The 2021 Tribeca Festival on Thursday unveiled the lineup of eight video games joining as official selections.

Among them is Twelve Minutes from developer Luis Antonio and publisher Annapurna Interactive (U.S.), which stars the voice talents of Daisy Ridley, James McAvoy and Willem Dafoe; along with Harold Halibut from Slow Bros. (Germany), Kena: Bridge of Spirits from Ember Lab (U.S.), Lost in Random from developer Zoink Games and publisher EA Originals, NORCO from developer Geography of Robots and publisher Raw Fury (U.S.), Sable from developer Shedworks and publisher Raw Fury (U.K.), Signalis from developer rose-engine and publisher Humble Games, and The Big Con from developer Mighty Yell (Canada).

The titles will compete for the inaugural Tribeca Games Award, honoring an unreleased game for its “potential for excellence in art and storytelling through design, artistic mastery and highly immersive worlds.”

Video games were first recognized at the festival in 2011, when Rockstar’s L.A. Noire became the first official selection entry. To recognize the milestone, Rockstar will return this year for a live outdoor performance on June 10 featuring Red Dead Redemption 2 official soundtrack producer Daniel Lanios, alongside other guests.

“For over a decade, our mission has been to be a catalyst for placing games and their creators at the forefront of mainstream and artistic culture alongside film, TV and VR/AR,” said Tribeca Enterprises and Tribeca Festival co-founder and CEO Jane Rosenthal. “We continue to embrace the cross pollination and intersection of these storytellers with this year’s Tribeca Games Official Selections. And this is just the beginning.”

Casey Baltes, vp of Tribeca Games, added: “This year’s selections showcase the potential for phenomenal storytelling in interactive experiences, with characters and worlds that explore the deep connection we have to ourselves and the world around us. From action/adventure to interactive thriller to intimate point and click narratives, these selections demonstrate a range of story and gameplay as well as visual style. We fell in love with the characters and the worlds that each game presented to us.”

Tribeca Games will also offer digital experiences, including hands-on demos using remote technology, as part of the Tribeca At Home program from June 11-20.

Additionally, the Tribeca Games Spotlight — an online showcase of the official selections — will feature exclusive gameplay footage as part of the free Summer Game Fest, which returns this year after a successful run last year.

The 2021 edition of Tribeca Festival takes place June 9-20.

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