Somehow, the end of the year has returned and it’s time once again for a parade of award nominations and shows, including this year’s The Game Awards. Ahead of December’s gala, The Game Awards released the list of this year’s nominees, revealing that they all really, truly are Really I liked Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Expedition 33 received as many as 12 nominations, the most in the history of The Game Awards for a single game. In addition to Game of the Year, it is also nominated for Best Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Sound, Best Indie Game, Best Indie Debut, Best RPG, and three actors are nominated for Best Performance.
Many other games also received significant nominations, including Death Stranding 2 (seven), Hades II (six), Hollow Knight: Silksong (five) and Ghost of Yōtei (seven).
The Game Awards ceremony will be broadcast digitally on December 11, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. PT, at which time we will announce all the winners, as well as see the usual parade of video game trailers, commercials, musical guests, possibly the Muppets, and more.
Here are all the nominees for The Game Awards 2025:
Game of the year
- Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Banana Donkey Kong
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silk Song
- Kingdom Come: Liberation II
The best direction of the game
- Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Yōtei’s spirit
- Hades II
- Divided fiction
The best narrative
- Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Yōtei’s spirit
- Kingdom Come: Liberation II
- Silent Hill f
Best art direction
- Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Yōtei’s spirit
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silk Song
Highest score and music
- Christopher Larkin – Hollow Knight: Silk Song
- Darren Korb – Hades II
- Lorien Testard – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Toma Here is your ghost
- Woodkid and Ludvig Forssell – Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Best audio design
- Battlefield 6
- Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Yōtei’s spirit
- Silent Hill f
Best performance
- Ben Starr – Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33
- Charlie Cox – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Erika Ishi – Spirit of Y And
- Jennifer English – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Konatsu Kato – Silent Hill f
- Troy Baker – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Innovations in accessibility
- Assassin’s Creed: Shadows
- Nuclear energy
- Doom: The Dark Ages
- EA Sports FC 26
- South of north
Impact games
- Consume me
- Desperate
- Lost Recordings: Bloom and Rage
- South of north
- Hiking stop
The best is in progress
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Helldivers 2
- Marvel Rivals
- No man’s sky
The best community support
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Helldivers 2
- No man’s sky
The best indie game
- Absolute
- Ball x Pit
- Blue Prince
- Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silk Song
Best debut indie game
- Blue Prince
- Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33
- Desperate
- Get it done
- Megabonk
The best mobile game
- Destiny: Uprising
- Persona 5: The Phantom of X
- Sonic Rumble
- Umamusume: Nice Derby
- Windy waves
The best VR/AR
- Alien: Rogue Raid
- Age of the Ark
- Ghost town
- Marvel’s Deadpool VR
- Night walk
The best action game
- Battlefield 6
- Doom: The Dark Ages
- Hades II
- Ninja Gaiden 4
- Shinobi: The Art of Vengeance
The best action/adventure
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Yōtei’s spirit
- Hollow Knight: Silk Song
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Divided fiction
The best RPG game
- Notorious
- Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33
- Kingdom Come: Liberation II
- Wild monster hunters
- Outer worlds 2
The best fight
- 2XKO
- Capcom Fight Collection 2
- Fatal Fury: City of Wolves
- Mortal Kombat: Legacy Collection
- Virtua Fighter 5 REVO world stage
The best family
- Banana Donkey Kong
- Lego Party!
- Lego Voyagers
- The world of Mario Kart
- Sonic Racing: Crossworlds
- Divided fiction
Best Sim/Strategy
- Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles
- Jurassic World of Evolution 3
- Sid Meier’s Civilization VII
- Storm Rise
- Altera
- Two Points Museum
Top sports/races
- EA Sports FC 26
- F1 25
- The world of Mario Kart
- Revenge
- Sonic Racing: Crossworlds
The best multiplayer mode
- Archers
- Battlefield 6
- Nightreign Elden Ring
- Peak
- Divided fiction
The best adaptation
- Minecraft video
- The devil may cry
- Splinter Cell: Death Guard
- The Last of Us: Season 2
- Until dawn
The most anticipated game
- 007 First airy
- Grand Theft Auto VI
- Marvel’s Wolverine
- Resident Evil Requiem
- The Witcher IV
Content Creator of the Year
- Caedrel
- Kai Cenat
- MoistCr1TiKaL
- Sakura Miko
- Burnt Walnut
The best esports game
- Counter-Strike 2
- Dota 2
- League of Legends
- Mobile phone legends: Bang Bang
- Evaluation
The best esports athlete
- brawk – Brock Somerhalder
- Chovy – Jeong Ji-hoon
- -Jason Sussian
- Kakeru – Kakeru Watanabe
- MenaRD – Saul Leonardo
- Zyw0o – Mathieu Herbaut
The best esports team
- Gen.G – League of Legends
- NRG – Valorant
- Sokoła team – Dota 2
- Team Liquid PH – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
- Team Vitality: Counter-Strike 2
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Her posts can be found on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Have a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
