Big night for games development

Over 500 games development execs saw 15 different winners walk home with a Develop Award last night.

The full-house ceremony in Brighton honoured the best companies working in or serving the European games development sector over the last 12 months.

Media Molecule took him five prizes – for Best New IP, Visual Arts, Technical Achievement, Best New Studio and Best Independent Developer.

Phil Harrison, who signed the studio’s LittleBigPlanet during his tenure at Sony as its head of studios, took home the Development Legend prize in acknowledgement of his contributions to the industry through a career of 20 years and counting.

Another big winners on the night was Rockstar, whose Leeds team won Best Handheld Studio while its North studio took home Best In-House Studio.

Retired agent Jacqui Lyons was also given a special Lifetime Achievement Award for representing top developers since the 1980s via her company Marjacq.

Codemasters, meanwhile, took home the Grand Prix in celebration of almost 25 years at the heart of British games development and major growth in recent years.

Other winners included Playfish, Lionhead, Autodesk, Amiqus, Side & Sidelines, Audiomotion, Traveller’s Tales and Epic Games.

THE WINNERS IN FULL:

CREATIVITY

Best New IP
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)
 


Best Use of a Licence
Lego Batman (Traveller’s Tales)
 


Visual Arts
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)
 


Audio Accomplishment
Fable II (Lionhead)

Publishing Hero
Apple
 
 


TECHNOLOGY & SERVICES

Technical Innovation
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)


Best Tools Provider
Autodesk
 


Best Engine
Unreal Engine 3 (Epic Games)


Recruitment Company
Amiqus


Services
Audiomotion

Creative Outsourcing
Side & Sidelines


STUDIOS

Best New Studio
Media Molecule
 


Best Handheld Games Studio
Rockstar Leeds


Business Development
Playfish


Best Independent Developer
Media Molecule
 


Best In-House Team
Rockstar North

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Development Legend
Phil Harrison

Lifetime Achievement Award
Jacqui Lyons

Grand Prix
Codemasters

Click here for all our coverage of the Develop Awards, including highlights from the winners list and more