The Game Awards 2025 was a night of stunning celebration, standout surprises, and a few bitter disappointments. While Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 swept the ceremony with a record-breaking haul, several other critically acclaimed games walked away empty-handed, and some weren’t even nominated.
Here’s a full look at who won, who lost, and which games were shockingly left out of the winners’ spotlight.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — The Unstoppable Favorite
The indie RPG phenomenon Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was the indisputable star of the evening.
- Game of the Year
- Best Game Direction
- Best Narrative
- Best Art Direction
- Best Score & Music
- Best Independent Game
- Best Debut Indie Game
- Best RPG
- Best Performance (Jennifer English)
Out of 13 nominations, it walked away with nine awards, giving it the largest single-show sweep in the history of The Game Awards. The only categories it was nominated in but didn’t win were Best Audio Design, which went to Battlefield 6, and the fan-voted Players’ Voice award, which was claimed by Wuthering Waves.
Other Major Winners
Aside from Clair Obscur, several other games left with honors:
- Best Family Game — Donkey Kong Bananza
- Best Multiplayer — Arc Raiders
- Best Action Game — Hades II
- Best Ongoing Game — No Man’s Sky
- Best Adaptation — The Last of Us: Season 2
- Games for Impact — South of Midnight
- Best Audio Design — Battlefield 6
- Best VR/AR Game — The Midnight Walk
- Best Sports/Racing — Mario Kart World
- Player’s Voice — Wuthering Waves
- Content Creator of the Year — MoistCr1TiKaL
- Esports Game — Counter-Strike 2 and Esports Athlete — Chovy and Esports Team — Team Vitality
The Biggest Nominees That Didn’t Win Anything
Even games with multiple nominations — including some favorites among critics and fans — left the stage empty-handed:
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
Nominated for Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, and more. Did not win a single category. This was one of the most talked-about snubs of the night, especially given its critical and commercial success in 2025.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Nominated for Game of the Year, Best Action/Adventure, Best Art Direction and others. Also walked away with no awards. Fans were hoping for at least a genre win for one of the most beloved indie sequels in years.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Another Game of the Year nominee that didn’t secure a win. A strong contender throughout the season, but overshadowed by Clair Obscur’s record sweep.
Split Fiction
Nominated for both Best Game Direction and Best Multiplayer/Game. No wins. The co-op action title was widely tipped as a potential breakout hit, but ultimately the night passed it by.
Ghost of Yōtei
Nominations in key categories including Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, and Best Art Direction. No awards. Despite critical buzz, it couldn’t convert nominations into trophies. This one hurt because it was my favorite game of the year.
Pavle is the founder of PlayForge and its lead writer and reviewer, covering PC, PS5, and mobile games, a with a focus on RPGs, MMOs, FPS games, and more. He’s been gaming since the PS2 days and now writes in-depth reviews and guides to help players find their next obsession and get gaming insights from real players, not just critics. His reviews are honest and transparent, but he always tries to stay positive, because in his opinion, almost any game can be fun if you look at it the right way.
In his free time, he likes to (obviously) play more games, spend time with his family, theorycraft about various media with his wife, and watch anime. So yes, he’s a complete nerd, even if he’ll never admit it.