Press release -
Develop:Star Awards 2023 Finalists Announced as Industry Vote Opens
Thursday 18 May 2023: Tandem Events have today announced the finalists for the Develop:Star Awards 2023, with the winners to be selected by an industry vote open to previous Develop:Brighton attendees.
The vote opens today and closes on Wednesday 31 May. The winners will be unveiled at the Develop:Star Awards ceremony on the evening of Wednesday 12 July, during Develop:Brighton 2023.
Shortlists were decided across 20 categories by a panel of game developers and industry experts, who reviewed a record number of submissions – including the brand-new Sustainability Star award.
Sony Interactive Entertainment have the most nominations with eight, thanks largely to Santa Monica Studios’ God of War Ragnarök, which is a finalist in six categories including Best Game and Best Narrative.
British studio Roll7 have six nominations, including five for Rollerdrome and one in Best Studio. Bethesda Softworks, ustwo games and Team17 have each been nominated in five categories.
“This year’s finalists show the incredible breadth and depth of what the game dev industry can achieve, and we can’t wait to celebrate with the community when we announce the winners in July,” said Tandem Events Managing Director Andy Lane.
“In addition, we’re thrilled to be debuting our new Sustainability Star award and see who will be the first ever winner.”
This year’s Develop Star Award will be awarded to Guerrilla, marking the first time a studio has received the award, which recognises outstanding achievements and contributions to the games industry.
The finalists for the Develop:Star Awards 2023 are:
Best Studio
- Codemasters
- Creative Assembly
- FuturLab
- INTERIOR/NIGHT
- Roll7
- Santa Monica Studio
- Sumo Digital
- ustwo games
Best Small Studio
- Awaceb
- Black Salt Games
- Max Inferno
- Nosebleed Interactive
- Purple Yonder
- Wales Interactive
Best Game
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- God of War Ragnarök
- IMMORTALITY
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- PowerWash Simulator
- Rollerdrome
- Tchia
- Vampire Survivors
Publishing Star
- Curve Games
- Kepler Interactive
- Kwalee
- nDreams
- No More Robots
- Playstack
- Private Division
- Team17 Digital
Best Mobile Game
- Desta: The Memories Between
- Farmside
- Hunt & Seek
- Magic Spellslingers
- MARVEL Snap
- Mighty DOOM
Best Game Design
- DREDGE
- God of War Ragnarök
- Hi-Fi RUSH
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Rollerdrome
- Vampire Survivors
Best Original IP
- A Little to the Left
- As Dusk Falls
- Desta: The Memories Between
- Hi-Fi RUSH
- Rollerdrome
- Tchia
Best Narrative
- As Dusk Falls
- Desta: The Memories Between
- Gerda: A Flame in Winter
- God of War Ragnarök
- IMMORTALITY
- The Quarry
Best Visual Art
- DREDGE
- God of War Ragnarök
- Hi-Fi RUSH
- Horizon Call of the Mountain
- Rollerdrome
- Scorn
Best Audio
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- DREDGE
- God of War Ragnarök
- Hi-Fi RUSH
- IMMORTALITY
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Rollerdrome
Best QA & Localisation
- Keywords Studios
- LocalizeDirect
- Player Research
- PTW
- Testronic
- Universally Speaking
Best Technical Innovation
- Eternal Threads
- God of War Ragnarök
- Gotham Knights
- Horizon Call of the Mountain
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- The Quarry
Best Technology Provider
- GameMaker
- PopcornFX
- Speech Graphics
- Unity
- Unreal Engine
Best Creative Provider
- Airship Interactive
- Atomhawk
- d3t
- SIDE
- Soundcuts
- Studio Gobo
- Warp Digital
Diversity Star
- Brandon Cole – Into Games
- Cari Watterton - Rebellion
- Dom Shaw - Ukie
- Kirsty Kirby – Lab42 Games
- Ladell Smith – Auroch Digital
- Marie-Claire Isaaman – Women in Games
- Tamsin O’Luanaigh - nDreams
- Zakia Abdullah - Pixelynx
Sustainability Star
- Green17
- Hutch Games
- Imagine Earth
- PlanetPlay
- Sports Interactive
- Sumo Group
- Ubisoft
- ustwo games
Recruitment Star
- Aardvark Swift Recruitment
- Amiqus
- Datascope Recruitment
- Games Jobs Direct
- One Player Mission - OPM
- Skillsearch Limited
Talent Development Star
- Andy Driver – XR Games
- Anita McIntyre – Airship Interactive
- Double Eleven
- Fiona Turner – Dovetail Games
- nDreams Academy
- Payload Studios
- Splash Damage
- Sumo Group
Marketing Star
- Ben Symons – Dovetail Games
- Caitlin Stratford – Bithell Games
- Plan of Attack
- Claire Sharkey – Creative Assembly/Freelance
- Courtney O'Connor – Supermassive Games
- Etch Play
- nDreams
- YRS TRULY
Tomorrow’s Star
- Chloe Sinclair - Firesprite
- Flo Burchill – Snap Finger Click
- Hannah Corcoran – Auroch Digital
- Harry Foster – 10:10 Games
- Holly O'Neill – Media Molecule
- Natalie Dodd – Dovetail Games
- Sara Veal – Uplift Games
- Shaye Poulton Richards – INTERIOR/NIGHT
The Develop Star Award
- Guerrilla
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.
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@tandemevents.co.uk
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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 2023 (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.
Twitter: @developconf
LinkedIn: Develop:Brighton
Instagram: developbrighton
