The Game Awards 2025 Nominees Announced: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Leads With 12 Nominations

The Game Awards announced the nominees for the best games of 2025, with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leading the pack with 12 nominations, including for the coveted Game of the Year honour. The acclaimed RPG will be going up against Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hades 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 for the night's top prize.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the debut game from independent studio Sandfall Interactive is also up for Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, and has racked up three nominations in the Best Performance category.

Sony emerged as the most nominated game publisher for this year's edition of The Game Awards with a total of 19 nominations across multiple categories. PS5 exclusives Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei are the second most nominated games with seven nods each. Acclaimed indie roguelike Hades 2 is up for six awards, followed by Silksong with five nominations and split-screen co-op adventure Split Fiction with four.

Split Fiction, one of the highest rated games of the year and an early Game of the Year favourite, was missing from the nominees list for the top prize, with fans calling its exclusion a “snub”. Hazelight's game, however, was nominated in Best Game Direction, Best Action-Adventure, Best Family, and Best Multiplayer game categories.

The Game Awards 2025 will take place live at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on December 11 at 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT (December 12 at 6am IST). The event will be hosted by producer Geoff Keighley and streamed across digital platforms. Here is the full list of nominees for The Game Awards 2025:

Game of the Year

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/ Kepler Interactive)

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/ Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD/ Nintendo)

Hades II (Supergiant Games)

Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios/ Deep Silver)

Best Game Direction

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/ Kepler Interactive)

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/ SIE)

Ghost of Yotei (Sucker Punch Productions/ SIE)

Hades II (Supergiant Games)

Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/EA)

Best Narrative

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/ Kepler Interactive)

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/ SIE)

Ghost of Yotei (Sucker Punch Productions/ SIE)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios/ Deep Silver)

Silent Hill f (NeoBards Entertainment/ Konami)

Best Art Direction

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/ Kepler Interactive)

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/ SIE)

Ghost of Yotei (Sucker Punch Productions/ SIE)

Hades II (Supergiant Games)

Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)

Best Score and Music

Christopher Larkin, Hollow Knight: Silksong

Darren Korb, Hades II

Lorien Testard, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Toma Otowa, Ghost of Yōtei

Woodkid and Ludvig Forssell, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Best Audio Design

Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios/ EA)

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/ Kepler Interactive)

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/ SIE)

Ghost of Yotei (Sucker Punch Productions/ SIE)

Silent Hill f (NeoBards Entertainment/ Konami)

Best Performance

Ben Starr, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Charlie Cox, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Erika Ishii, Ghost of Yotei

Jennifer English, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Konatsu Kato, Silent Hill f

Troy Baker, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Innovation in Accessibility

Assassin's Creed Shadows (Ubisoft)

Atomfall (Rebellion)

Doom: The Dark Ages (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)

EA Sports FC 26 (EA Canada/EA Romania/EA)

South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios)

Games for Impact

Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia/ AP Thomson/ Hexacutable)

Despelote (Julián Cordero/ Sebastián Valbuena/ Panic)

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage (Don't Nod Montreal/ Don't Nod)

South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/ Xbox Game Studios)

Wanderstop (Ivy Road/ Annapurna Interactive)

Best Ongoing Game

Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/ SIE)

Marvel Rivals (NetEase Games)

No Man's Sky (Hello Games)

Best Community Support

Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/ Sony Interactive Entertainment)

No Man's Sky (Hello Games)

Best Independent Game

Absolum (Guard Crush Games/ Supamonks/ Dotemu)

Ball x Pit (Kenny Sun/ Devolver Digital)

Blue Prince (Dogubomb/ Raw Fury)

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/ Kepler Interactive)

Hades II (Supergiant Games)

Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)

Best Debut Indie Game

Blue Prince (Dogubomb/ Raw Fury)

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/ Kepler Interactive)

Despelote (Julián Cordero/ Sebastián Valbuena/Panic)

Dispatch (AdHoc Studio)

Megabonk (Vedinad)

Best Mobile Game

Destiny: Rising (NetEase Games)

Persona 5: The Phantom X (Black Wings Game Studio/ Sega)

Sonic Rumble (Rovio Entertainment/Sega)

Umamusume: Pretty Derby (Cygames Inc.)

Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)

Best VR/ AR Game

Alien: Rogue Incursion (Survios)

Arken Age (VitruviusVR)

Ghost Town (Fireproof Games)

Marvel's Deadpool VR (Twisted Pixel Games/ Oculus Studios)

The Midnight Walk (MoonHood/ Fast Travel Games)

Best Action Game

Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios/ EA)

Doom: The Dark Ages (id Software/ Bethesda Softworks)

Hades II (Supergiant Games)

Ninja Gaiden 4 (Platinum Games/ Team Ninja/ Xbox Game Studios)

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance (Lizardcube/ Sega)

Best Action/ Adventure Game

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/ SIE)

Ghost of Yotei (Sucker Punch Productions/ SIE)

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (MachineGames/ Bethesda Softworks)

Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)

Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/ EA)

Best RPG

Avowed (Obsidian Entertainment/ Xbox Game Studios)

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/ Kepler Interactive)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios/ Deep Silver)

The Outer Worlds 2 (Obsidian Entertainment/ Xbox Game Studios)

Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)

Best Fighting Game

2XKO (Riot Games)

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (Capcom)

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (SNK Corporation)

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection (Digital Eclipse/ Atari)

Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/ Sega)

Best Family Game

Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD/ Nintendo)

Lego Party! (SMG Studio/ Fictions)

Lego Voyagers (Light Brick Studios/ Annapurna Interactive)

Mario Kart World (Nintendo EPD/ Nintendo)

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (Sonic Team/ Sega)

Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/ EA)

Best Sim/ Strategy Game

The Alters (11 Bit Studios)

Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles (Square Enix)

Jurassic World Evolution 3 (Frontier Developments)

Sid Meier's Civilization VII (Firaxis Games/ 2K)

Tempest Rising (Slipgate Ironworks/ 3D Realms)

Two Point Museum (Two Point Studios/ Sega)

Best Sports/ Racing Game

EA Sports FC 26 (EA Canada/ EA Romania/EA)

F1 25 (Codemasters/ EA)

Mario Kart World (Nintendo EPD/ Nintendo)

Rematch (Sloclap/ Kepler Interactive)

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (Sonic Team/ Sega)

Best Multiplayer Game

Arc Raiders (Embark Studios)

Battlefield 6 (Electronic Arts)

Elden Ring Nightreign (FromSoftware/ Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Peak (Aggro Crab/ Landfall)

Split Fiction (Hazelight/ EA)

Best Adaptation

A Minecraft Movie (Legendary Pictures/ Mojang/Warner Bros)

Devil May Cry (Studio Mir/ Capcom/Netflix)

The Last of Us: Season 2 (HBO/ PlayStation Productions)

Splinter Cell: Deathwatch (FOST Studio/ Ubisoft/Netflix)

Until Dawn (Screen Gems/ PlayStation Productions)

Most Anticipated Game

007 First Light (IO Interactive)

Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games)

Marvel's Wolverine (Insomniac Games/ SIE)

Resident Evil Requiem (Capcom)

The Witcher IV (CD Projekt Red)

Content Creator of the Year

Caedrel

Kai Cenat

MoistCr1TiKaL

Sakura Miko

The Burnt Peanut

Best Esports Game

Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)

DOTA 2 (Valve)

League of Legends (Riot)

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Moonton)

Valorant (Riot)

Best Esports Athlete

brawk – Brock Somerhalder (Valorant)

Chovy – Jeong Ji-hoon (League of Legends)

f0rsakeN – Jason Susanto (Valorant)

Kakeru – Kakeru Watanabe (Street Fighter)

MenaRD – Saul Leonardo (Street Fighter)

Zyw0o – Mathieu Herbaut (Counter-Strike 2)

Best Esports Team

Gen.G – League of Legends

NRG – Valorant

Team Falcons – DOTA 2

Team Liquid PH – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

Team Vitality – Counter-Strike 2