Respawn Becomes First Game Studio to Win an Oscar

Respawn, the folks behind Apex Legends, Jedi: Fallen Order, and Titanfall, now have another distinction under their belt: they’re now officially the first game studio to win an Oscar.

So, how exactly did that happen?

Well, those of you with impeccable memories might recall that Respawn are also the folks behind Metal of Honor: Above and Beyond, a mediocre FPS for the Oculus Rift. The game itself remains fairly boring, but it shipped with a short documentary called Colette, which tells the story of one of the last surviving members of the French Resistance who comes to visit Germany after 74 years to see the concentration camp where her brother died. It’s 24 minutes long, it’ll probably make you cry, and you can watch the whole thing free right here.

It’s… really not what you’d expect. You’d expect a documentary that exists to hype up a WW2 game would be bombastic and patriotic and heroic. But this is very subdued and honest. The people are quiet, the relationships are raw, and there’s an underlying and appreciable anger to the whole thing, which doesn’t end victoriously as much as it just ends inevitably. It’s not a pleasant watch, but it’s a captivatingly honest one, and it certainly deserves the Oscar win in my humble opinion.

In any case, the only good studio in EA’s employ gets another notch on their belts. Good for them.