Rules & criteria
Please read our rules and criteria carefully.
Submission eligibility
- Submissions are required to be entered before March 31st midnight via form on this site
- Deliverables to be provided for game submissions: link to the game (itch.io, Steam, ...), detailed description of the game in English, trailer on YouTube, 3 screenshots.
- Studio submissions have a separate submission form. More info on judging criteria will follow later.
- Jury to decide for which category/categories games or companies get nominated except for Best Studio Award and Most Promising Startup Studio Award.
- Nominees to be announced in May.
- Each submission will cost €25, including an entry ticket to the Belgian Game Awards show.
- No limit to number of submissions per company.
- Company or individual must be established in Belgium (main office and registration)
- Only games released between 20 May 2021 and 30 March 2023 allowed.
- Most recent release version counts in case of multiple platform versions
- Early access or public beta releases allowed
- Playable demo or full game needs to be made available to the jury with the submission form or via contact through BGA organisation.
- Nominees will be contacted one month after the submission period ends.
- Nominees are required to be present at the award show on 23rd of June 2023 from 17:00. Each nominated project / studio will receive 3 free entry tickets.
- No physical card, board or other games allowed (only digital games)
- No gambling/online casino games allowed
- No extreme nudity or provocative content allowed
- In-game diversity representation will be a point of attention for the jury
Award Categories
| Award | Specifics |
|---|---|
| Belgian Game Of The Year | Games playable on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, mobile or VR standalone devices (Meta Quest). |
| XR Game Of The Year | Games only playable on VR/AR/XR devices. If the game requires special facilities such as VR location based, access should be provided to jury members according to their availability. |
| Best Applied Game | All non-entertainment games with an artistic, cultural or educational purpose such as art games, serious games such as educational or healthcare games, gamification app, … |
| Student Game Of The Year | These games can be submitted by the Belgian game development schools and students. Submission period for this award will be different from the other categories in order to follow the school rhythm and the projects developed during the academic year. The precise dates will be communicated to the schools later. |
| Best Narrative | This award is for the best narrative, story or script. An award for games that trigger our emotions or blow our minds with amazing twists. |
| Best Sound | For games that go above and beyond in the audio department. Not exclusive to the best soundtrack, as amazing sound effects or voicework will be considered as well. |
| Best Graphics | For games that excel in visual quality, be it a great use of the engine they are made with or because of their amazing art direction. |
| Best Studio | For Studios that achieved great entrepreneurial success and contributed to the international reputation of the Belgian ecosystem. Requires motivation of being a good employer, of giving back to the community (such as coaching, advocacy, events organization ...) and explanation of achieved projects (such as a cool game launched, entered into a great partnership, put a lot of people to work, moved to a larger office, won an award...) |
| Most Promising Start-Up Studio | Startup studios must be founded after the 1st of January 2020 and can demonstrate great entrepreneurial potential through their business plan, creative approach, business deals and/or track record. |
Best Belgian Esports Event | Belgian E-Sports event or competition, can be organized online, offline or hybrid and must have taken place in Belgium and/or with a majority of participants of Belgian origin. The organizer of the event must have a registered office in Belgium and a Belgian company number. The event must have contributed to the development of the Belgian ecosystem and/or contributed to its international visibility. |
| Best Belgian Esports Game | Competitive game using E-Sport mechanics such as tournaments, prizing, ranking and streaming. |
| Audience Award | The audience will get a chance to vote for their favourite game among all released submissions. Details on the audience voting will follow at a later date. |
General rules & criteria
- BGA23 organization reserves the right to reject any submission not in line with our values & criteria
- BGA23 organization reserves the right to cancel or alter an award category in case of insufficient relevant submissions (minimum 3)
- BGA23 organization reserves the right to decide for which category/categories games or companies get nominated
- By submitting your project or studio, participants grant all needed rights to the BGA23 organization to use the provided game and audiovisual materials in the context of the BGA23 award ceremony and/or for press use.