The Game Awards 2025

Announcements

Keighley sought to balance time dedicated to announcements and awards, wanting to satisfy both sides of the audience; he felt the reveals attracted new viewers and boosted attention to the winners.^[9]: 5:35 His team worked directly with developers to prepare trailers and schedule them at specific points in the show to create an emotional arc for viewers.^[9]: 6:55 Most of the three-hour show was focused on announcements, with approximately 17 minutes dedicated to awards.^[10] According to Kotaku, publishers paid up to US$450,000 for a 60-second trailer and over $1 million for a three-minute slot.^[11] Forbes's Paul Tassi reported that Highguard's developer did not pay for its reveal; the show's producers scheduled it as the final trailer.^[12][13]

Preceding the Game Awards, several announcements were made during broadcasts by Wholesome Games on December 9, and Day of the Devs, the Latin American Games Showcase, and the Women-Led Games Showcase on December 10.^[9][14][15] A statue was placed in the Mojave Desert in late November to tease a reveal at the show, prompting wide speculation;^[16] based on trademark registrations, journalists solved that it was a new entry in the Divinity series.^[17] The statue was relocated to the Peacock Theater before the ceremony.^[18][19] The Control Resonant and Divinity reveals featured live theatrical elements, including performers on wires;^[20][21] preparation for the former began in March 2025.^[22] In addition to new footage from the upcoming films Street Fighter and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, announcements on released and upcoming games were made for:^[3][23]

New games announced included:^[3][23]

Of the new game announcements, Total War: Warhammer 40,000 received the most followers on Steam with 54,000, roughly the same as the combined total of the next three highest: Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis (20,000), Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve (18,000), and Control Resonant (16,000).^[24][25] Within a week, the Resident Evil Requiem trailer generated the most media coverage (approximately 1,740 articles, followed by Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic with 1,605 and Divinity with 1,357) and most social interaction on Facebook and Twitter (followed by Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis and Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, respectively), while the 2XKO trailer received the most views on YouTube (8 million), followed by Resident Evil Requiem (almost 6.5 million) and Marvel Rivals (5.2 million).^[25]

Awards

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).^[47]

Media

 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
 award acceptees

Guillaume Broche (Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative)

Nicholas Maxson-Francombe (Game of the Year, Best Game Direction)

Tom Guillermin (Game of the Year, Best Independent Game)

Jennifer Svedberg-Yen (Best Narrative)

Lorien Testard (Best Score and Music)

Alice Duport-Percier (Best Score and Music)

Jennifer English (Best Performance as Maelle)

Greg Kasavin (top) and Amir Rao (bottom) accepted Best Action Game for Hades II.

Neil Druckmann (left) and Gabriel Luna (right) accepted Best Adaptation for The Last of Us's second season.

More information Game of the Year, Best Game Direction ...

