Supergiant Games’ rogue-like dungeon crawler, Hades, is the first video game ever to be awarded the Hugo Award, a prestigious annual prize that’s typically reserved for more traditional literary works such as novels and short stories.
As noted in the 2021 list of winners published on the official site, the Hugo Awards has never even hosted a category for video games in its decades-long history, but it decided to make an exception (“Best Video Game, a one-off category created as per WSFS rules by DisCon III”) for Hades due to its apparently remarkable storytelling. Hades beat out Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Final Fantasy VII Remake, The Last of Us 2, and Spiritfarer for the honor.
Wish I could have attended the #HugoAwards in person. I wasn't able to make an acceptance speech there on behalf of the team though did have a few words here. I'm grateful that the awards are recognizing work in this category, much less the work we did! pic.twitter.com/S9bfSp1i8H
— Greg Kasavin (@kasavin) December 19, 2021
“Wish I could have attended the #HugoAwards in person,” tweeted Greg Kasavin, creative director and writer at Supergiant Games. “I wasn’t able to make an acceptance speech there on behalf of the team though did have a few words here. I’m grateful that the awards are recognizing work in this category, much less the work we did!”
“Since early 2020, many of us have spent more time gaming than we ever expected,” co-chair Colette Fozard said. “This award will offer fans an opportunity to celebrate the games that have been meaningful, joyful, and exceptional over this past year.”
Hades is currently on sale for just $6.24 at the Epic Games Store ($10 voucher). Supergiant Games’ previous projects include Pyre, Transistor, and Bastion, the latter of which was developed by a team of just seven people.
Source: The Hugo Awards (via NME)