The Essentials: The TGA 2025 Winners
- Game of the Year (GOTY) 2025: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- The Big Winner (Most Awarded): Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with 9 awards.
- The Forgotten: Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, despite its 8 nominations, leaves the ceremony empty-handed.
The Game Awards 2025 took place on December 11, 2025, from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, and once again celebrated the best of the video game industry. Still hosted by Geoff Keighley, this edition will be remembered, notably for the brilliant triumph of a French video game. With an impressive record of 9 awards, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 stands out as the big winner of the evening, while some highly anticipated heavyweights unexpectedly go home empty-handed. Here’s a look at the winners of the Game Awards 2025.
The Game of the Year (GOTY) 2025 is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Even before the ceremony began, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 had already made history by receiving 12 nominations at the Game Awards 2025, an unprecedented record. The RPG developed by the French studio Sandfall Interactive confirmed its favorite status by winning nine trophies, including the most prestigious: Game of the Year.
The competition was particularly tough this year, with major titles like Death Stranding 2 by Hideo Kojima, Donkey Kong: Bananza, Hades 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. But Clair Obscur managed to win over both the jury and the players.
Its success is based on a strong artistic identity, inspired by both pictorial art and the aesthetics of the Belle Époque, a remarkable soundtrack with multiple influences, a moving story addressing mature themes, and modern turn-based gameplay that pays homage to the great classic RPGs.
A symbolic moment of the evening: the GOTY award was presented to Guillaume Broche, the game's director, by Nicolas Doucet, game director of Astro Bot, last year's winner. A nice nod to French developers, as Nicolas Doucet is from the Gers region—not far from Montpellier, where Sandfall Interactive is based.
Another memorable moment: Lorien Testard and Alice Duport-Percier, composers of the original soundtrack, took the stage to perform an excerpt from the OST with the Game Awards orchestra. A suspended moment, which received a standing ovation from the audience.
Whether you play on console or PC, the Game Awards are the perfect opportunity to discover the best games of the year. And to fully enjoy them, remember to equip yourself with good hardware: from high-performance PC controllers to simulation accessories, Nacon has everything you need.
The Game Awards 2025: The Complete List of Winners (Category by Category)
Game of the Year 2025
- Winner: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Best Game Direction
- Winner: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Hades II
- Split Fiction
Best Narrative
- Winner: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- Silent Hill f
Best Art Direction
- Winner: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
Best Music and Score
- Winner: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Hades II
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Best Audio Design
- Winner: Battlefield 6
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Silent Hill f
Best Performance
- Winner: Jennifer English (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
- Ben Starr (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
- Charlie Cox (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
- Erika Ishii (Ghost of Yotei)
- Konatsu Kato (Silent Hill f)
- Troy Baker (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle)
Innovation in Accessibility
- Winner: Doom: The Dark Ages
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows
- Atomfall
- EA Sports FC 26
- South of Midnight
Games for Impact
- Winner: South of Midnight
- Consume Me
- Despelote
- Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
- Wanderstop
Best Ongoing Game
- Winner: No Man's Sky
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Helldivers 2
- Marvel Rivals
Best Community Support
- Winner: Baldur's Gate 3
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Helldivers 2
- No Man's Sky
Best Independent Game
- Winner: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Absolum
- Ball x Pit
- Blue Prince
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
Best Debut Indie
- Winner: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Blue Prince
- Despelote
- Dispatch
Best Mobile Game
- Winner: Umamusume: Pretty Derby
- Destiny: Rising
- Persona 5: The Phantom X
- Sonic Rumble
- Wuthering Waves
Best VR/AR
- Winner: The Midnight Walk
- Alien: Rogue Incursion
- Arken Age
- Ghost Town
- Marvel’s Deadpool VR
Best Action Game
- Winner: Hades II
- Battlefield 6
- Doom: The Dark Ages
- Ninja Gaiden 4
- Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
Best Adventure Game
- Winner: Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Split Fiction
Best RPG
- Winner: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Avowed
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- The Outer Worlds 2
- Monster Hunter Wilds
Best Fighting Game
- Winner: Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
- 2XKO
- Capcom Fighting Collection 2
- Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection
- Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage
Best Family Game
- Winner: Donkey Kong Bananza
- LEGO Party!