Game of the Year	Best Game Direction
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive‡ Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Donkey Kong Bananza – Nintendo EPD / Nintendo Hades II – Supergiant Games Hollow Knight: Silksong – Team Cherry Kingdom Come: Deliverance II – Warhorse Studios / Deep Silver	Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive‡ Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Ghost of Yōtei – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Hades II – Supergiant Games Split Fiction – Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts
Best Narrative	Best Art Direction
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive‡ Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Ghost of Yōtei – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Kingdom Come: Deliverance II – Warhorse Studios / Deep Silver Silent Hill f – NeoBards Entertainment / Konami Digital Entertainment	Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive‡ Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Ghost of Yōtei – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Hades II – Supergiant Games Hollow Knight: Silksong – Team Cherry
Best Score and Music[d]	Best Audio Design
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Lorien Testard‡ Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Woodkid and Ludvig Forssell Ghost of Yōtei – Toma Otowa Hades II – Darren Korb Hollow Knight: Silksong – Christopher Larkin	Battlefield 6 – Battlefield Studios / Electronic Arts‡ Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Ghost of Yōtei – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Silent Hill f – NeoBards Entertainment / Konami Digital Entertainment
Best Performance	Games for Impact
Jennifer English as Maelle – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33‡ Troy Baker as Indiana Jones – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Charlie Cox as Gustave – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Erika Ishii as Atsu – Ghost of Yōtei Konatsu Kato as Hinako Shimizu – Silent Hill f Ben Starr as Verso – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33	South of Midnight – Compulsion Games / Xbox Game Studios‡ Consume Me – Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson / Hexacutable Despelote – Julián Cordero, Sebastián Valbuena / Panic Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Don't Nod Wanderstop – Ivy Road / Annapurna Interactive
Best Independent Game	Best Debut Indie Game
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive‡ Absolum – Guard Crush Games, Supamonks / Dotemu Ball x Pit – Kenny Sun / Devolver Digital Blue Prince – Dogubomb / Raw Fury Hades II – Supergiant Games Hollow Knight: Silksong – Team Cherry	Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive‡ Blue Prince – Dogubomb / Raw Fury Despelote – Julián Cordero, Sebastián Valbuena / Panic Dispatch – AdHoc Studio Megabonk – Vedinad[e]
Best Ongoing Game	Best Community Support
No Man's Sky – Hello Games‡ Final Fantasy XIV – Square Enix Fortnite – Epic Games Helldivers II – Arrowhead Game Studios / Sony Interactive Entertainment Marvel Rivals – NetEase Games	Baldur's Gate 3 – Larian Studios‡ Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail – Square Enix Fortnite – Epic Games Helldivers II – Arrowhead Game Studios / Sony Interactive Entertainment No Man's Sky – Hello Games
Best Mobile Game	Best VR / AR Game
Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Cygames‡ Destiny: Rising – NetEase Games Persona 5: The Phantom X – Black Wings Game Studio / Sega Sonic Rumble – Rovio Entertainment, Sonic Team / Sega Wuthering Waves – Kuro Games	The Midnight Walk – MoonHood / Fast Travel Games‡ Alien: Rogue Incursion – Survios Arken Age – VitruviusVR Ghost Town – Fireproof Games Marvel's Deadpool VR – Twisted Pixel Games / Oculus Studios
Best Action Game	Best Action / Adventure Game
Hades II – Supergiant Games‡ Battlefield 6 – Battlefield Studios / Electronic Arts Doom: The Dark Ages – id Software / Bethesda Softworks Ninja Gaiden 4 – Team Ninja, PlatinumGames / Xbox Game Studios Shinobi: Art of Vengeance – Lizardcube / Sega	Hollow Knight: Silksong – Team Cherry‡ Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Ghost of Yōtei – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – MachineGames / Bethesda Softworks Split Fiction – Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts
Best Role Playing Game	Best Fighting Game
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive‡ Avowed – Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios Kingdom Come: Deliverance II – Warhorse Studios / Deep Silver Monster Hunter Wilds – Capcom The Outer Worlds 2 – Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios	Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves – KOF Studio / SNK‡ 2XKO – Riot Games Capcom Fighting Collection 2 – Capcom Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection – Digital Eclipse / Atari Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage – Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / Sega
Best Family Game	Best Sim / Strategy Game
Donkey Kong Bananza – Nintendo EPD / Nintendo‡ Lego Party – SMG Studio / Fictions Lego Voyagers – Light Brick Studio / Annapurna Interactive Mario Kart World – Nintendo EPD / Nintendo Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds – Sonic Team / Sega Split Fiction – Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts	Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles – Square Enix‡ The Alters – 11 Bit Studios Civilization VII – Firaxis Games / 2K Jurassic World Evolution 3 – Frontier Developments Tempest Rising – Slipgate Ironworks / 3D Realms Two Point Museum – Two Point Studios / Sega
Best Sports / Racing Game	Best Multiplayer Game
Mario Kart World – Nintendo EPD / Nintendo‡ EA Sports FC 26 – EA Vancouver, EA Romania / Electronic Arts F1 25 – Codemasters / EA Sports Rematch – Sloclap / Kepler Interactive Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds – Sonic Team / Sega	ARC Raiders – Embark Studios‡ Battlefield 6 – Battlefield Studios / Electronic Arts Elden Ring Nightreign – FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment Peak – Aggro Crab / Landfall Games Split Fiction – Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts
Innovation in Accessibility	Best Adaptation[f]
Doom: The Dark Ages – id Software / Bethesda Softworks‡ Assassin's Creed Shadows – Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft Atomfall – Rebellion Developments EA Sports FC 26 – EA Vancouver, EA Romania / Electronic Arts South of Midnight – Compulsion Games / Xbox Game Studios	The Last of Us season 2 (television series) – PlayStation Productions / HBO; based on The Last of Us by Sony Interactive Entertainment‡ A Minecraft Movie (feature film) – Legendary Pictures, Mojang / Warner Bros. Pictures; based on Minecraft by Mojang Studios Devil May Cry (animated series) – Studio Mir, Capcom / Netflix; based on Devil May Cry by Capcom Splinter Cell: Deathwatch (animated series) – FOST Studio, Ubisoft / Netflix; based on Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell by Ubisoft Until Dawn (feature film) – PlayStation Productions / Screen Gems; based on Until Dawn by PlayStation Studios
Most Anticipated Game	Players' Voice[g]
Grand Theft Auto VI – Rockstar Games‡ 007 First Light – IO Interactive Marvel's Wolverine – Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment Resident Evil Requiem – Capcom The Witcher IV – CD Projekt Red / CD Projekt	Wuthering Waves – Kuro Games‡ Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive Dispatch – AdHoc Studio Genshin Impact – miHoYo / HoYoverse Hollow Knight: Silksong – Team Cherry

