GTA creators Rockstar Games are being awarded the BAFTA Fellowship award at this year’s British Academy Games Awards ceremony on the 12th March.

The Fellowship is the highest honour the Academy can bestow, and celebrates outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, television or games. It was introduced in 1971, where Alfred Hitchcock was given the accolade.

The gaming industry was included in the Fellowship back in 2007, and has been awarded to the likes of Peter Molyneux, Shigeru Miyamoto and Gabe Newell.

The ceremony will be attended by Sam Houser, Dan Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut to accept the award for the company, the first time the gaming award has been given to a company.

“We have long believed in the potential for videogames to become a new form of cultural expression and worked to show that in our games, so for us accepting the BAFTA Fellowship is incredibly humbling,” said Sam Houser, one of Rockstar’s founders.

“This honour reflects the creative vision and dedication of a huge number of people over many years, and we look forward to accepting the Fellowship on their behalf.”

Harvey Elliott, Chair of BAFTA’s Games Committee, said: “It is hugely exciting to be able to recognise the amazing contribution made by Rockstar to the games industry over the past 16 years.

“The creativity and passion exhibited by the Rockstar teams have inspired a generation of game developers to raise the bar in every aspect of game development. From design and mechanics, through to storytelling, cinematics and audio immersion, and in the process creating games that compete so profoundly on a global stage across all entertainment media. Rockstar, this Fellowship is wholly deserved.”

The ceremony will take place on Wednesday 12th March, and you will be able to catch it, and Rockstar’s acceptance speech on Twitch. The show will be hosted by Irish comedian Dara O’Briain.

What are your thoughts on this choice? Considering the impact the studio has had over the years, perhaps not a surprising choice. Who do you think deserves the award next year?

[Source: Press Release]