There’s a first time for everything
Everything, the universe-spanning, philosophically-minded game from developer David OReilly is the first video game to qualify for an Academy Award. According to a tweet from OReilly, his game earned the Oscar nod after winning the Jury’s Prize for Animation at the Vienna Shorts Festival.
A press release by theVienna Shorts Festivalstates that OReilly’s work on an 11-minuteshort film/trailerforEverythingtook home the prize because “beyond being entertaining [it] has a strong poetic and philosophical theme. It serves a highly educational purpose, including an important political statement, that encourages to let our egos dissolve and gain a new perspective on the world.” That’s high praise for a video game.
Cool: Everything just qualified for an Academy Award, making it the first time this has happened to a game/interactive projectpic.twitter.com/5SQVD9s960
— David OReilly (@davidoreilly)June 12, 2025
It’s a big deal to see a game make it onto the Oscars “Longlist.” It’s an even bigger deal considering just how strangeEverythingis. OReilly’s work allows players to control thousands of different “objects” — ranging from microscopic organisms to buildings, and even planets — to explore the existential philosophy of Alan Watts and the notion of a “universal oneness.”
If its philosophical leanings and film snob approval makeEverythingsound a bittoomuch, don’t worry. It’s still a silly, weird game. Destructoid’s Josh Tolentinodescribedit as “a mellow, less aggressive take onKatamari DamacyorNoby Noby Boy.” Now that’s what I call culture.
