This year's BAFTA Fellowship goes to...
Media Molecule's Siobhan Reddy.
Media Molecule boss Siobhan Reddy will collect the prestigious BAFTA Fellowship award this year.
Announcing the award today, BAFTA said it had honoured Reddy "in recognition of her pioneering work on advocacy for diversity, inclusion and creative and collaborative working culture".
Reddy joined Media Molecule shortly after its founding in 2006, and has served as its studio director since 2009, following the successful launch of LittleBigPlanet on PlayStation 3. The following years saw various LittleBigPlanet sequels and spin-offs, plus Vita and PS4 game Tearaway, before the long-awaited Dreams arrived in 2020.
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The Fellowship will be officially given during the BAFTA Games Awards on Thursday 25th March 2021, which will be hosted by Elle Osili-Wood and streamed online.
"I am so incredibly honoured and moved to receive the BAFTA Fellowship Award," Reddy said. "I have been privileged throughout my life and career with incredible support and encouragement. I sincerely hope that my story, voice and support can be useful to others within the games industry.
"There is still so much to do, the Fellowship provides further motivation for me, and is real encouragement for all of us to care even more about inclusivity, diversity and building a work culture that celebrates creativity."
Reddy will be the 11th recipient of a BAFTA Fellowship for video games. The first prize went to Maxis co-founder Will Wright in 2007, with subsequent awards every year or so for Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and former Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux.
Valve chief Gabe Newell was next, followed by a collective award for Grand Theft Auto maker Rockstar Games, then further prizes for Frontier brain David Braben, id Software co-founder John Carmack, Double Fine's Tim Schafer, and Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima.