# Fun & Serious Game Festival

Fun & Serious Game Festival is a video game festival that takes place, in Bilbao, Spain, from late November to the beginning of December since its foundation in 2011. Its main objective is to recognize the cultural importance of video games. To do so, several leisure and training activities are celebrated, such as the VIT Talks and the Fun & Serious Awards.

## History

The Fun & Serious Game Festival has the support of the Basque Regional Government - SPRI, the city hall of Bilbao and Vizcaya's Provincial Council. Besides, it is sponsored by the newspaper 'El Correo'. Among the strategic partners of this event relevant brands from the sector can be found, such as Microsoft, PlayStation and Ubisoft. The Spanish Association of video games (AEVI) also collaborates with the Festival.
The Titanium Awards honoring the year's contributions to the video game industry conclude the festival.
The Titanium Award changed its name and design in 2015, in reference to the titanium, a metal that represents the transition experimented in the city of Bilbao. In 2016, the total number of assistants was of 25000 people.
In 2018, by its eighth edition, the festival changed its location, moving to the Bilbao Exhibition Centre of Baracaldo, in order to increase the habitual capacity. In 2019 the IX edition will take place, between the 6th and 9 December, where Yōko Shimomura will be awarded with the Titanium award for her input in the video games' music world. Furthermore, the compositor will impart a talk in the VIT Talks of this festival.

## Ceremonies

| Year | Date | Game of the Year | Venue |
| 2011 | November 8 | Battlefield 3 (European) | Campos Eliseos Theater |
| 2011 | November 8 | Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Non-European) | Campos Eliseos Theater |
| 2012 | November 29 | Halo 4 | Campos Eliseos Theater |
| 2013 | November 28 | Grand Theft Auto V | Campos Eliseos Theater |
| 2014 | December 3 | Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor | Campos Eliseos Theater |
| 2015 | December 1 | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | Campos Eliseos Theater |
| 2016 | November 28 | Uncharted 4: A Thief's End | Guggenheim Museum |
| 2017 | December 9 | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | Guggenheim Museum |
| 2018 | December 10 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | Guggenheim Museum |
| 2019 | December 9 | Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order | Bilbao Exhibition Centre |
| 2020 | December 12 | The Last of Us Part II | Virtual |
| 2021 | December 11 | It Takes Two | Bilbao Exhibition Centre |
| 2022 | November 19 | God of War Ragnarök | Bilbao Exhibition Centre |
| 2023 | December 18 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | Bilbao Exhibition Centre |
| 2024 | December 6 | Astro Bot | Bilbao Exhibition Centre |
| 2025 | TBA | TBD | Bilbao Exhibition Centre |

## Award winners
### 2011

The first ceremony for the Titanium Awards was celebrated at the Campos Eliseos Theater on November 8, 2011, and it was presented by Patricia Conde and Alex Odogherty.
| Category | Winner |
| Game of the year (European) | Battlefield 3 |
| Game of the year (Non-European) | Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception |

### 2012

| Category | Winner |
| Game of the year | Halo 4 |

### 2013

| Category | Winner |
| Game of the year | Grand Theft Auto V |

### 2014

| Category | Winner |
| Game of the year | Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor |

### 2015

| Category | Winner |
| Bizkaia Award | Alexey Pajitnov |
| Vanguard Award | Tim Schafer |
| Honorific Award | James Armstrong |
| Game of the year | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt |
| Best Soundtrack | Life Is Strange |

### 2016

The ceremony took place at the Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao and was presented by the actress Itziar Atienza and the journalist Toni Garrido. The awards were handed by Ed Vaizey, the basketball player Alex Mumbrú and the comedian Hovik Keuchkerian.
| Category | Winner |
| Bizkaia Award | Yuji Naka |
| Vanguard Award | Harvey Smith |
| Honorific Award | Warren Spector |
| Game of the year | Uncharted 4: A Thief's End |

### 2017

The ceremony was held in the Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao and was presented by the journalist Iñaki López and the actress Itziar Atienza.
| Category | Winner |
| Bizkaia Award | John Romero |
| Honorific Award | Jordan Mechner |
| Vanguard Award | Jeff Kaplan |
| Game of the year | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild |

### 2018

| Category | Winner |
| Bizkaia Award | Fumito Ueda |
| Honorific Award | Brenda Romero |
| Pioneer Award | Jade Raymond |
| Game of the year | Red Dead Redemption 2 |

### 2019

| Category | Winner |
| Bizkaia Award | Tim Willits |
| Vanguard Award | Bruce Straley |
| Pioneer Award | Yoko Shimomura |
| Honorific Award | Greg Street |
| Game of the year | Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order |