Game of the Year Nominees Announced for The Game Awards 2025

Geoff Keighley has unveiled the full list of nominees for The Game Awards 2025, setting the stage for one of the most competitive line-ups in recent years. The show returns on 11 December, mixing awards with world premieres and trailers for 2026 and beyond. After Astro Bot swept last year’s event, this time the field is packed with heavy hitters from across the industry, from big-budget sequels to striking indie debuts.

Game of the Year is especially stacked. The six contenders are Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hades 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Clair Obscur has been a fan favourite since launch and appears in almost every major category, but Hades 2 and Silksong bring huge goodwill from earlier entries, while Death Stranding 2 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 have strong followings of their own.

From what I have seen in early reaction videos, a lot of critics expect Clair Obscur to walk away with at least one of the top awards, but few are calling Game of the Year a done deal.

Looking across the ballot, a pattern emerges. Clair Obscur and Death Stranding 2 appear together in Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction and Best Score. Hades 2 and Hollow Knight: Silksong are right alongside them in categories like Best Art Direction, Best Score and Best Action.

Ghost of Yotei shows up repeatedly as well, particularly in narrative and art-focused awards, while Silent Hill f sneaks into Best Narrative and Best Audio Design, which is a good sign for a horror game that has split opinion elsewhere.

On the multiplayer and action front, Battlefield 6 crops up in both Best Audio Design and Best Action Game, while ARC Raiders earns a nod in Best Multiplayer. Ninja Gaiden 4, Doom: The Dark Ages and Shinobi: Art of Vengeance round out the Best Action Game list, which is a very combat-heavy group. From what I have seen of early pundit predictions, many expect Hades 2 to take that category simply because it has the widest reach and the most accessible structure, even if some more niche action titles arguably push the mechanics further.

Indie representation is strong but a little messy. Blue Prince, Absolum, Dispatch, Megabonk and Clair Obscur all appear across Best Independent Game and Best Debut Indie Game, with Hades 2 and Hollow Knight: Silksong also present despite being follow-ups.

Some commentators have already questioned how The Game Awards draws the line between “indie” and “debut indie” this year and whether Clair Obscur still fits the indie label at all. From my point of view, it does highlight how blurred that term has become as budgets and publisher arrangements shift.

Elsewhere, Games for Impact includes titles such as Consume Me, Despelote, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, South of Midnight and Wanderstop. Innovation in Accessibility features Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Atomfall, Doom: The Dark Ages, EA Sports FC 26 and South of Midnight again.

I have seen a lot of praise for Doom’s granularity in its difficulty and accessibility settings, which could give it a real shot in that category even if it does not sweep elsewhere.

Sports, racing and family-focused awards are also well represented. EA Sports FC 26, F1 25, Mario Kart World and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds anchor Best Sports/Racing, while Donkey Kong Bananza, LEGO Party, LEGO Voyagers, Mario Kart World and Sonic Racing also feature in Best Family Game. Best Sim/Strategy is another stacked category, with The Alters, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Jurassic World Evolution 3, Civilization 7, Tempest Rising and Two Point Museum all competing.

On the media side, Most Anticipated Game looks like the least surprising race of the night. The nominees are 007 First Light, Grand Theft Auto 6, Marvel’s Wolverine, Resident Evil Requiem and The Witcher 4.

There’s no doubt that GTA 6 is the overwhelming favourite. Interestingly, its new release date means it will miss the nomination window for The Game Awards 2026, but given the sales forecasts being thrown around, Rockstar is unlikely to worry about missing a trophy.

As always, most categories are decided by a jury of media outlets, with the public vote acting as a smaller influence. That structure tends to divide opinion every year, but it does mean the results broadly reflect critical consensus more than pure fan popularity. Fans will get their own say through the Players’ Voice award, with nominees going live on 1 December and voting open ahead of the show.

A recurring criticism of The Game Awards is its prioritisation of advertising, which has historically resulted in winners having their speeches cut short and some categories being denied a proper on-stage moment. This was evident with the 2023 GOTY Winner Baldur’s Gate 3 being rushed at the finale.

The Game Awards 2025 airs on 11 December, and based on the nominations and early prediction videos I have seen, many expect Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hades 2 and Hollow Knight: Silksong to be the night’s biggest winners. Even so, there is enough variety across the ballot that we should see a good spread of studios on stage, which is exactly what an end-of-year celebration should aim for.

To see the full list of nominations and to cast your vote, head over to the official Game Awards Website.