The Game Awards 2025 nominees are now live with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leading the show in 12 categories, along with Hades 2 and Hollow Knight: Silksong – here's the list and how to vote

• The Game Awards 2025 nominees for 29 celebrated categories are now live
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads with 12 nominations
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and Ghost of Yotei have also picked up eight nominations each

The Game Awards 2025 nominees have been announced, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 dominates the categories as the most-nominated game in the show's history.

Voting for the annual awards ceremony is officially live ahead of the scheduled event on December 11, and you can now head over to the official Game Awards website to cast your ballot in 29 categories.

The awards for this year's celebrated games will be announced alongside new reveals, trailers, musical performances, and other news, and the show will be hosted, once again, by founder Geoff Keighley.

The nominees for the prestigious Game of the Year award comprise some of the biggest hits of 2025, including Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, Donkey Kong Bananza, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Hades 2, and Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads this year, earning a total of 12 nominations among its Game of the Year recognition, making it the most-nominated game in the show's history.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and Ghost of Yotei follow behind with eight nominations each, Hades 2 with six, and Hollow Knight: Silksong picking up five.

Clair Obscur also leads the Best Performance category, with Ben Starr, Jennifer English, and Charlie Cox receiving nominations, and are joined by Indiana Jones and the Great Circle's Troy Baker, Ghost of Yotei's Erika Ishii, and Silent Hill f star, Konatsu Kato.

Alongside Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, and Best Indie Game, nominees for Most Anticipated Game have also been revealed, which feature titles set to release next year like Grand Theft Auto 6, 007 First Light, Marvel’s Wolverine, and Resident Evil Requiem, as well as The Witcher 4.

For the full breakdown of this year's nominations, you can check out the categories below. We'll also keep you updated on the winners when The Game Awards 2025 airs next month.

The Game Awards 2025 - Nominees:

GAME OF THE YEAR

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Hades 2
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

BEST GAME DIRECTION

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Hades 2
• Split Fiction

BEST NARRATIVE

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
• Silent Hill f

BEST ART DIRECTION

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Hades 2
• Hollow Knight: Silksong

BEST SCORE AND MUSIC

• Christopher Larkin, Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Darren Korb, Hades 2
• Lorien Testard, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Toma Otowa, Ghost of Yōtei
• Woodkid and Ludvig Forssell, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

BEST AUDIO DESIGN

• Battlefield 6
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Silent Hill f

BEST PERFORMANCE

• Ben Starr, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Charlie Cox, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Erika Ishii, Ghost of Yōtei
• Jennifer English, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Konatsu Kato, Silent Hill f
• Troy Baker, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY

• Assassin’s Creed Shadows
• Atomfall
• Doom: The Dark Ages
• EA Sports FC 26
• South of Midnight

GAMES FOR IMPACT

• Consume Me
• Despelote
• Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
• South of Midnight
• Wanderstop

BEST ONGOING 

• Final Fantasy XIV
• Fortnite
• Helldivers 2
• Marvel Rivals
• No Man’s Sky

BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT

• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Final Fantasy 14
• Fortnite
• Helldivers 2
• No Man’s Sky

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME

• Absolum
• Ball x Pit
• Blue Prince
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Hades 2
• Hollow Knight: Silksong

BEST DEBUT INDIE GAME

• Blue Prince
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Despelote
• Dispatch
• Megabonk

BEST MOBILE GAME

• Destiny: Rising
• Persona 5: The Phantom X
• Sonic Rumble
• Umamusume: Pretty Derby
• Wuthering Waves

BEST VR/AR 

• Alien: Rogue Incursion
• Arken Age
• Ghost Town
• Marvel’s Deadpool VR
• The Midnight Walk

BEST ACTION

• Battlefield 6
• Doom: The Dark Ages
• Hades 2
• Ninja Gaiden 4
• Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Split Fiction

BEST RPG

• Avowed
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
• The Outer Worlds 2
• Monster Hunter Wilds

BEST FIGHTING

• 2XKO
• Capcom Fighting Collection 2
• Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
• Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection
• Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage

BEST FAMILY

• Donkey Kong Bananza
• LEGO Party!
• LEGO Voyagers
• Mario Kart World
• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
• Split Fiction

BEST SIM/STRATEGY

• The Alters
• FINAL FANTASY TACTICS - The Ivalice Chronicles
• Jurassic World Evolution 3
• Sid Meier’s Civilization 7
• Tempest Rising
• Two Point Museum

BEST SPORTS/RACING

• EA Sports FC 26
• F1 25
• Mario Kart World
• Rematch
• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

BEST MULTIPLAYER

• Arc Raiders
• Battlefield 6
• Elden Ring Nightreign
• Peak
• Split Fiction

BEST ADAPTATION

• A Minecraft Movie (Legendary Pictures/Mojang/Warner Bros)
• Devil May Cry (Studio Mir/Capcom/Netflix)
• The Last of Us: Season 2 (HBO/PlayStation Productions)
• Splinter Cell: Deathwatch (FOST Studio/Ubisoft/Netflix)
• Until Dawn (Screen Gems/PlayStation Productions)

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME

• 007 First Light
• Grand Theft Auto 6
• Marvel’s Wolverine
• Resident Evil Requiem
• The Witcher 4

CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR 

• Caedrel
• Kai Cenat
• MoistCr1TiKaL
• Sakura Miko
• The Burnt Peanut

BEST ESPORTS GAME

• Counter-Strike 2
• DOTA 2
• League of Legends
• Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
• Valorant

BEST ESPORTS ATHLETE

• brawk - Brock Somerhalder (Valorant)
• Chovy - Jeong Ji-hoon (League of Legends)
• f0rsakeN - Jason Susanto (Valorant)
• Kakeru - Kakeru Watanabe (Street Fighter)
• MenaRD - Saul Leonardo (Street Fighter)
• Zyw0o - Mathieu Herbaut (Counter-Strike 2)

BEST ESPORTS TEAM

• Gen.G - League of Legends
• NRG - Valorant
• Team Falcons - DOTA 2
• Team Liquid PH - Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
• Team Vitality - Counter-Strike 2

The best gaming consoles

➡️ Read our full guide to the best gaming consoles
1. Best overall:
PlayStation 5 Slim
2. Best budget:
Xbox Series S
3. Best handheld:
Nintendo Switch 2
4. Most powerful:
PlayStation 5 Pro

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