Shortlist for Develop:Star Awards 2019 revealed

Tandem Events has revealed the shortlist for the Develop:Star Awards 2019.

The winners will now be selected by industry vote – open to past and present attendees of the Develop:Brighton conference – and will be announced during the Develop:Star Awards ceremony on the evening of July 10th, 2019, during Develop:Brighton 2019.

The shortlist was selected by a panel of 30 “industry experts and developers”, who reviewed more than 200 submissions across 15 categories, including Game of the Year, Best Studio, and Best Original IP.   

The nominees for the Develop:Star Awards 2019 are:

Best Visual Art

•    11-11: Memories Retold
•    Forgotton Anne
•    Forza Horizon 4
•    Metro Exodus
•    Yoku’s Island Express

Best Narrative

•       Cultist Simulator
•       Detroit: Become Human
•    Forgotton Anne
•       Quarantine Circular
•       Sunless Skies

Best Game Design

•       Cultist Simulator
•    Forza Horizon 4
•       Jurassic World Evolution
•       Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
•       Yoku’s Island Express

Best Audio

•       DiRT Rally 2.0
•    Forza Horizon 4
•       Jurassic World Evolution
•       Tetris Effect
•       Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

Best Original IP

•       Detroit: Become Human
•    Forgotton Anne
•       Sunless Skies
•       Two Point Hospital
•       Yoku’s Island Express

Best Innovation

•       ClientBots: Automated Testing for The Division 1 and 2
•       Cultist Simulator
•       Detroit: Become Human
•       Old School RuneScape mobile
•       Track Lab

Diversity Star

•       Christina Myers
•       Ian Hamilton
•       Kitty Powers
•       Kish Hirani
•       Liz Prince

Best Supplier

•       Amazon Game Tech
•       Player Research
•       Super Rare Games
•       Testronic
•       Universally Speaking

Recruitment Star

•       Aardvark Swift
•       Amiqus
•       Avatar Games Recruitment
•       OPM
•       Skillsearch

Best Use of Game Engine

•       Detroit: Become Human
•       F1® 2018
•    Forza Horizon 4
•       Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
•       The Occupation

Publishing Star

•       Curve Digital
•       No More Robots
•       Sega Europe Ltd
•       Square Enix Collective
•       Wales Interactive

Best Mobile Game

•       F1 Mobile Racing
•       Old School RuneScape Mobile
•       Photographs
•       Rolando: Royal Edition
•       Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realm War

Game of the Year

•    Forza Horizon 4
•    Metro Exodus
•       Overcooked! 2
•       Sunless Skies
•       Two Point Hospital

Best Micro Studio

•       Ground Shatter
•       Playniac
•       Radical Forge
•       Villa Gorilla
•       Weather Factory

Best Studio

•       Failbetter Games
•       Frontier Developments
•       Playground Games
•       Sumo Digital
•       Sports Interactive
•       Two Point Studios

Develop:Brighton is a three-day conference and expo running from Tuesday 9th to Thursday 11th July, 2019, at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, and the accompanying Develop:Star Awards will take place on July 10th. The Awards – the first of which will be handed out by Murray – “recognise the very best of the game development community” and celebrate the achievements of developers and their games across 15 categories. One ultimate Develop Star award will be given to an “extraordinary game developer” for outstanding achievement and contribution to the industry.

Hello Games founder Sean Murray will be the opening keynote speaker for this year’s Develop:Brighton conference. The keynote – entitled ‘To Infinity and Beyond’ – will offer a “candid” behind-the-scenes look at how No Man’s Sky was “made, released and transformed” in a fireside chat hosted by Edge editor, Nathan Brown on the morning of July 9th, 2019.

Murray joins Rebellion founders Jason and Chris Kingsley who will be presenting “Rebellion: The Path to Independence” on the final day of the conference on Thursday, July 11th. The brothers will discuss Rebellion’s 26-year history as an independent studio as well as its ownership of comic brand 2000 AD. The pair will also reflect upon Rebellion’s new $100 million film and television studio, too.

Submissions are now open for Develop:Brighton’s ninth Indie Showcase. Developers can submit their games, for free, until 20 May, at developconference.com/whats-on/indie-showcase-competition. The top ten finalists will have their games showcased to media, fellow developers, and potential publishers who attend the conference, as well as receive a three-day pass to Develop:Brighton, pre-event publicity, and a profile on the Develop:Brighton website. On Thursday July 11th, two finalists will be selected as the winners of the competition, one decided by the panel, and another – the People’s Choice award – by attendees.

Use the code MTOYSW to secure an extra 10 per cent off Early Bird rates.