The Game Awards 2025 returned to the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles with one of the most competitive lineups the show has seen. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 led the field with a record-setting 12 nominations, a milestone that reflected just how strongly the industry responded to its debut. Across more than 100 nominated games, creators, and productions, the ceremony showcased the range and ambition shaping the year’s biggest releases. Hosted by Geoff Keighley, The Game Awards 2025 aired live across more than 30 global platforms, with live performances, world-premiere announcements, and appearances from some of gaming’s most recognizable creators, the event delivered a night packed with major reveals and closely watched results.
Complete List of Winners
Below is the full list of winners, listed in the exact order of announcement in reverse:
- Game of the Year: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
- Best Game Direction: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
- Best Multiplayer: Arc Raiders (Embark Studios)
- Best Narrative: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
- Player’s Voice: Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)
- Best RPG: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
- Best VR or AR Game: The Midnight Walk (MoonHood/Fast Travel Games)
- Best Community Support: Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Best Sports/Racing Game: Mario Kart World (Nintendo)
- Best Score and Music, Leveled Up by Spotify: Lorien Testard (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
- Best Debut Indie Game: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
- Best Sim/ Strategy Game: FINAL FANTASY TACTICS – The Ivalice Chronicles (Square Enix)
- Best Art Direction: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
- Best Action Adventure: Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)
- TGA Game Changer Award: Girls Make Games
- Most Anticipated Game: Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games)
- Best Fighting Game: Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (SNK Corporation)
- Content Creator of the Year: MoistCr1TiKaL
- Best Audio Design: Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios/EA)
- Best Ongoing Game: No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
- Games for Impact: South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios)
- Best Performance: Jennifer English (as Maelle/Alicia in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
- Best Action Game: Hades II (Supergiant Games)
- Best Adaptation: The Last of Us: Season 2 (HBO/PlayStation Productions)
- Best Independent Game: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
- Best Mobile Game: Umamusume: Pretty Derby (Cygames Inc.)
- Best Esports Team: Team Vitality – Counter Strike 2
- Best Esports Athlete: Chovy, Jeong Ji hoon (League of Legends)
- Best Esports Game: Counter Strike 2 (Valve)
- Innovation in Accessibility: Doom: The Dark Ages (id Software and Bethesda Softworks)
- Best Family: Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD and Nintendo)
Game of The Year 2025 – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won all of its nominations at The Game Awards 2025 except Best Audio Design, completing almost a full awards sweep.
The energy around this year’s Game of the Year race often echoed a moment from the 2023 ceremony, when Baldur’s Gate 3 director Swen Vincke accepted the award and delivered what fans later jokingly called “The Oracle”, a reflection on how unexpected, creatively risky games could still resonate on a global scale. That line became a kind of shorthand in the community for predicting future GOTY contenders, and many fans pointed to it again this year as support for the rising momentum behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Whether the prophecy meant anything or not, the sentiment captured the mood around the industry’s hunger for bold ideas and confident artistic direction.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 secured Game of the Year 2025 by delivering an audacious blend of surrealist art direction and rigorously constructed tactical combat. Its painterly visual identity elevated every encounter, turning the battlefield into something resembling a moving canvas rather than a traditional turn-based arena. The narrative’s meditation on cycles, inevitability, and defiance gave the game an emotional depth that lingered long after the credits. Its meticulous animation, theatrical staging, and orchestral cohesion created a cohesive aesthetic grammar rarely seen in mainstream releases. The victory cemented Sandfall Interactive’s arrival as one of the industry’s most distinctive new voices.
Highlights and Major Announcements
First Look at Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic
One of the biggest surprises of the night came with the reveal of Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, a new single player action role playing game from Arcanaut Studios in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games. The announcement featured a first look trailer that immediately caught attention for its tone and scale, followed by confirmation that Casey Hudson, known for leading the original Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect trilogy, is directing the project. The title introduced a new era for Star Wars games, presenting an original story set at the end of the Old Republic and focused on player choice, cinematic world building, and character driven storytelling. The reveal stood out as one of the most talked about premieres of the show and signaled a major new chapter for Star Wars in gaming.
Larian Studios Reveals Divinity, Its Largest Game Yet
Larian Studios delivered one of the biggest surprises of The Game Awards 2025 with the official reveal of its next project, a new entry in the Divinity franchise simply titled Divinity. The announcement followed weeks of speculation, including a trademark filing and a mysterious desert statue that fueled community theories.
According to the reveal, this new title is positioned as Larian’s largest game to date and is expected to surpass the scope of Baldur’s Gate 3, which set a high bar for modern RPGs. The debut trailer introduced a darker tone than previous entries, featuring striking imagery and hints of a story centered around ritual, consequence, and supernatural upheaval. For many fans, the reveal marked Larian’s return to the universe that defined the studio before Baldur’s Gate 3, making it one of the most talked about premieres of the night and a significant moment for RPG players worldwide.
The Game Awards 2025 delivered a broad showcase of the creativity, technical achievement, and storytelling that defined this year in gaming. Across all categories, the winners reflected the strengths of both major studios and independent developers, highlighting how diverse and innovative the video game industry has become. These results offered a clear snapshot of what resonated most with players in 2025 and reinforced how competitive and ambitious the year has been for game development.
This year’s winners represented some of the most thoughtful and ambitious work the industry produced. Each award felt well deserved, whether earned through bold design choices, impressive technical achievements, or memorable storytelling. The diversity of projects highlighted how much the medium continues to evolve, and every team recognized tonight contributed to that growth in a meaningful way.
As the gaming industry moves into its next cycle of releases, the night served as a reminder of how much momentum and talent continue to push games forward. The Game Awards 2025 winners demonstrated the range of experiences players seek out today, from narrative-driven adventures to genre-defining action and innovative indie titles. It was a strong year for the medium and a clear indication of where video games are headed next.
