Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 became The Game Awards 2025 Game of the Year: full list of winners

The Game Awards, an award for achievements in the video game industry, announced "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" as Game of the Year and presented the full list of winners, UNN reports.

Details

As AFP notes, the French indie game "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" dominated the annual Game Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, winning a record nine categories, including the title of best video game of the year.

The French adventure game "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" by Sandfall and Kepler Interactive took home the top prize at the 12th Game Awards ceremony, held on Thursday at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" also won for Best Independent Game, Best Narrative, and Best Art Direction. Jennifer English also won Best Performance for her role as Maëlle in the game.

"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" competed in a total of 12 nominations at the ceremony, a record in the history of the awards, and won in 9 of them.

Other winners included Donkey Kong Bananza (Best Family Game), Hades II (Best Action Game), South of Midnight (Games for Impact), Hollow Knight: Silksong (Best Action/Adventure Game), and HBO's second season of The Last of Us won for Best Adaptation.

As Deadline notes, striving to always outdo itself, as it did last year, this awards ceremony spared no star power or surprises. Several leading studios and indie game developers made exciting announcements about their upcoming games: Lucasfilm kicked off a series of big surprises by unveiling "Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic," developed by Casey Hudson, former director of the Mass Effect trilogy, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Larian Studios, home of the 2023 Game of the Year winner Baldur's Gate 3, unveiled its next immersive RPG, Divinity. Day 4 Night Studio unveiled the comedic action game Bradley the Badger starring Evan Peters, while Capcom's highly anticipated horror film Resident Evil Requiem confirmed the return of fan-favorite Leon Kennedy, awaited for decades.

New Star Wars video game "Fate of the Old Republic" gets a teaser12.12.25, 12:01 • 8876 views

Another conceptual release came from Amazon Game Studios and Crystal Dynamics – two new Lara Croft games. The first, in 2026, is Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, a reimagining of the 1996 game where the adventurer fights for her life against dinosaurs and dives through steep waterfalls to find a lost city. The second, in 2027, is Tomb Raider Catalyst, set against a mystical catastrophe that sends Lara to Northern India to uncover ancient secrets guarded by powerful, mysterious forces. Alix Wilton Regan (Cyberpunk 2077) voices Lara Croft, replacing Camilla Luddington, who voiced the last two Tomb Raider games developed by Square Enix, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 2015 and 2018, respectively.

Star presenters included the actors of the 2026 "Street Fighter" movie: Noah Centineo, Jason Momoa, Orville Peck, David Dastmalchian, and Kallina Liang, who presented the first teaser for the film, and also presented an award for No Man's Sky. Jeffrey Wright and his son Elijah presented the award for Best Action Game Hades II, and Gemma Chan invited musician Lenny Kravitz to talk about his upcoming roles in the Amazon Games film "007 First Light." Other stars present at the ceremony included Milla Jovovich, J.J. Abrams, Tricia Helfer, and David Harbour. The show also included a special live performance by the band Evanescence. The Game Awards Orchestra, led by BAFTA and Emmy-nominated composer Lorne Balfe, performed music from Game of the Year nominees and other works.

List of winners

Here are the winners of the 2025 Game Awards: 

• Game of the Year - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive);
• Best Game Direction - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive);
• Best Narrative - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive);
• Best Art Direction - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive);
• Best Original Score and Music (Leveled Up By Spotify) - Laurien Testard, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33;
• Best Audio Design - Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios/EA);
• Best Performance - Jennifer English, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33;
• Innovation in Accessibility - Doom: The Dark Ages (ID Software/Bethesda Softworks);
• Games for Impact - South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios);
• Best Ongoing Game - No Man's Sky (Hello Games);
• Best Community Support - Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian Studios);
• Best Indie Game - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive);
• Best Debut Indie Game - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive);
• Best Mobile Game - Umamusume: Pretty Derby (Cygames Inc.);
• Best VR/AR Game - The Midnight Walk (MoonHood/Fast Travel Games);
• Best Action Game - Hades II (Supergiant Games);
• Best Action/Adventure Game - Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry);
• Best RPG - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive);
• Best Fighting Game - Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (SNK Corporation);
• Best Family Game - Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo);
• Best Sim/Strategy Game - FINAL FANTASY TACTICS - The Ivalice Chronicles (Square Enix);
• Best Sports/Racing Game - Mario Kart World (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo);
• Best Multiplayer Game - Arc Raiders (Embark Studios);
• Best Adaptation - The Last of Us: Season 2 (HBO/PlayStation Productions);
• Most Anticipated Game - Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games);
• Content Creator of the Year - MoistCr1TiKaL;
• Best Esports Game - Counter-Strike 2 (Valve);
• Best Esports Athlete - Chovy - Jeong Ji-hoon (League of Legends);
• Best Esports Team - Team Vitality - Counter-Strike 2;
• Player's Voice - Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games).