Bafta Games Awards 2024: What you need to know before the big event

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Who will win a 'golden mask' Bafta award tonight?

It's one of the biggest nights of the year for gamers.

On Thursday, titles like Spider-Man 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom will be battling for a Bafta Games Award.

The Bafta Games Awards 2024 will be held at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, and hosted by comedian Phil Wang.

But who will take home an award? And who do you want to see win?

Image source, Sony/Nintendo

Image caption, Spider-Man 2 and The Legend of Zelda will fight it out for multiple awards

Who has been nominated for a Bafta Games Award?

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has nine nominations including Animation, Game Design and Best Game.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is in the running for Best Game and Game Design, as well as awards in four other categories.

The Players' Choice Award is also up for grabs with the winner decided by a public vote; Fortnite, Spider-Man 2 and Zelda are all in the running.

Last year was one of the biggest years for gaming ever, with sales topping £4.7 billion - that's over twice the amount of the music industry, according to the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA).

Image source, SpecialEffect

Image caption, Gaming accessibility charity SpecialEffect has already bagged one award of the night

Who are the 2024 Bafta Games Award winners?

Even though the ceremony hasn't happened yet, there has already been one winner announced.

UK gaming charity SpecialEffect has won Bafta's Special Award which recognises "outstanding contributions" to the gaming industry.

The charity uses technology to help people who have a wide range of disabilities to be able to play video games.

They do this by creating devices and adapting controllers so that everyone can enjoy gaming equally. They've even worked to develop a way of playing Minecraft just by using eyesight!

If you're looking to catch all the action, the awards will be streaming on YouTube in the UK from 7pm on Thursday 11 April.

Are you excited to watch the awards? Which games would you like to see win?