainside mansion where the rooms change every day, plotting a course to find a hidden 46th room among its sprawling halls.

That simple idea opened the door to a series of interconnected brainteasers and world-building lore, with a complex, multi-layered mystery at its heart.

If that sounds like a lot to take in, it was. That’s why many players started taking plenty of notes as they tried to uncover the many secrets of the Mt Holly Estate.

Videos of beautifully curated notebooks filled with diagrams, musings and eureka moments helped Blue Prince go viral last year, boosted by a rapturous critical reaction.

Laura Cress
Technology reporter, reporting from the red carpet

Tonda Ros has only made one game - but he's already bagged himself a Best Game nomination at this year's Baftas with the puzzle-centric Blue Prince!

"I made up a lot of it as I went along, it's a miracle!" he says.

He tells us he won't be making Blue Prince 2 but - can we get a hint of what his next game will be about?

"The letter R" he says cryptically.

"It'll make sense when it comes out!"

Tom Richardson
BBC Newsbeat

No awards show can recognise every brilliant game, so some are bound to miss out.

But Bafta’s 2026 shortlists do have a few surprises.

Many of last year's most acclaimed games are included, though not always in the categories players might expect.

Death Stranding 2, directed by legendary developer Hideo Kojima, isn’t in the running for best game, despite praise for its improvements over its predecessor.

Donkey Kong Bananza, which was up for the top prize at December's Game Awards, only has a single nomination in the family game category at the Baftas.

Indie favourite Hollow Knight: Silksong - which crashed various online stores due to extraordinary demand when it launched - is nominated for music, artistic achievement and animation.

And role-playing game Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, with just two nominations, will surprise fans.

The mechanically complex game, with a narrative and world shaped by player's actions, was touted as an early game of the year contender when it was released in February 2025.

Laura Cress
Technology reporter, reporting from the red carpet

Minecraft YouTuber DanTDM has been looking back with us at some recent games he played that really tugged at the heartstrings.

He recommends the adventure game Goodnight Universe as an example of something that connected with his emotions in ways that other media like film and TV "just can't".

He also says appearing in the Minecraft movie last year was "a real highlight".

Image source, Embark Studios

Producing a hit new game in the viciously competitive online multiplayer space is an incredibly difficult feat to pull off.

Doing it in the extraction shooter genre, widely seen as hostile territory for newcomers - is even more impressive.

But Arc Raiders, from Swedish studio Embark, managed both when it launched last year. Made by veterans from Battlefield developer DICE, the game was praised for its design, enemy encounters and overall polish.

And, as any fan will tell you, it's also a lot of fun to play. Word of mouth doubtlessly helping it on its way to selling 14 million copies by February this year.

The game faced criticism at launch for using AI tools - trained, with permission, on an actor's voice - to generate some spoken lines.

Embark has since said it's replaced those with real-life versions, and agreed they sounded inferior to the real thing.

Jacob Phillips
Live reporter, reporting from the red carpet

Bafta chief executive Jane Millichip has been speaking to BBC News on the red carpet.

She says it’s been a tough few years with lay-offs in the games industry, but Bafta is always looking for signs of recovery.

Millichip highlights that 255 games were entered for the awards this year, and there are more small independent developers in the UK.

She adds that three-quarters of game developers are based outside London, and in many ways the industry is leading the way in moving away from the capital and into the regions.

Millichip says small independent games can win at the Baftas: "Bafta games members are incredible and they are really thoughtful about who they are voting for. They do not take it lightly."

Addressing the recent Bafta film awards controversy, Millichip says she supports and accepts the board’s conclusions announced last week.

“Tonight we have implemented quite a few amendments,” she says, adding that Bafta is keen to get on with its work and ensure its duty of care is of the highest quality.

Jacob Phillips
Live reporter, reporting from the red carpet

Around a dozen fans have travelled from as far as Liverpool and Wrexham to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars today.

They’ve told me they’re on the lookout for Aaron Paul, the stars of Death Stranding 2 and Jennifer English, among others.

Troy Beaumont, 26, has travelled from Liverpool hoping to meet the cast of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which he thinks could win the Best Game. He’s also hoping English will win best performer.

"It's always nice to catch them and try and say hi," he says. "They're really lovely people."

Scout Hutchison, 34, has travelled from Essex hoping to meet voice actors Alix Wilton Regan and Erika Ishii.

Meanwhile, 14-year-old Sophie Sadiku, who regularly goes to red carpet events and premieres to try and see the stars, has come along with her family from Kingston in south London.

Tom Richardson
BBC Newsbeat

Image source, AdHoc Studio

Animated superhero adventure Dispatch was a surprise smash hit last year, winning over audiences with its stellar script and performances.

The choose-your-own adventure story, told through weekly episodes, sold more than one million copies in just 10 days after its release last October, winning praise for its performances and narrative.

But it came close to never seeing the light of day.

The founders of AdHoc Studio told Bloomberg, external they went without a salary for six months during a particularly tough period in the game's development.

