The Game Awards 2025 Nominees Announced

The Game Awards 2025 nominees are officially here. Host Geoff Keighley has revealed the full lineup ahead of the live ceremony on December 11 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. As always, the event will celebrate the year’s standout releases while showcasing world premieres and teases for what’s coming in 2026 and beyond.

Since its debut in 2014, the show has grown into one of gaming’s biggest annual moments. Last year, Astro Bot earned top honors, including Game of the Year. With 2025 filled with high-profile launches and genre-defining hits, competition is especially fierce.

Streamer Shroud recently stirred debate by urging fans not to vote for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, instead championing ARC Raiders for the top prize. Fans remain divided, especially since Clair Obscur has earned widespread acclaim throughout the year.

Below is the full list of nominees for The Game Awards 2025.

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 Yotei

• Hades 2

• Split Fiction

Best Narrative

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

• Ghost of Yotei

• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

• Silent Hill f

Best Art Direction

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

• Ghost of Yotei

• Hades 2

• Hollow Knight: Silksong

Best Score and Music

• Hollow Knight: Silksong

• Hades 2

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

• Ghost of Yotei

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Best Audio Design

• Battlefield 6

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

• Ghost of Yotei

• Silent Hill f

Best Performance

• Ben Starr — Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

• Charlie Cox — Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

• Erika Ishii — Ghost of Yotei

• Jennifer English — Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

• Konatsu Kato — Silent Hill f

• Troy Baker — Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Games for Impact

• Consume Me

• Despelote

• Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

• South of Midnight

• Wanderstop

Innovation in Accessibility

• Assassin's Creed Shadows

• Atomfall

• Doom: The Dark Ages

• EA Sports FC 26

• South of Midnight

Best Ongoing Game

• Final Fantasy 14

• 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 Game

• Alien: Rogue Incursion

• Arken Age

• Ghost Town

• Marvel's Deadpool VR

• The Midnight Walk

Best Action Game

• Battlefield 6

• Doom: The Dark Ages

• Hades 2

• Ninja Gaiden 4

• Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

Best Action/Adventure Game

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

• Ghost of Yotei

• Hollow Knight: Silksong

• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

• Split Fiction

Best Role-Playing Game

• Avowed

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

• Monster Hunter Wilds

• The Outer Worlds 2

Best Fighting Game

• 2XKO

• Capcom Fighting Collection 2

• Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves

• Mortal Kombat: Legacy Collection

• Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage

Best Family Game

• Donkey Kong Bananza

• LEGO Party!

• LEGO Voyagers

• Mario Kart World

• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

• Split Fiction

Best Sim/Strategy Game

• 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 Game

• EA Sports FC 26

• F1 25

• Mario Kart World

• Rematch

• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

Best Multiplayer Game

• ARC Raiders

• Battlefield 6

• Elden Ring: Nightreign

• Peak

• Split Fiction

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

• Chovy

• Forsaken

• Kakeru

• Menard

• Zywoo

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

Best Adaptation

• A Minecraft Movie

• Devil May Cry

• Splinter Cell: Deathwatch

• The Last of Us Season 2

• Until Dawn

Most Anticipated Game

• 007 First Light

• Grand Theft Auto 6

• Marvel's Wolverine

• Resident Evil Requiem

• The Witcher 4

Looking Ahead

With major 2026 titles like Resident Evil Requiem and Grand Theft Auto 6 building massive hype, expectations for next year are already high. GTA 6 won’t be eligible for next year’s awards due to its release timing, but analysts still predict enormous commercial success, potentially exceeding $3 billion in its first year.

The Game Awards 2025 airs on December 11, with Players’ Voice nominees arriving December 1—giving fans a chance to vote for the games that left the biggest impact this year.