Phil Wang is to host the 20th BAFTA Games Awards, the world’s most prestigious annual celebration of excellence and creative achievement in games, taking place on Thursday 11 April 2024.
Wang is a stand-up comedian, podcaster and star of the Netflix special show Phil Wang: Philly Philly Wang Wang, which was filmed live at the London Palladium. Co-host of the BudPod podcaster, Phil has been a regular face on panel and comedy shows such as Have I Got News For You, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and Taskmaster. Last year, Phil toured the globe with his new show Phil Wang: Wang In There, Baby!
As a lifelong game player, whose first console was the legendary Sega Saturn, Phil spent his childhood in Malaysia as a connoisseur of real-time strategy (RTS) games, such as Rome: Total War, Age of Empires, and Theme Park Tycoon. As an adult, he graduated to AAA narrative titles like Death Stranding and The Last of Us Part II – games which received a combined 24 total BAFTA Games Awards nominations in the 2019 and 2020 ceremonies.
Jane Millichip, CEO of BAFTA, said “This year BAFTA is proud to celebrate two decades of creative excellence within the games industry with the BAFTA Games Awards. Phil Wang is the perfect host - a consummate presenter - entertaining, witty, knowledgeable and passionate about the games industry.”
Phil Wang, Host of BAFTA Games Awards, said “I’m incredibly excited to host the BAFTA Games Awards on the 11th of April. And what an honour to present it on the Awards’ 20th anniversary! I’ve always loved and been fascinated by video games. When I was about 8, I begged my dad for our first computer so that I could play Ski Free - an 8-bit skiing game that came with Windows. Games have come a long way in their sophistication since. I have wept at the The Last of Us, laughed at Portal, screamed at FIFA, and Ski Free is presumably now Ski With Ads.”
This year’s ceremony takes place on Thursday 11 April 2024 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank, London and will be livestreamed to audiences across the globe. The awards will be shown live on all major social and streaming platforms, including BAFTA's YouTube, Twitch, and X channels.
