Develop:Star Awards 2022 Finalists Announced as Industry Vote Opens

Event organisers Tandem Events have today announced the finalists for the Develop:Star Awards 2022, with the winners to be selected by an industry vote open to previous Develop:Brighton attendees and anyone who has already registered for this year’s event.

The vote opens today and closes on Wednesday 1 June. Winners will be unveiled at the Develop:Star Awards ceremony - a fun filled night celebrating all the success the games industry has to offer - on the evening of Wednesday 13 July during Develop:Brighton 2022.

Shortlists were decided across 19 categories by a panel of game developers and industry experts, who reviewed a record number of submissions.

Critically acclaimed DEATHLOOP, developed by Arkane Lyon and published by Bethesda Softworks, is this year’s hottest contender with six nominations, followed by Guerrilla Games and Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Horizon Forbidden West with five nominations.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Forza Horizon 5 are up for four awards, respectively. The former for Best Game, Best Game Design, Best Technical Innovation, and Best Visual Art; The latter for Best Audio, Best Game, Best Technical Innovation, and Best Visual Art.

Roll7’s OlliOlli World is also up for three awards in Best Game, Best Game Design, and Best Visual Art, with the publisher being nominated for Best Studio too.

“Given the calibre of this year’s finalists, it’s no surprise our shortlist captures the very best the game making community has to offer. We’re excited to reveal the winners in July and celebrate the games, teams and individuals nominated”, said Tandem Events Managing Director Andy Lane.

“I’d also like to shout out the new Marketing Star and Best Extended Reality Game categories in particular, which will recognise the industry’s incredible marketers and developers pushing the boundaries in virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies.”

Table bookings and individual tickets for the awards are available to purchase now with an Early Bird discount offering up to £400 off until 8 June. Further details and links to purchase tickets can be found here. All tickets include a three-course dinner and invite to the drinks reception and after-party.

The nominees for the Develop:Star Awards 2022 are:

Best Studio

• Arkane Studios
• Creative Assembly
• Guerrilla Games
• nDreams
• Playground Games
• Roll7
• Sumo Digital
• Supermassive Games

Best Game

• DEATHLOOP
• Forza Horizon 5
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Life is Strange: True Colors
• OlliOlli World
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Sifu
• Unpacking

Best Micro Studio

• Acid Nerve
• Animal Uprising
• Huey Games
• inkle
• Shedworks
• Studio Waterzooi

Best Mobile Game

• Beatstar - Touch Your Music
• LEGO Star Wars Battles
• Love & Pies
• Overboard!
• Please, Touch The Artwork
• Rocket League Sideswipe

Publishing Star

• Amazon Games
• Curve Games
• Kepler Interactive
• Kwalee
• Private Division
• Team17
• Wizards of the Coast

Best Extended Reality Game

• Fracked
• Hitman 3 VR
• I Expect You To Die 2
• Resident Evil 4 VR
• Sniper Elite VR

Best Audio

• DEATHLOOP
• Forza Horizon 5
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
• Tiny Tina's Wonderland
• Total War: Warhammer III

Best Game Design

• DEATHLOOP
• Death's Door
• Fights in Tight Spaces
• OlliOlli World
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Unpacking

Best Narrative

• Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View
• DEATHLOOP
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Life is Strange: True Colors
• The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes
• Unpacking

Best Visual Art

• Forza Horizon 5
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Lost Ark
• OlliOlli World
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Sable

Best Original IP

• DEATHLOOP
• Death's Door
• Fights in Tight Spaces
• Hell Let Loose
• I Am Fish
• Sable

Best Creative Provider

• Atomhawk
• d3t
• PitStop Productions Ltd
• Richard Jacques Studios Ltd
• SIDE UK
• Talenthouse Media Foundry

Best QA & Localisation Provider

• Keywords Studios
• Player Research
• PTW
• Testronic
• Universally Speaking

Best Technical Innovation

• Anstream Arcade
• Forza Horizon 5
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• RichCast from Panivox
• The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes

Best Technology Provider

• Anything World
• GameMaker Studio 2
• Machinations
• PopcornFX
• Unity
• Unreal Engine

Diversity Star

• Brandon Cole (Into Games)
• Charu Desodt (Interior Night)
• Deborah Mensah-Bonsu (Games for Good)
• Dom Shaw (Ukie)
• Jeryce Dianingana (Rocksteady Studios)
• Karla Reyes (Code Coven)
• Leon Killin (Sumo Group)
• Marie-Claire Isaaman (Women in Games)

Marketing Star

• Etch Play
• Lauren Moses - Code Coven
• Media Molecule Live Services Team
• Neonhive
• Sean Walsh - Wired Productions
• Sola Kasali - EA

Recruitment Star

• Aardvark Swift
• Amiqus
• Datascope Recruitment
• Games Jobs Direct
• OPMjobs
• Sumo Group

Tomorrow’s Star

• Charmie Kim (Space Ape Games)
• Hannah Rose Burdett (PlayStation Studios)
• Josh Hale (FuturLab)
• Liam Van Bastelaere (nDreams)
• Myleah Lofland (Code Coven)
• Nickie Harper-Williams (Many Cats Studios CIC)
• Paige Dolan (Secret Mode)
• Sarah Dyer (Splash Damage)

The Develop Star Award

• Dinga Bakaba - Arkane Lyon

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 [email protected].

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About The Develop:Star Awards

Taking place alongside the conference, the new Develop:Star Awards recognise the very best of the game development community. The achievements of developers and success of great games and creativity will be celebrated across 19 categories, including one ultimate ‘Develop Star’ honouring an extraordinary game developer for outstanding achievement and contribution to the industry.

About Develop:Brighton conference & expo

Develop:Brighton brings together the entire UK game dev industry to learn from each other, share ideas and experiences, network, and do business in a friendly and inclusive environment. The event also offers high quality conference sessions - from the industries brightest minds and talents - with practical takeaways that allow delegates to “skill-up” and be inspired to make better games.

With a programme shaped to reflect attendees’ feedback and hot topics for game makers in 2022 (monetisation, the Metaverse, ethical working practices, environment and sustainability, etc.) the Expo brings together some of the most innovative companies from every sector of games  development. Guests can also keep up-to date with the latest dev tools/tech and get hands on with all the games on display.

Develop:Brighton offers three days of inspiration, fulfilment, and fun by England’s south coast.

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