Ahead of the show on December 11, 2025, Geoff Keighley and The Game Awards team revealed the full list of nominees for the 2025 Game Awards, including the games up for the show's most significant award, Game of the Year (though the nominees for Game of the Year did unfortunately leak ahead of the reveal).
Some years, the nomination count is tight between the few games favourited to win the big Game of the Year prize, with only one or two nominations differentiating them from their closest competition. This is not one of those years, as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the runaway leader with 12 nominations total across each of the categories.
It's worth noting that three of those nominations are all for performances by actors in the game, though even removing those three, they're still above the next closest titles, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and Ghost of Yotei, which are both tied with seven nominations each.
The next closest game is Hades 2, which earned six nominations, followed by Hollow Knight Silksong with five, Split Fiction with four, and despite making it into the Game of the Year nominees, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 only walked away with three nominations (including GOTY).
It's not the only GOTY nominee with a low nomination count, though, as Donkey Kong Bananza eeked its way into the nominees for GOTY, but only received one other nomination for Best Family Game.
As far as recent releases making the list, two interesting points stand out. One is that Marvel's Deadpool VR was nominated for Best VR/AR Game, though it's not officially out until tomorrow, November 18, 2025. The other is Dispatch, which made its way into the Best Debut Indie list after having just released the final episode of its eight-episode arc on November 12.
Voting is now officially open for The Game Awards 2025, and you can go to the official website to cast your vote. Here's the full list of nominees for the 2025 Game Awards:
The Game Awards 2025 Nominees Full List
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
Best Ongoing Game
- Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
- Fortnite
- Helldivers 2
- Marvel Rivals
- No Man's Sky
Best Mobile Game
- Destiny Rising
- Persona 5: The Phantom X
- Sonic Rumble
- Umamasume: Pretty Derby
- Wuthering Waves
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
- Christopher Larkin - Hollow Knight Silksong
- Darren Korb - Hades 2
- Lorien Testard - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Toma Otowa - Ghost of Yotei
- 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 Yotei
- Silent Hill f
Best Adaptation
- A Minecraft Movie
- Devil May Cry
- Splinter Cell Deathwatch
- HBO's The Last of Us Season 2
- Until Dawn
Best Narrative
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Ghost of Yotei
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
- Silent Hil f
Best Community Support
- Baldur's Gate 3
- Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
- Fortnite
- Helldivers 2
- No Man's Sky
Games for Impact
- Consume Me
- Despelote
- Lost Records: Bloom and Rage
- South of Midnight
- Wanderstop
Best Multiplayer
- ARC Raiders
- Battlefield 6
- Elden Ring Nightreign
- Peak
- Split Fiction
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 VR/AR Game
- Alien: Rogue Incursion
- Arken Age
- Ghost Town
- Marvel's Deadpool VR
- The Midnight Walk
Content Creator of the Year
- Caedrel
- Kai Cenat
- MoistCr1tikal
- Sakura Miko
- The Burnt Peanut
Most Anticipated Game
- 007: First Light
- Grand Theft Auto VI
- Marvel's Wolverine
- Resident Evil Requiem
- The Witcher IV
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 Kollection
- Virtua Fighter 5 REVO World Stage
Best Action Game
- Battlefield 6
- DOOM: The Dark Ages
- Hades 2
- Ninja Gaiden 4
- Shinobi: Art of Vengence
Innovation in Accessibility
- Assassin's Creed Shadows
- Atomfall
- DOOM: The Dark Ages
- EA Sports FC 26
- South of Midnight
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 VII
- Tempest Rising
- Two Point Museum
Best Sports/Racing Game
- EA Sports FC 26
- EA Sports F1 25
- Mario Kart World
- Rematch
- Sonic Racing: Crossworlds
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 Game Direction
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Ghost of Yotei
- Hades 2
- Split Fiction
Game of the Year
- Hollow Knight Silksong
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Hades 2
Check out our The Game Awards 2025 guide for the latest information on one of gaming's hottest events.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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