Vampire Survivors claims BAFTA Best Game award over Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarok

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The indie hit also won the award for Game Design

Vampire Survivors
(Image credit: poncle)

Vampire Survivors beat out Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarok to claim BAFTA's Game of the Year award.

Yesterday saw the British Academy of Film and Television Awards take place in London, and Vampire Survivors somewhat surprisingly claimed the top honor from the ceremony. The smash-hit indie took home the grand prize of Best Game, beating out other formidable contenders like Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarok.

If you think it's just viewers that were surprised at the award, you'd be mistaken. "Excuse me, what is happening thanks so much" the official Vampire Survivors Twitter account tweeted out in response. The folks at Poncle couldn't believe they'd won the award for Best Game at last night's ceremony.

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The victories for Vampire Survivors don't end there though, because the title also claimed the award for Game Design. Again, Vampire Survivors overcame some high-profile contenders like Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok, and Horizon Forbidden West to claim this award.

The games industry at large has been non-stop praising Vampire Survivors since it launched in full back in September 2022. Diablo's creator heaped praise on it, saying it inspired him to make his own smaller games, while Xbox head Phil Spencer literally couldn't stop playing Vampire Survivors, probably to the detriment of his busy work schedule.

It's fantastic that an undoubtedly smaller game like Vampire Survivors could beat out bigger titans like Elden Ring and God of War at a high-profile game awards ceremony like BAFTA. This is just another reminder that a game's budget doesn't, and shouldn't, dictate its level of quality or attention from the general public. 

Late last year, Vampire Survivors was awarded the Breakthrough award at the Golden Joysticks. 

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.