Dispatch was ultimately saved by a deal with the hugely popular show Critical Role, external, where well-known voice actors play through a Dungeons & Dragons campaign.

Some of the group's most prominent members, including Laura Bailey and dungeon master Matthew Mercer, ended up lending their talents to the final game.

Laura Cress
Technology reporter, reporting from the red carpet

Streamer Jacksepticeye (Seán McLoughlin) is here to celebrate Dispatch's nine nominations (he plays the short but sturdy Punch Up).

He tells us he's excited about his newly announced co-producer role in the upcoming animated Bloodborne movie.

"It's by far the coolest thing I've ever done. I'm going to make sure it's faithful to the game and the best it can be."

Jacob Phillips
Live reporter, reporting from the red carpet

Members of the gaming industry are lining up outside the Southbank Centre as the red carpet opens.

The first guests have been welcomed with a game of Connect Four.

Meanwhile, host Elz the Witch has arrived wearing a circuit board attached to a gold top.

The cameras are rolling and we’ll be speaking with some of the stars shortly.

Some in the industry say that, despite their cultural and economic contributions, games aren't placed on the same pedestal as other creative sectors.

But could that be starting to change?

According to industry body UK Interactive Entertainment (Ukie), Britain's video game industry was worth about £9bn ($12.2bn) in 2025 - an increase of 7.4% on the year before.

Ukie said this was made up of spending on:

• Software - £6.03bn, a 7% increase
• Game hardware (consoles, accessories) - £2.17bn, a 3% increase
• "Game culture" (video games-related film and TV) - £566m, a 42% increase
• Toys and merchandise - £333m, a 43% increase

At the same time, the global video games industry has endured one of its biggest periods of uncertainty in recent years with thousands of developers losing jobs and studios closing.

• Read more about the UK games industry here

Tom Richardson
BBC Newsbeat

Image source, Sandfall Interactive

For a game that deals with themes of fate (and other weighty topics), Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 didn’t feel like it was destined for phenomenal success on paper.

And no-one would have blamed you for betting against a role-playing game with old-school battle systems, developed by a French studio with just 30 full-time staff members.

But Sandfall Interactive, based in Montpellier, stunned players around the world with its debut release, which has already swept several major awards ceremonies.

Set in a world where a supernatural being called The Paintress causes everyone of a certain age to die once a year, Expedition 33 follows the latest quest to vanquish her.

Praised for its narrative, performances and barnstorming soundtrack composed by first-timer Lorien Testard, the game dominated charts and discourse for months last year.

With 12 nominations, it’s the front-runner to win big tonight - but if any awards show can produce a surprise, it’s the Baftas.

Marc Cieslak
News correspondent, reporting from the red carpet

The global video games industry was worth almost $200bn (£147bn) last year, but estimates suggest more than 9,000 workers in the sector lost their jobs.

There were also multiple studio closures and project cancellations.

So what’s going on?

Alanah Pearce, who's worked as a video game writer, actress and journalist and appears in best game nominee Dispatch, tells BBC News it's a "frustrating" situation.

While the industry is still "incredibly profitable", she says, it is struggling to attract investment in the same way it used to, especially with artificial intelligence (AI) swallowing up huge amounts of cash and competition from streaming sites and social media drawing players' attention elsewhere.

As a result, Alanah says, companies are "nervous to make anything that isn't almost guaranteed profit, which is very difficult".

Generative AI in particular looms large over the games industry in another way, according to Alanah, as developers reckon with the implications of the technology.

Many are strongly opposed to its use, she says, and there seems to be a desire across the industry to "keep things human-made".

"And I do think that events like Bafta really remind us of the people in the room who matter and are the reason that we love video games so much," she says.

Tom Richardson
BBC Newsbeat

Image source, Sandfall Interactive

The unstoppable Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the front-runner once again.

The role-playing adventure, made by French developer Sandfall Interactive, has received 12 nominations in total - including best game, best music and best narrative.

Expedition 33 has already swept the board at several video game award ceremonies.

But its 12 nominations is not a record for Bafta. In 2023, God of War Ragnarok was up for 14 awards - although it lost out on best game to independent title Vampire Survivors.

Laura Cress
Technology reporter, reporting from the red carpet

We’re red-carpet ready here outside Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, waiting for dressed-up developers, actors and industry movers and shakers to arrive for one of the glitziest nights in the gaming calendar.

It’s safe to say it’s been Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s year so far - the role-playing game has now won more than 500 game of the year awards since launching last April.

With 12 nominations, including best game, could this very French title from Sandfall Interactive win big at this very British awards ceremony?

But it’s not all a done deal - Dispatch, the episodic superhero comedy game by AdHoc Studio, has got nine nominations and could cause the kind of upset Bafta has seen before.

Whatever happens, we’ll bring you all the gossip, tidbits and excitement from this tapis rouge (I’m getting into the Clair Obscur swing of things) as we get into the ceremony.