Game Awards 2025 nominees have been announced; Expedition 33 candidates in 12 categories

A couple of years ago, we thought 2025 was going to be the year of GTA, but now we’re not even sure we’ll see the biggest and most aicipated eertainme product of all time next year. The 2025 Games were amazing in every way. From first-rate and big masterpiece experiences to independe and small games that put their feet even beyond those expensive productions. The Game Awards 2025 nominees have been announced, and among them, Expedition 33 has been the most honored game this year by winning 12 nominations.

We are not exaggerating if we call 2025 one of the best rece years for video games. There were so many crappy games released this year that if you just waed to play the best of them, you’d be running out of time. From the beginning of the year, when “Monster Huer Wilds” and “Split Fiction” started, uil the middle of it, when it was remembered with “Expedition 33” and “Death Stranding 2”, and these last few mohs, when “Silk Song”, “Hades 2” and “Ghost of Utah” ruled.

The huge Game Awards jury has also made sure to praise all these games with nominations in various categories.

Expedition 33 got the most nominations, and out of 12 nominations, three of them are only for the actors of the game. After this number, there are two games “Ghost of Utah” and “Death Stranding 2”, each of which was able to receive awards in 8 categories. Further, “Hades 2” has been nominated in six categories, “Silk Song” has been nominated in five categories and finally “Split Fiction” has been nominated in four categories.

The complete list of Game Awards 2025 nominees is as follows:

The most influeial game of the year

In praise of a thought-provoking game that tries to convey a social message or specific meanings.

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

The best game in progress

An award for a game that has done an amazing job of delivering fresh coe and evolving the player experience over time.

• Final Faasy XIV
• Fortnite
• Helldivers II
• Marvel Rivals
• No Man’s Sky

Best player community support of the year

In praise of the best behaviors in supporting the players’ community by the company that created the game, including being transpare in providing information and answers and the speed of providing them, taking io accou the activities in social networks and the timely release of updates for the games.

• Baldur’s Gate III
• Final Faasy XIV
• Fortnite
• Helldivers 2
• No Man’s Sky

Best indie game of the year

In praise of the achievemes of a game from all creative and technical aspects that was made outside the traditional cycle of producers and with their financial support.

• Abosolum
• Hades II
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Ball x Pit
• Blue Prince

The best first game from an independe studio

In honor of the first game released by a newly established independe game studio.

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

The best mobile game of the year

In praise of the best gaming experience on the mobile platform.

• Destiny Rising
• Persona 5: The Phaom X
• Sonic Rumble
• Umamusume: Derby Party
• Wuthering Waves

The best virtual reality/augmeed reality game of the year

In praise of the best delivered ieractive experience in a virtual reality or augmeed reality environme, regardless of platform.

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

The best multiplayer game of the year

In praise of the year’s best online and multiplayer in terms of design and gameplay, including competitive and non-competitive co-op multiplayer and massive online role-playing, regardless of platform or genre.

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

Best fighting game of the year

In praise of the best game designed around head-to-head combat.

• 2XKO
• Capcom Fighting Collection 2
• Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
• Mortal Kombat: Legacy Collection
• Virtua Fighter 5 REVO World Stage

The best strategy or simulation game of the year

In honor of the best game that focuses on simulation or turn-based strategy, regardless of platform.

• Final Faasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
• Jurassic World Evolution 3
• Sid Meier’s Civilization VII
• Tempest Rising
• The Alters
• Two Poi Museum

The best sports or racing game of the year

An award in recognition of the best non-simulation simulation sports game as well as racing games.

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

The best action game of the year

In praise of the best game of the year in the action genre, which is completely designed with a focus on combat.

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

The best RPG of the year

In praise of the best role-playing game of the year, built around deep customization capabilities and a variety of choices in how to progress, with a large online role-playing game in mind.

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

The best action adveure game of the year

Acclaimed as the best action-adveure game of the year that combines combat, exploration, and puzzle solving.

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

The best family game of the year

In praise of the best game suitable for family experience regardless of genre or platform.

• Donkey Kong Banana
• Lego Party
• Lego Voyagers
• Mario Kart World
• Sonic Racing Crossworlds
• Split Fiction

The best creativity available

In praise of the best software or hardware that makes the experience of a game possible for a wider audience by adding differe features or special coe.

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

Best sound design of the year

In praise of the best design of in-game effects and sound design.

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

Best music of the year

In appreciation of the best music, including soundtracks, game recordings, and selected music.

• Hollow Knight Silksong
• Hades II
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Ghost of Yotei
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Best acting of the year

In praise of the best performance by an actor including voice acting, motion capture or both at the same time.

• Ben Starr for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Charlie Cox for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Erika Ishii for Ghost of Yotei
• Jennifer English for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Konatsu Kato for Sile Hill F
• Troy Baker for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

The best art direction of the year

In praising the achievemes of a game, art designs and animations, both creatively and technically.

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Ghost of Yotei
• Hades II
• Hollow Knight: Silksong

The best story and narration of the year

In admiring the abilities and power of storytelling and narration of a game in the best possible way.

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Ghost of Yotei
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• Sile Hill F

The best game director of the year

In praise of the best creative vision in designing and directing a game.

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Ghost of Yotei
• Hades II
• Split Fiction

The best game of the year

In praise of a game that offers the best experience in all creative and technical areas.

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

Subsections

The best adaptation of the year

In praise of a creative work that has adapted a video game io another medium in the eertainme industry while paying homage to its source.

• A Minecraft Movie
• Devil May Cry
• Splier Cell: Deathwatch
• The Last of Us: Season 2
• Uil Dawn

The most awaited game

In praise of a game unveiled that has shown its poteial to push the video game medium forward.

• 007 First Light
• Grand Theft Auto VI
• Marvel’s Wolverine
• Reside Evil Requiem
• The Witcher IV

Additional sections

The best coe producer of the year

In praise of a streamer or coe producer who has had a great, importa and positive impact on the gaming community.

• Caedrel
• Kai Cenat
• Moistcritical
• Sakura Miko
• The Burn Peanut

The best eSports game of the year

In praise of a game that has provided the best electronic sports experience to players. Including considering areas such as tournames, community support around the game and eves, and game coe updates, regardless of genre or platform.

• Couer-Strike 2
• Dota 2
• League of Legends
• Mobile Legends Bang Bang
• Valora

The best electronic sports (eSports) player of the year

In praise of the best electronic sports (eSports) player who has preseed an amazing performance in the game and behavior, regardless of the specific game.

• Brawk for Valora
• Chovy for League of Legends
• Forsaken for Valora
• Kakeru for Street Fighter
• Menard for Street Fighter
• ZYWO0 for Couer Strike 2

The best eSports team of the year

In praise of an e-sports team, and not their sponsoring company and organization, who have shown the best performance, behavior and ethics of the year.

• Gen.G for League of Legends
• NRG for Valora
• Team Falcons for Dota 2
• Team Liquid PH for Mobile Legends Bang Bang
• Team Vitality for Couer Strike 2