By Sagar V. Mankar 
The gaming industry celebrated a major victory at the 52nd Annie Awards as Riot Games‘ Arcane Season 2 dominated the ceremony with seven prestigious wins, showing the growing influence of gaming-inspired animation in mainstream entertainment.
The acclaimed series, based on the popular game League of Legends, emerged as the second-most awarded recipient of the night, trailing only behind The Wild Robot’s nine wins.
Presented by the Los Angeles section of the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA-Hollywood) for exceptional talent in the animation industry, this year’s awards featured 32 categories and six Juried Awards.
Arcane’s impressive haul at the animation industry’s most prestigious event includes:
- Best Direction – TV/Media for “The Dirt Under Your Nails”
- Best Editorial – TV/Media for “Pretend Like It’s the First Time”
- Best Music – TV/Media for “The Dirt Under Your Nails”
- Best FX – TV/Media for “The Dirt Under Your Nails”
- Best Production Design – TV/Media for “The Dirt Under Your Nails”
- Best Character Animation – TV/Media (spanning seven episodes):
- “Killing Is A Cycle”
- “Heavy Is the Crown”
- “Finally Got the Name Right”
- “The Message Hidden Within The Pattern”
- “The Dirt Under Your Nails”
- “Pretend Like It’s the First Time”
- “Blisters And Bedrock”
- Best Storyboarding – TV/Media for “Killing Is a Cycle”
The series’ dominance in the Best Character Animation category is particularly noteworthy, with seven out of its nine episodes receiving recognition. This achievement far surpasses other contenders, who typically secured nominations for only one to three episodes.
In the Best Direction – TV/Media category, “Arcane” triumphed over other nominees such as “Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation,” “Bob’s Burgers,” and “Tabby McTat.”
For Best FX – TV/Media, the series surpassed “Dream Productions” and three episodes of another video game adaptation series “Secret Level.”
In the Best Storyboarding category, the episode “Killing Is a Cycle” was honored over competitors like “Invincible Fight Girl,” “Jurassic World: Chaos Theory,” “Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin,” and “Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”
The success builds upon Arcane’s groundbreaking first season, which previously set a record with nine Annie Awards. Despite controversy over its high budget [which Bloomberg and Variety claimed $250 million], 2nd season was well received by both critics and fans. Its exceptional quality got it a perfect 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and achieved a 9/10 rating on IMDb. The series was also nominated for the Best Video Game Adaptation award at the 2024 Game Awards but lost to Fallout.
While this season marks the conclusion of Arcane’s main storyline, Riot Games has confirmed three spinoff series are in development.
In another significant gaming triumph at the Annie Awards, Barcelona-based Nomada Studio’s Neva secured the Best Character Animation award in the video game category. The indie game, known for its hand-drawn animation style, prevailed over notable competitors including #BLUD, Asgard’s Wrath 2, Diesel Legacy, and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. According to the studio’s illustrator Conrad Roset, this recognition particularly celebrates their artisanal approach to game development, where each frame is meticulously hand-drawn by artists.