Beloved Queer Game ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ Wins Big At 2024 Gayming Awards

The universally acclaimed and deeply queer Baldur’s Gate 3 took home the most prizes at Gayming Magazine’s 2024 Gayming Awards, including Game of the Year. 

It’s yet another win for Larian Studios’ highly acclaimed fantasy RPG based on the world of Dungeons & Dragons, which won the five major Game of the Year awards given out by the video game industry, as well as receiving the honour from countless news publications.

Larian Studios Founder and CEO Swen Vincke accepted the award on behalf of the entire studio: “Baldur’s Gate 3 has won many awards, and every single time I’m telling myself ‘How is this even possible?’ 

“We started making a turn-based RPG based on D&D six years ago and we hoped it was gonna be successful, but we could not imagine it was going to be appreciated as much as it has been,” Vincke continued. 

“The competition this year was incredible, there were so many good games being released, so thank you very very very much. We really appreciate it, and it motivates us to make our next game even better.”

Other Baldur’s Gate 3 awards

Alongside the top award, Baldur’s Gate 3 also won the Player’s Choice Award and Best LGBTQ+ Character for Shadowheart, accepted by lesbian actress Jennifer English and Larian Senior Writer John Corcoran. 

“Thank you so much for this incredible award for Shadowheart,” said English. “I like to think I made her as gay as I possibly could… We are very honoured that this woman who has hidden swathes of her past, fancies Karlach and is generally just a little bit fruity has been accepted by the Alphabet Mafia. It’s all we’ve ever wanted.”

Corcoran added: “I’m really honoured to see how she’s been embraced by the community. I may have written words, but Jen breathed life into her and you made her an icon. She was a huge part of my life for the past 5-6 years, and now we get to share her with you all.” 

Other Gayming Award winners

The second biggest winner of the night was Outerloop Games’ part-RPG, part-Tony Hawk indie hit Thirsty Suitors, which won Best LGBTQ+ Indie Game and the Authentic Representation award. 

Outerloop Games co-founder and studio director Candana ‘Eka’ Ekanayake shared his gratitude to his team, partners, QA testers, localisers and the extended family of everyone on the team while accepting the Best Indie Game award. 

Actress Farah Merani was deeply thankful for the opportunity to portray Jala, and how games like Thirsty Suitors create meaningful South Asian representation. 

For the full list of Gayming Awards 2024 winners, click here.