Old School Runescape Wins The Inaugural EE Mobile Game Of The Year Award At The 2019 BAFTA Games Awards

Old School Runescape

Making history at the British Academy Games Awards, Old School Runescape topped the public vote to take home the inaugural EE Mobile Game of The Year award
The new category is the only award voted for by the public at the BAFTA Games Awards
The 2019 nominees were: Brawl Stars, Clash Royale, Fortnite Mobile, Old School Runescape, Pokémon Go and Roblox
YouTube personality and professional gamer, DanTDM, presented the brand-new award category to Old School Runescape

Thursday 4^th April 2019: Tonight, the best of the games industry saw Old School Runescape take home the trophy for the brand-new inaugural category; EE Mobile Game of The Year Award.

The new award recognises the game that offers the best mobile experience and is the only publicly-voted category at the 2019 BAFTA Games Awards. This award was presented by British YouTube personality, author, and professional gamer, DanTDM

The British Academy Games Awards celebrates the very best in games. This year the awards ceremony took place at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Thursday 4 April, where the winners were announced for all 18 categories including the EE Mobile Game of the Year Award.

Old School Runescape was one of six outstanding games nominated in recognition of their innovative online offering and the impact they have had upon the public and games industry alike.

OLD SCHOOL RUNESCAPE is part of the $1 billion RuneScape franchise and is based on the iconic MMORPG as it was in 2007. Featuring adventures for solo play through to 100-player strong raids and delivering new lands and new adventures that take it far beyond a purely nostalgic vanilla experience, Old School RuneScape’s popularity has continued to grow in its six years as a living game. The expansion of Old School RuneScape onto mobile delivers interoperable cross-platform play, enabling players to jump from PC to mobile platforms and back again.

Dr Jo Twist OBE, Chair of Games Committee at BAFTA, said: “It’s been fantastic to offer games fans the chance to have their say by casting their vote in the EE Mobile Game of The Year award. Our congratulations to Old School Runescape for winning the public vote. The high calibre of nominees in this category demonstrates the importance of the mobile games sector to the games industry and we look forward to seeing this exciting sector continue to evolve.”

Pete Jeavons, Marketing Communications Director at BT and EE, said: “Huge congratulations to Old School Runescape for winning the public vote to take home the very first EE Mobile Game of The Year Award. Fast and reliable mobile connections are so important in making sure the millions of mobile games fans in the UK stay in the game, no matter where they are, so championing this category is important to us. Mobile is quickly becoming a serious games platform and the advances in network technology required to cope with these demands have to move at the same speed – we can’t wait to see the nominees for next years’ awards!”

A number of leading industry specialists made up the jury panel; selecting the six nominees for the very first EE Mobile Game of The Year from a lengthy list of deserving names. This included jury chair and BAFTA Game Committee representative, Carolin Krenzer; Will Luton, Mobile Games consultant; Geoffrey de Bie, Partnerships Manager, Twitch; Alex Benson, Community Manager at ESL, Carl Hagberg, Head of Team Operations at Fnatic and other leading industry specialists and games journalists.

Earlier this year EE put on the first ever The EE Mobile Series - a pioneering mobile games tournament that saw avid gamers compete for the ultimate prize - to become a member of one of the world’s biggest and most successful esports teams, Fnatic. Aspiring professional gamer, Scotland’s Liam ‘ThunderStruck’ McCarron, clinched the highly coveted spot on the Fnatic Clash Royale Academy roster.

The EE Mobile Game of The Year Award was voted for by the British public via the EE website. For more information on the EE Mobile Game of the Year Award, please head to: ee.co.uk/BAFTAgames

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For more information, please contact M&C Saatchi PR on EEBaftaGames@mcsaatchi.com

For a full list of winners please contact sophied@bafta.org

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About EE

EE, part of BT Group, is the largest and most advanced mobile communications company in the UK, delivering mobile and fixed communications services to consumers.

EE runs the UK's biggest and fastest mobile network, having pioneered the UK's first superfast 4G mobile service in October 2012 and was the first European operator to surpass 14 million 4G customers in December 2015. EE has more than 550 shops across the UK. EE's 4G coverage extends to more than 86% of the UK’s landmass (equal to more than 99% of the UK population) and EE has an ambition to extend 4G to 95% UK geographic coverage by 2020

EE has received extensive independent recognition, including being ranked the UK's best overall network by RootMetrics®; Best Network at the 2015, 2016 and 2017 Mobile News Awards; Best Consumer Network at the 2015, 2016 and 2017 Mobile Industry Awards; as well as Fastest Network and Best Network Coverage at the 2017 uSwitch Mobile Awards.

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About BAFTA

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – featuring workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes – in the UK, USA and Asia; it offers unique access to the world’s most inspiring talent and connects with a global audience of all ages and backgrounds. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. To access the best creative minds in film, television and games production, visit www.bafta.org/guru. For more, visit www.bafta.org.