- 626 games from 55 countries were registered, a record number for the festival, and 110 of them were selected for the competitive showcase
- The list brings 26 Brazilian games competing in 12 categories
- Games from 28 countries compete among the finalists
São Paulo, Brazil, May 1, 2023 — With a breaking record number of 626 submissions, BIG Festival 2023, has published the list of finalists selected for the 11th edition of the BIG Awards event. The Festival Committee selected 110 games from 28 countries for 18 different categories.
This year, Brazil takes the center stage in the selection process with 26 games nominated across 12 different categories, including Best International Game, the most prestigious event's award, for Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles and Dungeon Drafters.
Some games were highlighted in the jury's evaluation and received multiple nominations. Titles like Dead Pets Unleashed, from Denmark; SEASON: A letter to the future, from Canada; Stray Gods, from Australia; and Canada's Sunday Gold are finalists for five different awards (including Best International Game). Among the Brazilian games nominated, Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles, brings home the most nominations for Best Sound, Best Brazilian Game and Best International Game.
“We are very happy to continue breaking records at each edition of the BIG Festival. This year 626 games from over 50 different countries were submitted. And this is a reflection of the success of BIG as well as the industry as a whole. It is a demonstration of how the game development sector has been getting stronger every year”, said Gustavo Steinberg, director of the BIG Festival. Seeing so many national games being chosen as finalists in several categories, including Best International Game, is very rewarding. This only reinforces the competence of all professionals in the country and recognizes Brazil as a creator of games”, adds the festival director.
In addition to the exposure and prestige of the games in the festival, the winners of the Best Game, Best Game: Latin America and Best Game: Brazil categories will receive, in addition to the trophy, cash prizes of R$5,000 (around US$1,000).
The public will also be able to participate by voting for the Best Popular Game, where the winner will be receiving R$3,000. To vote, the public must test the game at the festival and, at the end of the game, will be able to vote for that title.
Selected Games
See below the list of nominees for the Best International Game and Best Brazilian Game categories:
Best International Games
Dungeon Drafters (Brazil)
A Little to the Left (United Kingdom)
BlackTail (Poland)
Dead Pets Unleashed (Denmark)
Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles (Brazil)
Hardspace: Shipbreaker (Canadá)
Lost in Play (Israel)
SEASON: A letter to the future (Canada)
Stray Gods (Australia)
Sunday Gold (Canada)
Best Brazilian Games
Dungeon Drafters
Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles
Bloodless
Chessarama
Elderand
Grashers
Like No other: The Legend of The Twin Books
Nova Lands
Pixel Ripped 1978
Togges
The complete list of all finalist games is available at BIG' WEBSITE.
BIG Festival 2023 will take place between June 28th and July 2nd at São Paulo Expo. The 11th edition is shaping up to be the biggest ever, with over 50,000 visitors expected. BIG Festival 2023 will feature several events and the attendance of special guests, such as the already confirmed publishers Ubisoft, Warner Bros. Games and Wargaming, as well as personalities like the Brazilian Counter-Strike streamer, Gaules, one of the biggest streamers in Brazil and the world, and Tribo.
Tickets for the festival - with game demos and lectures - can be purchased at BIG' Website.
For the business meeting area (Area Business), tickets are available on the Business Platform of BIG Festival 2023.
More information about tickets available are HERE.
Under the seal of the Ministry of Culture and the Culture Incentive Law, BIG Festival is supported by Sabesp; partnership with Abragames - Brazilian Association of Digital Game Developers through the Brazil Games Project, a partnership with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, ApexBrasil; realization BIG Festival, Omelete, Government of the State of São Paulo and Federal Government.
About BIG Festival
The BIG Festival (Best International Games Festival) has been held since 2012 and is the most important festival and game market in Latin America. Its mission is to strengthen the gaming ecosystem in the region, - showing the best games in the world at the festival, game launches from renowned publishers, business meetings, awards, great press coverage, lectures and the presence of the main players in the region, as well as as publishers and investors worldwide.
About Brazilian Game Companies Association
Brazil Games Association, the Brazilian Game Companies Association, was founded in 2004 and represents Brazilian studios developing games on various platforms. Besides catalyzing the game production in the country by training and promoting expertise, Brazil Games Association aims at making Brazilian creativity and technology available to the main players of the international game industry.