Advertisement

Epic Games will receive a BAFTA Special Award next month

The 'Fortnite' creator is being honored, in part, for Unreal Engine.

Epic Games will add another award to its trophy cabinet next month, when it picks up a BAFTA Special Award for its contribution to game development. Not only has the company created several hits of its own, including the all-conquering Fortnite, but it's helped other studios build games using Unreal Engine and distributed them through the Epic Games Store.

Tim Sweeney, Epic's founder and CEO, will accept the award on June 12th (during E3) in Los Angeles. Prior winners of the Special Award include voice actor Nolan North; Riot co-founders Brandon Beck and Marc Merril; and game designer Amy Hennig.

Epic also claimed the evolving game trophy at the BAFTA Games Awards last month for Fortnite. A number of other BAFTA-winning games are built on Unreal, including Rocket League, BioShock, Mass Effect and What Remains of Edith Finch.

"Having powered the creativity and imaginations of development teams of all sizes over the years [...] it's right to mark their huge contribution with this Special Award as part of BAFTA's commitment to celebrating and promoting the very best in games," Dr. Jo Twist OBE, chair of the BAFTA Games Committee, said in a statement. "Epic is at the forefront of the evolution of the global games industry and the impact of their innovation is undeniable."