The Game Awards 2025 Nominees Announced, Clair Obscur Makes History The date is set. The nominees are in. The Game Awards 2025 ceremony will take place on December 11 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, and we now know which games are in the running for the top prizes, including the coveted Game of the Year award. The competition for the evening’s biggest honor is fierce. The six nominees for Game of the Year are Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from Sandfall Interactive, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach from Kojima Productions, Donkey Kong Bananza from Nintendo, Hades II from Supergiant Games, Hollow Knight: Silksong from Team Cherry, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II from Warhorse Studios. A standout story from this year’s nominations is the historic performance of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The game secured a total of twelve nominations, making it the most-nominated title in the twelve-year history of The Game Awards. Its nominations include three in the Best Performance category alone. It is also nominated for Best Independent Game, a category where it faces stiff competition from Hades II and Hollow Knight: Silksong, which are also up for Game of the Year. The other contenders for Best Independent Game are Absolum, Ball x Pit, and Blue Prince. Following closely behind in the nomination count are Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei, each with eight nominations. Hades II garnered seven nods, while Hollow Knight: Silksong received five. Among publishers, Sony Interactive Entertainment leads the pack with nineteen total nominations. While several major titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Assassins Creed Shadows, and Monster Hunter Wilds missed out on a Game of the Year nomination, they did secure recognition in other categories. The lineup also showcases a strong year for innovative and poignant indie titles, with games like Despelote and Consume Me earning nominations. In a surprising move, Marvels Deadpool VR, a game not set to release until the day after the nominations were announced, also received a nod. Fan voting for The Game Awards is now open on the official TGA website. The public vote will account for ten percent of the final decision, with a jury of media outlets determining the remaining ninety percent. The nominees for the Players Voice award, which is decided entirely by fan votes, will be revealed on December 1. This year’s show will be streamed on a wide array of platforms, including on Prime Video for the first time. As always, the event promises a cavalcade of new game trailers and announcements alongside the awards themselves. The gaming world will be watching on December 11 to see which titles will follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner, Astro Bot.
