The Game Awards 2025 culminated on Thursday night with Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 setting an unprecedented record, irreversibly cementing its status as the Game of the Year. The French studio’s title, one of the most anticipated of 2025, not only captured that most coveted prize but also went on to garner the highest number of nominations and victories in the history of the awards spanning twelve years. Such sweeping victories characterize a night in celebration of narrative ambition and mechanical experimentation, thus indicating that we are really at the beginning of drastic shifts in the industry’s critical focus toward finely crafted and character-driven role-playing experiences.
The game by any tally was a remarkable success and swept key creative and technical categories that are symbols of its overall quality. Besides the grand award, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 claimed Best RPG, Best Narrative, Best Game Direction, and Best Art Direction, evidencing an exhaustive mastery of its craft. It also won awards for Best Debut Indie Game and Best Performance, for Jennifer English. Such overwhelming approval affirms the studio’s ambitious vision of marrying over-the-top storytelling with hardcore tactical combat systems, which clearly found resonance with both voters and critics.
Beyond weighing winners, a lot of business was also dispatched over the evening in a series of big announcements and world premieres that set up the next few years of development. An Larian studio was anticipated to go back to its beloved home and made it official; a new Divinity series installment. A flashy introduction was given to Lucasfilm Games Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, an action RPG from the director behind Mass Effect and KOTOR. On top of that, Capcom solidified the release date for the mysterious sci-fi adventure Pragmata to April 24, and Bruce Straley from Naughty Dog revealed the debut project of his new studio, Coven of the Chicken Foot.
Whereas Clair Obscur took the limelight, however, other major titles were lauded for excellence across a number of specialized genres. Hades II, the long-awaited sequel, won the Best Action Game award, while Grand Theft Auto VI was also acknowledged in the Most Anticipated Game category, cementing the community’s high anticipation. Games with the greatest longevity were also recognized at the ceremony, with No Man’s Sky winning Best Ongoing Game and Baldur’s Gate 3 winning Best Community Support. Ultimately, The Game Awards 2025 affirmed the creative diversity of the industry and offered blazing champions and great looks into the future slate.
