‘I was ignored:’ BAFTA criticised after pulling indie game trailer from awards ceremony
At the 2026 BAFTA Games Awards, the organization made a last-minute decision to pull the trailer for indie game The Quiet Things from the ceremony. The game is an autobiographical narrative adventure developed by Alyx Jones, drawing from the developer’s personal diaries and addressing sensitive subjects including childhood abuse, self-harm, suicide, and sexual assault.
BAFTA justified the decision as a “compliance measure,” stating that the trailer contained themes “that may be a trigger to some” and that they could not sufficiently warn attendees in advance. The organization indicated it was made out of consideration for ceremony guests.
However, Jones described feeling ignored in the process. The developer received a phone call informing them of the pulled trailer on the way to the nominee’s party—just before the event. Jones stated that they had offered to modify or edit the trailer to address BAFTA’s concerns over the preceding two weeks, but these proposals were allegedly disregarded. The decision was characterized as last-minute, leaving the developer with limited opportunity to respond or adapt.
The incident raises questions about how major gaming institutions handle sensitive content and whether content warnings or trailer edits might have been viable alternatives to outright removal. BAFTA’s stated commitment to supporting games engaging with difficult subjects appears to conflict with its decision to exclude this particular title’s presentation from the awards ceremony.