The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced that video game developer and publisher Epic Games will be receiving a special award. The award will be presented during a special event at the London in West Hollywood on June 12, 2019, coinciding with E3 2019.
The award is to commemorate Epic’s numerous contributions to the video game industry, most notably its creation of the Unreal Engine. First showcased in 1998, it has since gone on to be the foundation of all types of games of all sizes. The Unreal Engine is currently on its fourth incarnation, powering games such as Kingdom Hearts III and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.
However, Epic’s impact on the industry goes far past Unreal. As most know, Epic is responsible for Fortnite, which has become one of the most popular games of all time, and essentially turning the battle royale genre into a viable genre of its own. It’s become so popular, in fact, that online shooter titans like Call of Duty and Battlefield have created their own battle royale modes.
The award will be presented to Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney. The award is another instance of Epic’s growing power in the video game industry. Sweeney himself has said he wants to see his company becoming a rival to the likes of Facebook and Google.
Though it hasn’t even been out a year, the Epic Games Store, a PC-exclusive storefront and launcher, has already made itself known for a number of high-profile exclusives. That includes a trio of games from Quantic Dream that were originally developed exclusively for Sony consoles. Epic Games recently made headlines for its acquisition of Psyonix, developer of Rocket League.
Previous recipients have included Nolan North, Brenda Romero, and Amy Henning. The ceremony will take place on June 12, 2019 during E3, which will occur from June 11th-14th.
[Source: BAFTA]
