No Man’s Sky developer Hello Games won the award for innovation at this year’s Game Developers Choice Awards, but it clearly wasn’t expecting to. As a result, the indie team wasn’t there in person to accept its award from host Tim Schafer.

Why? They were otherwise preoccupied — Hello Games team members who made the trip to San Francisco for GDC were eating dinner at the time — and said they didn’t expect to win anyway.

When Schafer announced that No Man’s Sky had won the Innovation Award at tonight’s festivities, he called out, “Going once... going twice...” after it appeared that no one was en route to the stage to accept the neon green robot trophy. Once it was clear no one from Hello Games was on hand to receive the award, Schafer accepted it on the developer’s behalf.

Shortly after that awkward event transpired, Hello Games code lead Innes McKendrick explained what happened on Twitter:

we were uh, eating dinner

talking about how we definitely wouldn't win an award — Innes MᶜK @ gdc (@innesmck) March 2, 2017

The Hello Games GDC crew eventually did make its way over to the awards, but they were a little too late to make up for the no-show earlier in the evening.

McKendrick later said the developer’s absence during its award win was “quite embarrassing” — but after Hello Games’ drubbing from consumers and critics over No Man’s Sky’s final product, the presumption from the studio that it wouldn’t win an award is understandable.

anyway i guess next time we talk about imposter syndrome... i probably have the winning example?? — Innes MᶜK @ gdc (@innesmck) March 2, 2017

Hello Games’ Sean Murray said on Twitter he believed that if No Man’s Sky was going to win anything tonight, the organizers probably would have told them ahead of time. (Apparently they didn’t.)

As for the rest of the winners — most of whom were present to receive their awards and give acceptance speeches — here they are:

GDC Award Winners

Best Debut

Firewatch - Campo Santo

Best Audio

Inside - Playdead

Innovation Award

No Man’s Sky - Hello Games

Best Technology

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End - Naughty Dog

Best VR/AR

Job Simulator - Owlchemy Labs

Best Visual Art

Inside - Playdead

Best Narrative

Firewatch - Camp Santo

Best Design

Overwatch - Blizzard Entertainment

Best Mobile/Handheld Game

Pokémon Go - Niantic

Audience Award

Battlefield 1 - EA/DICE

Game of the Year

Overwatch - Blizzard Entertainment

IGF Award Winners

Best Student Game

Un Pas Fragile

Excellence in Visual Art

Hyper Light Drifter

Excellence in Audio

Gonner

Alt.Ctrl.GDC Award

Fear Sphere

Nuovo Award

Oikospiel Book I

Excellence in Design

Quadrilateral Cowboy

Excellence in Narrative

Ladykiller in a Bind

Audience Award

Hyper Light Drifter

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

Quadrilateral Cowboy