| SXSW Gaming Awards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awarded for | Outstanding achievements in thevideo game industry |
| Country | United States |
| First award | March 7, 2014; 11 years ago (2014-03-07) |
| Final award | March 12, 2022; 3 years ago (2022-03-12) |
| Website | sxsw |
TheSXSW Gaming Awards were awards given to video games during the annualSouth by Southwest Festival (SXSW), held inAustin, Texas typically in March of that year. The Awards were part of the SXSW Gaming Expo which is part of theSXSW Interactive branch of the festival.
Video games had been part of the SXSW within the SXSW Interactive branch. in 2006, the festival launched "Screenburn" as a special portion of the Interactive branch for video games, and later renamed this to SXSW Gaming in 2013.[1]
Matthew Crump, a veteran game developer, joined SXSW in 2012 and spearheaded the efforts to create the SXSW Gaming Awards to premiere during the 2014 festival.[2] The new awards in fifteen different categories were announced in September 2013 to be awarded during the 2014 festival.[3] However, Crump died from a heart attack just before the festival.[2] The event organizers opted to rename the "Cultural Innovation in Gaming" to the "Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award" to honor Crump's contributions to the festival.[4]
The Gaming Awards were discontinued by SXSW in 2023 due to a desire to "streamline our festival a bit more."[5]
Developers and publishers must submit their games for consideration to the festival organizers prior to a deadline; these games generally must have had public release in the preceding calendar year to the festival (for example, for the inaugural 2014 awards, games had to be released in 2013).[3]
The festival's organizers along with a panel of industry experts review all submissions and select the top five for each of the game categories. These are then opened to public voting for the final winner for each award to be chosen.[6]
The Gamer's Voice awards are exceptional to these: they are limited only toindie games released in the previous calendar year or the current year, and which any member of the public may nominate. The festival organizers select multiple games (typically more than five) after playing through each as nominees for the award. These games are featured in playable form at the SXSW festival to allow attendees to try them before they vote for their favorite.[6]
The awards ceremony is held near the end of the SXSW event, with celebrity and gaming hosts presenting the awards.
The 2020 SXSW event was cancelled in light of theCOVID-19 pandemic, but the award winners were still named online on March 24, 2020.[7]
| Year | Date | Location | Hosts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | March 7 | Long Center for the Performing Arts, Austin, TX | Justine "iJustine" Ezarik andSmosh[3] |
| 2015 | March 14 | Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater, Austin, TX | Janet Varney andMark Edward "Markiplier" Fischbach[8] |
| 2016 | March 19 | Hilton Austin Downtown, Austin, TX | Séan "Jacksepticeye" William McLoughlin and Rachel "Seltzer" Quirico[9] |
| 2017 | March 18 | OMGitsfirefoxx andXavier Woods[10] | |
| 2018 | March 17 | Alanah Pearce and Rich Campbell[11] | |
| 2019 | March 16 | Lindsay Jones and Alex Corea[12] | |
| 2020 | March 24 | None | None[7] |
| 2021 | March 20 | None[13] | |
| 2022 | March 12 | None[14] |
This award was named "Game of the Year" in 2014, but was renamed when the Mobile and Tabletop awards were added.
Formally "VR Game of the Year" prior 2020
Awarded for a game that challenges the normal idea of video gaming, offering a culturally innovative view of the world
Combined the three former awards.
Formerly "Excellence in Design and Direction"
Formerly "Excellence in Musical Score"
Formally "Best Multiplayer Game" until 2016
Awarded for a game that exemplifies crossover medium appeal. Formally the "Convergence Award" until 2016
Awarded to a Texas-based studio or game
Formerly "Esports Game of the Year" until 2019.
Formerly "Most Fulfilling Crowdfunded Game" until 2018.
Award to anindie game voted by the public; split into Single and Multi-player categories in 2016.