The winners of the Develop:Star Awards 2022, hosted at the Hilton Brighton Metropole last night during Develop:Brighton, have been announced.
This year’s Develop:Star Awards saw winners crowned in 19 categories before this year’s Develop Star recipient, Arkane Lyon’s Studio Director and Co-Creative Director Dinga Bakaba, was celebrated for his outstanding achievements and contribution to the games industry.
It was a big night for PlayStation exclusives, with Horizon Forbidden West picking-up Best Visual Art and Best Game, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart winning Best Technical Innovation. Square Enix also had much to celebrate as Deck Nine’s Life is Strange: True Colors won Best Narrative and Edios-Montréal’s Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy won Best Audio.
This year’s two new categories – Best Extended Reality Game and Marketing Star – were won by Resident Evil 4 VR and Media Molecule Live Services Team respectively.
Sumo Digital won Best Studio for the second year running, while Death’s Door developer Acid Nerve took home Best Micro Studio.
The full list of winners is below:
- Best Narrative: Life is Strange: True Colors
- Best Audio: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Best Creative Provider: d3t
- Best QA & Localisation Provider: Keywords Studios
- Best Technical Innovation: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Best Visual Art: Horizon Forbidden West
- Marketing Star: Media Molecule Live Services Team
- Best Extended Reality Game: Resident Evil 4 VR
- Tomorrow’s Star: Charmie Kim
- Best Technology Provider: Unreal Engine
- Recruitment Star: Sumo Group
- Best Mobile Game: LEGO Star Wars Battles
- Diversity Star: Charu Desodt
- Best Original IP: DEATHLOOP
- Best Game Design: Unpacking
- Publishing Star: Curve Games
- Best Game: Horizon Forbidden West
- Best Micro Studio: Acid Nerve
- Best Studio: Sumo Digital
- The Develop Star Award: Dinga Bakaba – Arkane Lyon
“Each year the Develop:Star Awards encapsulate the extraordinary talent throughout the games industry, and last night was certainly no exception,” said Andy Lane, Tandem Events Managing Director.
“The Develop:Star Awards isn’t just a celebration of our worthy winners, but of the entire games industry. We’d like to thank everyone involved, especially those who came along to show their support and our winners.”
The finalists in each competitive category were selected by a panel of judges, with the winners then decided by a closed industry vote of delegates from previous Develop:Brighton conferences.
The Develop Star Award, recognising an individual’s incredible achievements in the industry, was the exception.
“Making video games is a part of me,” commented this year’s winner, Dinga Bakaba, “both to make players happy and to give back the joy games have brought me. I love the craft of making games. Being a part of the games industry means so much to me, and it’s an honour to be recognised by so many talented individuals that I look up to myself.”
The Develop:Star Awards 2022 were made possible by headline sponsor Unreal Engine and individual award sponsors Amiqus, Games London, GamesIndustry.biz, Hi-Rez Studios, Kwalee, nDreams, Talenthouse Media Foundry, and Xsolla.
The Develop:Star Awards will return next year to the Hilton Brighton Metropole on Wednesday 12 July during Develop:Brighton 2023.
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