The British Academy has changed the format of its premiere video games awards as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause havoc across the world.
The 2020 BAFTA games awards ceremony, originally due to be a red carpet event at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on April 2, will now become an online live stream, BAFTA announced Thursday, citing the number of nominees due to travel from overseas.
“The health and wellbeing of our guests and our staff remain our top priority, so there will be no live audience and we are now in the process of informing all our nominees, guests, partners and suppliers of the change,” the organization said in a statement.
“The new format will include the announcement of the Games Awards winners and we look forward to sharing more updates in the coming weeks.”
BAFTA added that it was monitoring the ongoing situation daily with regard to its television craft awards, due to take place April 24, and main television awards, set for May 17, adding that decisions would be made on a “case-by-case basis” and based on the latest official recommendations from the World Health Organization and U.K. health authorities.
The nominees for the 2020 BAFTA games awards were unveiled earlier this month, with Death Stranding and Control leading the pack with 11 nominations each.