Official list of nominations for The Game Awards 2025

The Game Awards officially presented the list of contenders for Game of the Year (GOTY) 2025, and fans are already itching to find out who will take home the most prestigious award in the world of video games. If you're wondering which titles will compete for the crown this year, here's everything you need to know about the nominations.

The excitement surrounding GOTY 2025 is skyrocketing as the gaming community gears up for the 11th edition of the ceremony. The event is set for December 11, 2025, and will take place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The show will be streamed live on Twitch and YouTube, and for the first time on Prime Video, promising an even wider audience around the world.

This year's Game Awards will not only honor the most impressive games, but also offer a host of premieres and surprises. Before the big winner is announced, the organizers have finally released the long-awaited list of nominees - thus officially kicking off the gaming awards season.

And this year, the most anticipated and discussed category undoubtedly remains GOTY 2025 – „Game of the Year.“ Without wasting any time, here are the six titles that were named as favorites for the award in 2025:

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

Only one of these games will inherit the title from last year's winner Astro Bot. The list is impressively diverse – it includes action titles, adventure and story games, as well as productions that combine intense action and deep artistic development. Interestingly, both independent developers and established studios participate in the competition.

It attracts particular attention Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which dominates the nominations with nine categories, and if individual acting awards are included, the number reaches twelve. Death Stranding 2, Hideo Kojima's new project, is also among the big players with seven nominations, while Hades 2 stands out in six categories, thanks to its strong return to the rogue-like genre.

Of course, in addition to the main prize, a number of other awards will be given out - among them "„Best Action Game“, „Best Multiplayer Game“, „Best VR/AR Game“, „Best Strategy/Simulation Game“, „Best Role Playing Game“, „Best Indie Game“, „Best fighting game“" and "„Best eSports Game“". Among the titles vying for recognition in various categories are Battlefield 6, Ghost of Yōtei, Silent Hill, Blue Prince, Star Wars Outlaws, Jurassic World Evolution 3, Tempest Rising and others.

Voting is now open for fans to support their favorites in each category. The winners will be announced live during the ceremony on December 11, 2025 — an event that promises to be a highlight for both the gaming community and the industry as a whole.

Now it's gamers' turn to choose which title should be crowned "GOTY 2025" at The Game Awards?

Best achievement:

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

Best short story:

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Ghost of Yōtei
Kingdom Come Deliverance II
Silent Hill

Best Artistic Director:

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

Best Soundtrack:

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

Best Audio Design:

Battlefield 6
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Ghost of Yōtei
Silent Hill

Best performance:

Ben Starr (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
Charlie Cox (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
Erika Ishii (Ghost of Yōtei)
Jennifer English (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
Konatsu Kato (Silent Hill f)

Most influential game:

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

Best Independent Game:

Absolut
Ball x Pit
Blue Prince
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Hades 2
Hollow Knight: Silksong

Best First Independent Game:

Blue Prince
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Despelote
Dispatch
Megabonk

Accessibility innovations:

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

Best Mobile Game:

Destiny: Rising
Persona 5: The Phantom X
Sonic Rumble
Umamusume: Pretty Derby
Wuthering Waves

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 Yōtei
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Split Fiction

Best RPG:

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

Best fighting game:

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

Best Family Game:

Donkey Kong Bananza
LEGO Party!
LEGO Voyagers
Mario Kart World
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
Split Fiction

Best Simulation/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
F1 25
Mario Kart World
Rematch
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

Best Multiplayer:

ARC Raiders
Battlefield 6
Elden Ring: Nightreign
Peak
Split Fiction

Best Adaptation:

Minecraft Movie
Devil May Cry
The Last of Us: Season 2
Splinter Cell: Deathwatch
Until Dawn

The most anticipated game:

007 First Light
Grand Theft Auto VI
Marvel's Wolverine
Resident Evil Requiem
The Witcher 4

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
f0rsakeN
Kakeru
MenaRD
Zyw0o

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