- LEGO Voyagers
- Mario Kart World
- Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
- Split Fiction
Best Sim/Strategy
- Winner: FINAL FANTASY TACTICS - The Ivalice Chronicles
- The Alters
- Jurassic World Evolution 3
- Sid Meier's Civilization VII
- Tempest Rising
- Two Point Museum
Best Sports/Racing
- Winner: Mario Kart World
- EA Sports FC 26
- F1 25
- Rematch
- Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
Best Multiplayer
- Winner: ARC Raiders
- Battlefield 6
- Elden Ring Nightreign
- Peak
- Split Fiction
Best Adaptation
- Winner: The Last of Us
- Minecraft: The Movie
- Devil May Cry
- Splinter Cell: Deathwatch
- Until Dawn
Most Anticipated Game
- Winner: Grand Theft Auto VI
- 007 First Light
- Marvel's Wolverine
- Resident Evil Requiem
- The Witcher IV
Content Creator of the Year
- Winner: MoistCr1TiKaL
- Caedrel
- Kai Cenat
- Sakura Miko
- The Burnt Peanut
Best Esport Game
- Winner: Counter-Strike 2
- Dota 2
- League of Legends
- Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
- Valorant
Best Esport Athlete
- Winner: Chovy
- brawk
- f0rsakeN
- Kakeru
- MenaRD
- Zyw0o
Best Esport Team
- Winner: Team Vitality - Counter-Strike 2
- Gen.G - League of Legends
- NRG - Valorant
- Team Falcons - DOTA 2
- Team Liquid PH - Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Player's Choice
- Winner: Wuthering Waves
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Dispatch
- Genshin Impact
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- Silent Hill f
Want to compare with last year's winners? Check out the results of the Game Awards 2024 to (re)see how it went.
The "World Premieres": Our Top 3 Announcements and Trailers from The Game Awards 2025 Not to Miss
1. Divinity, the New Game from the Creators of Baldur's Gate 3
Larian Studios won the GOTY title for Baldur's Gate 3 in 2023; they are using the 2025 ceremony to unveil their new title, promised to be the largest and most ambitious to date.
Teased before the TGA 2025 with a mysterious statue photographed in the Californian desert, Divinity promises to continue the fantasy series with brilliance.
Divinity - Cinematic Announcement Trailer
2. Tomb Raider: Two Big Returns for Lara Croft
We haven't seen her in such great shape since Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 2018: Lara Croft returns not with one, but two games announced at The Game Awards 2025.
The first upcoming project, Legacy of Atlantis, will be released in 2026 (just in time for the series' 30th anniversary) and will be a modern reinterpretation of the very first installment of the series, which had already been remade as Tomb Raider Anniversary in 2007.
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis - Announcement Trailer
Then, the British archaeologist will return in a brand new adventure, Tomb Raider: Catalyst, which will see her explore India and face new dangers. Scheduled for release in 2027!
Tomb Raider: Catalyst - Announcement Trailer
3. A New Solo Star Wars Game
Presented at The Game Awards 2025 through a cinematic trailer, Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic is announced as a still very enigmatic solo RPG.
At this stage, little information has been revealed, other than that the adventure will take place in the same period as the mythical game Knights of the Old Republic, of which it is a spiritual successor. The project is also being developed by Arcanaut Studios, headed by Casey Hudson, who was already the director of the famous KOTOR.
Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic - Cinematic Trailer
The Major Absences, Surprises, and Disappointments of the 2025 Awards
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was announced as the big favorite, and it certainly did not disappoint: the French game swept all the awards for which it was nominated... Except for two: Best Audio Design, which went to Battlefield 6, and even more surprisingly, the "Player's Choice" award.
Entirely decided by the public (without any vote from the Game Awards jury), this award went to the very popular open-world gacha game Wuthering Waves — which undoubtedly benefited from the support of its very large community of players.
Hideo Kojima is a regular at the Game Awards, where he regularly announces the release of his future games. However, the Japanese genius leaves empty-handed this year in terms of awards, despite 9 nominations for his Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, published by Sony.
Moreover, although accustomed to impressive awards (PlayStation had even won the GOTY title last year with Astro Bot), Sony did not win any titles this year. Neither Ghost of Yōtei nor Death Stranding 2: On the Beach managed to stand out.
Where to Rewatch The Game Awards 2025 Ceremony?
Broadcast on December 11, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, The Game Awards 2025 ceremony was notably streamed on YouTube and Twitch.
The entire ceremony is available on replay on YouTube.
Are you more into simulation? Discover our complete sim racing setup. And if you're a fan of fighting games, we have what you need with our Street Fighter 6 arcade stick guide!
