Remedy's Creative Director, Sam Lake, has been named the latest recipient of the Andrew Yoon Legend Award for the upcoming 14th Annual New York Game Awards.
The award is presented to industry veterans who have made incredible contributions to the medium throughout their long careers. Previous recipients include Jade Raymond, Hideo Kojima, Neil Druckmann, Phil Spencer, and Tim Schafter, along with other prominent names. For anyone looking at Lake's CV it's easy to see why he was selected; he has been one of the big driving forces behind the Max Payne, Alan Wake, Quantum Break, and Control franchises throughout his thirty-year career.
The New York Video Game Awards are hosted annually by the New York Video Game Critic Circle (NYVGCC). Their next ceremony is set to be held at the SVA Theatre on January 21st, 2025, starting off the year on a high.
On the Legend Award, Harold Goldberg (President and Co-Founder of the NYVGCC) stated, “What an honor it is to celebrate someone of Sam Lake’s caliber during the 14th annual New York Game Awards. You know a Remedy game when you see it, largely due to Sam Lake’s impact on the worlds he creates. It’s really cool to see how his 20-year career at Remedy has touched so many of our members and interns at the Circle, and we are thrilled to have him join the roster of esteemed game changers previously recognized with the Andrew Yoon Legend Award.”
“It’s not often that you see a video game studio deliver a superb sequel to a title a decade later, but it’s even rarer to see how it resonates with fans and spawns a whole connected universe comprised of its past franchises,” said Ryan O’Callaghan, Executive Director at NYVGCC. “I don’t think anyone expects anything less from someone like Sam Lake. He spoke with some of our students and interns a few weeks ago, and it was insightful to see where he draws his inspiration and the care that goes into crafting a video game. This will be a year to remember at the New York Game Awards.”
Following the announcement, the NYVGCC and IGN sat down with Sam to talk about his inspirations and fondest memories over the past three decades. You can watch the NYVGCC interview below, and read the IGN interview, HERE (archived).
Source: NYVGCC Press Release (archived)
