LOS ANGELES – Sept. 10, 2020 – The Black In Gaming Awards honors the outstanding achievements and contributions to video games by black game developers and corporate allies. This year’s show digitally presents the fourth annual ceremony on Sept. 13 at 7:15 p.m. (PT) simulcasted as a part of PAX Online and on the Black in Gaming Twitch channel.

Created by a Special Interest Group of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) called Black In Gaming (BIG), also supported by the IGDA Foundation (IGDA-F), the BIG Awards are sponsored by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Unity Technologies, and Niantic Inc.

This year’s winners include leaders forging new paths for games and shaping strategy on a global stage, like Champion Award recipient Sarah Bond, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Global Gaming Partnerships and Development at Xbox. The Image Award will go to Shana Bryant for her 14-year career as a successful producer at Capcom, Midway Games, and Electronic Arts.

The luminaries list continues with Chris Judge, the iconic voice of Kratos in 2018’s best selling PlayStation 4 exclusive God of War, receiving the award for Excellence in Performance. Beloved former president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, Reginald Fils-Aimé, will receive the BIG Awards’ Legacy Award.

Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Mike Pondsmith, founder and CEO of R. Talsorian Games, has written for several RPG lines including Mekton, Cyberpunk, and Castle Falkenstein.

Full List of Award Recipients

Reggie Fils-Aime – Legacy Award
Mike Pondsmith – Jerry Lawson Lifetime Achievement Award
Sarah Bond – Champion Award
Shana Bryant – Image Award
Chris Judge – Excellence in Performance
Erlson Neba – Excellence in Artistry
Raymond Graham – Excellence in Programming
Marcus Montgomery – Excellence in Product & Design
Kiro’o Games for Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan – Indie Developer Award
Keisha Howard – Industry Spotlight Award
Kahlief Adams – Excellence in Media
Kimberly – Bryant Education Award

Kahlief Adams of Spawn on Me, an award-winning podcast spotlighting news in the gaming industry, and Trinidad Hermida will host this year’s event. The show is executive produced by
Laura Teclemariam and J.Patton. Each notable industry professional will be honored for their industry-changing achievements with a custom plaque featuring the Fairchild Channel F System as a commemoration to inventor Jerry Lawson.

“This industry is home to so many talented professionals. We’re honored to recognize the leaders and mentors who continue to build on long histories of making a difference in the
gaming industry,” said Black in Gaming Executive Director Carl Varnado. “Shining the spotlight on their achievements, hard work, and endless creativity is our way of honoring these
outstanding contributors to the gaming industry.”

For more information, check out the Black In Gaming website. Visit @BlackInGaming on Twitter and the Black In Gaming Facebook page for the latest news developments and updates.

About Black In Gaming

Black in Gaming (BIG,) is an International Game Developer Association special interest group
(SIG), which aims to cultivate a community of diverse professionals in the video game industry
who come together for networking, fellowship, professional development, education, and
celebration. Black in Gaming (BIG) seeks to create a standard normalization of black cultural
identification through the increase from 2% to 5% of the black community in the game industry
through education, outreach, representation, and entrepreneurial initiatives over the next 5
years. #BIG5IN5. To find out more about Black in Gaming, visit www.blackingaming.com.

About IGDA Foundation

The IGDA Foundation (IGDA-F) advances a diverse workforce and ecosystem for the video
game industry to better reflect the millions of passionate players enjoying video games
worldwide.

The IGDA-F focuses on promoting a game development community representative of and
welcoming and inclusive to, every person who wants to make games. The IGDA-F garners
support for diversity and inclusion in the video game industry with initiatives such as its IGDA
Scholars, Velocity, and Next Gen Leaders programs, with others in the pipeline.

The IGDA Foundation is a public charity, registered as a 501(c)3 organization in the United
States. To find out more about the IGDA Foundation’s initiatives visit http://igdafoundation.org.