« Back to News

Develop:Star Awards 2021 Shortlist Announced as Industry Vote Opens

Tandem Events has today announced the shortlists for the Develop:Star Awards 2021. The winners will now be selected by industry vote, open to previous delegates.

The vote opens today and closes on 24 September. Winners will be announced at the Develop:Star Awards ceremony on the evening of Wednesday 27 October, during Develop:Brighton 2021.

Shortlists were decided across 17 categories by a panel of industry experts and developers, who reviewed a record number of submissions.

PlayStation 5 exclusive Returnal, from Housemarque and Sony Interactive Entertainment, is the most nominated game with six nominations, followed by The Chinese Room and Sumo Digital’s Little Orpheus with five nominations.

Seven finalists will compete for the Best Studio award: Creative Assembly, FuturLab, Housemarque, Mediatonic, nDreams, Sumo Digital and ustwo games.

Those who have attended Develop:Brighton since and including the 2017 conference, plus anyone who has registered for this year’s conference, will be invited to vote through a dedicated awards platform. Attendees will be contacted directly with further instructions.

“This incredible collection of games, teams and individuals shows the best the games industry has to offer, and we’re excited to offer the opportunity to recognise and celebrate the hard work of so many over the past year," said Andy Lane, managing director of Tandem Events.

“I’d like to shout out the new Tomorrow’s Star category in particular, recognising some of the incredible future talent emerging in the industry. Good luck to all our nominees, we’re looking forward to seeing you at the ceremony on 27 October.”

Table bookings and individual tickets for the awards are available to purchase now with an Early Bird discount of up to £400 until 15 September. Further details and links to purchase tickets can be found at: https://www.developconference.com/whats-on/develop-star-awards

All tickets include a three-course dinner and invite to the drinks reception and after party.

The nominees for the Develop:Star Awards 2021 are:

Best Visual Art

Before I Forget - 3-Fold Games

Little Orpheus - The Chinese Room, Sumo Digital

Munduan - Hidden Fields, MWM Interactive

Returnal – Housemarque, Sony Interactive Entertainment

South of the Circle - State of Play

The Last Campfire - Hello Games

Best Narrative

Little Orpheus - The Chinese Room, Sumo Digital

Orwell's Animal Farm - Nerial, The Dairymen

Returnal – Housemarque, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Röki - Polygon Treehouse, United Label

South of the Circle - State of Play

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope - Supermassive Games, Bandai Namco

Best Game Design    

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout – Mediatonic, Epic Games

Lost Words: Beyond the Page - Sketchbook Games, Modus Games

Magic: The Gathering Arena (Mobile) - Wizards of the Coast

Returnal - Housemarque, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Sackboy: A Big Adventure - Sumo Sheffield, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Weaving Tides - Follow the Feathers, Crytivo

Best Audio    

A Total War Saga: Troy - Creative Assembly, SEGA

DIRT 5 - Codemasters

Little Orpheus - The Chinese Room, Sumo Digital

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Returnal - Housemarque, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Sackboy: A Big Adventure - Sumo Sheffield, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Best Original IP    

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure-  ustwo games

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout - Mediatonic, Epic Games

Little Orpheus - The Chinese Room, Sumo Digital

PowerWash Simulator – Futurlab, Square Enix

Returnal – Housemarque, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Rogue Company - First Watch, Hi-Rez Studios

Best Innovation    

Before I Forget - 3-Fold Games

Hardspace: Shipbreaker - Blackbird Interactive, Focus Home Interactive

Lost Words: Beyond the Page - Sketchbook Games, Modus Games

South of the Circle - State of Play

The Oeuvre - 89o

Watch Dogs: Legion - Ubisoft

Diversity Star    

Anisa Sanusi - Limit Break

Cinzia Musio - Splash Damage

Dan Bernado - Playtra

Rebecca Sampson - Hangar 13

Robin Gray - Gayming Mag

Tentacle Zone Incubator - Payload Studios

Best QA & Localisation   

Keywords Studios 

Localsoft 

Player Research 

PTW 

Testronic 

Universally Speaking 

Best Creative Provider    

Atomhawk 

Keywords Studios 

Liquid Crimson 

Pitstop Productions 

PlayStation Studios Creative Arts 

SIDE UK 

Best Technology Provider   

GameMaker Studio 2 

Genba Digital 

Keywords Studio 

Unity 

Unreal Engine 

Utopia Analytics   

Tomorrow’s Star     

Dominic Shaw - Ukie

Joshua Brown - Futurlab

Julia Kenny - SEGA

Julian Mair-MacFarlane - Mediatonic

Melissa Chaplin - Robot Teddy

Reema Ishaque - Splash Damage

Recruitment Star    

Aardvark Swift 

Amiqus Recruitment 

Datascope Recruitment 

OPMjobs 

Skillsearch Limited 

Sumo Group 

Publishing Star   

Curve Digital 

Kwalee 

No More Robots 

Team17 

Wales Interactive 

Wired Productions 

Best Mobile Game    

A Monster's Expedition - Draknek & Friends

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure - ustwo games

Little Orpheus - The Chinese Room. Sumo Digital

Magic: The Gathering Arena (Mobile) - Wizards of the Coast

Orwell's Animal Farm - Nerial, The Dairymen

South of the Circle - State of Play

Game of the Year    

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout – Mediatonic, Epic Games

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Returnal – Housemarque, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Sackboy: A Big Adventure - Sumo Sheffield, Sony Interactive Entertainment

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope - Supermassive Games, Bandai Namco

The Last Campfire - Hello Games

Best Micro Studio   

Denki 

Hidden Fields 

inkle 

Perchang 

Polygon Treehouse 

Best Studio    

Creative Assembly 

FuturLab 

Housemarque 

Mediatonic 

nDreams 

Sumo Digital 

ustwo games   

For more information visit the Develop:Brighton website and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook

Or you can contact the team via email on developstars@bastion.co.uk.