Newell said it was ”an honour for myself and everyone at Valve” to be set to receive the Fellowship, adding that Valve owes ”tremendous thanks” to the UK for all the support over the years.
Other BAFTA Fellowship bigwigs within the games industry include Will Wright (2007), Nolan Bushnell (2009), Shigeru Miyamoto (2010) and Peter Molyneux (2011).
”It is an honour for myself and everyone at Valve to be presented such an award by one of the world’s most respected and recognised organisations,” said Valve boss, Gabe Newell.
”Valve owes a tremendous thanks to many in the UK - to those who have played our games, to the great support of the UK press, and to UK-based creative contributors such as Garry Newman.” Newman is the creator of Garry’s Mod.
”I look forward to accepting this prestigious honour on behalf of everyone in our community.”
Harvey Elliott, chair of BAFTA’s Games comittee, explained the decision: ”Gabe’s contribution to the industry is unique, and he is very different to many others that BAFTA could recognise.”
“As well as enjoying great critical and commercial success with phenomenally popular franchises such as Portal and Half-Life, his work in giving back to the games industry through developing and showcasing other games makers has been outstanding. He is an inspirational developer and truly deserving of our Fellow recognition.”
This year’s British Academy Games Awards takes place March 5th, and will be hosted once again by avid gamer and comedian Dara O’Briain. For O’Briain’s ‘credentials’ as a gamer check out the clip below of his stand-up from 2010. This year’s BAFTA nominations are available to view on the official BAFTA Games website.
