TIGA, the trade association that represents the games industry, has announced the shortlist for its 2023 Games Industry Awards. The Awards celebrate the best of the games industry in the last 12 months, with a particular focus on the UK games scene, and this year has seen an encouraging number of Scottish games and developers shortlisted.
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Standing proudly alongside the likes of Horizon: Call of the Mountain and Disney Illusion Island, the Scottish games shortlisted in the TIGA Awards are as diverse as they are exciting. Some are lighter offerings, such as Ping Creates’ Super Stretchy Chicken Legs and Outplay Entertainment’s Subway Surfers Blast, shortlisted for Best Arcade Game and Best Casual Game, respectively. Others are, literally or metaphorically, much heavier, such as Somewhat Unsettling’s BAFTA-nominated exploration of depression The Longest Walk, which was shortlisted for the Best Educational, Serious, or Simulation Game category.
Beyond Subway Surfers Blast, Outplay also finds itself shortlisted in the Best Puzzle Game category for Gordon Ramsay’s Chef Blast, as well as the Best Large Studio category for the company as a whole. On the other end of the spectrum, the small-but-mighty Ultimate Supremacy, an idle mafia game from GameXPlosion Ltd, punches well above its weight with shortlists for both Best Social Game and Best RPG Game. And outside of the traditional awards space, the University of the West of Scotland represents the Scottish games education scene, shortlisted as it is in the Best Educational Institution category: a welcome reminder of Scotland’s games education pedigree ahead of the Education Symposium at this year’s Scottish Games Week.
Seeing so many excellent Scottish games shortlisted for such prestigious awards is undeniably exciting, making the final results, which will be announced at a presentation ceremony at East London’s Troxy on November 16th, essential viewing. As Dr Richard Wilson OBE, CEO of TIGA, said:
“The TIGA Games Industry Awards celebrate excellence in the video games industry. Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations to our Awards and congratulations to all of our finalists. The finalist shortlist illustrates the depth of talent and creativity to be found amongst our game developers, service providers and educators. We’re excited to welcome everyone for an evening of celebration in November! Thank you to our sponsors for making this fantastic occasion possible.”
You can check out the full shortlist for the 2023 Games Industry Awards on TIGA’s website.