Tribeca Film Festival is set to award video games in 2021.
Robert De Niro
The annual event - which was founded by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro in 2001 - will open submissions for games to join the showcase as Official Selections as part of the inaugural Tribeca Games Award.
With an established advisory board full of industry leaders such as The Game Awards founder Geoff Keighley, Halo Transmedia's Kiki Wolfkill, EA co-founder Bing Gordon, Remedy's Sam Lake, and Kojima Productions' Hideo Kojima, the awards will "honour upcoming games from the selections that demonstrate artistic excellence in storytelling in a game".
However, this isn't the first time the festival has acknowledged excellence in gaming as 'LA Noire' became the very first game recognised as an official selection in 2011.
Co-founder Jane Rosenthal said: "In the ten years since we first welcomed a game to Tribeca's official program, we've seen an exciting convergence of games, film, and immersive experiences.
"Where there was once a clear delineation between media, there is now a blurring of the lines - stories have become games and games have become stories.
"Broad recognition for voices at the forefront of this ever-changing landscape is long overdue, and we intend to be a home for these creators whose incredible work should be celebrated."
Casey Baltes, VP of Tribeca Games added: "Games have proven to be one of the most sophisticated storytelling vehicles today - not only with narrative but also with incredible artistic mastery, the creation of highly immersive worlds and providing meaningful connections to communities all over the world.
"We're excited to celebrate games and game creators alongside film, immersive, music, art, and more at next year's Festival."
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