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Esports and creators

More information Best Esports Game, Best Esports Athlete ...

Best Esports Game[h]	Best Esports Athlete
Counter-Strike 2 – Valve‡ Dota 2 – Valve League of Legends – Riot Games Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – Moonton Valorant – Riot Games	Jung "Chovy" Ji-hoon (League of Legends)‡ Brock "brawk" Somerhalder (Valorant) Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto (Valorant) Kakeru "Kakeru" Watanabe (Street Fighter) Saul "MenaRD" Leonardo (Street Fighter) Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut (Counter-Strike 2)
Best Esports Team	Content Creator of the Year
Team Vitality (Counter-Strike 2)‡ Gen.G (League of Legends) NRG (Valorant) Team Liquid PH (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang) Team Falcons (Dota 2)	MoistCr1TiKaL‡ Caedrel Kai Cenat Sakura Miko The Burnt Peanut

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Multiple nominations and awards

Presenters

Geoff Keighley (top) hosted the main show while Sydnee Goodman (bottom) hosted the preshow.^[3]

Cast members from the second season of Fallout were set to present at the ceremony as part of the Game Awards's new partnership with distributor Amazon.^[1] The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or introduced trailers. All other awards were presented by Keighley or Goodman.^[3]

Performers

Lorne Balfe (top left) conducted the Game Awards Orchestra, featuring the "Flute Guy", Pedro Eustache (top right).^[34][67] Evanescence (bottom) performed "Afterlife" from Devil May Cry.^[68]

Lorne Balfe, the conductor of the Game Awards Orchestra, started considering music for the show before the nominations were announced; he researched the year's releases with his son to predict possible nominees. He sought to choose music that was popular among players, rather than simply selecting each game's theme music.^[69] The show opened with music from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which some journalists considered a hint at its awards success.^[52][70]

The following individuals or groups performed musical numbers.^[3][68]

Nominees

Some viewers and journalists criticized the decision to discontinue the Future Class initiative.^{[32][73][74][75]} Several alumni felt they had been abandoned after not receiving responses from Keighley or Future Class organizer Emily Weir. Some suspected the initiative's discontinuation was in response to an open letter they wrote to Keighley in 2023.^[7][8] Polygon writers criticized the show's categories: Austin Manchester felt the term "indie" was misapplied, considering Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Dispatch to be double-A and triple-I, respectively;^[76] Paulo Kawanishi considered the Best Role Playing Game category too broad due to the diversity of its nominees;^[77] and Giovanni Colantonio suggested the show implement smaller, more knowledgeable juries (like the Academy Awards) for categories like Best Mobile Game to better represent genres and mediums.^[78] Some Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 cast members called for a new category for motion capture actors,^[79] and Charlie Cox credited his nomination to his character's motion-capture performer, Maxence Cazorla.^[80]

Several journalists highlighted the lack of Game of the Year nominations for Blue Prince, Ghost of Yōtei, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Silent Hill f, and Split Fiction, which they attributed to the quality of the competition,^[81][82][83] and felt ARC Raiders, Dispatch, Donkey Kong Bananza, and South of Midnight deserved additional nominations.^{[81][83][84][85]} Some thought The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy deserved recognition for its narrative^[81][83][86] and Alex Jordan for his performance in The Alters.^[81][87] The Best Adaptation category was criticized for its nominees' mixed reception; some felt Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was snubbed, theorizing its December 2024 release date weakened its chances.^{[86][87][88][89]} Streamer Shroud, who won Content Creator of the Year in 2019 and was nominated for Trending Gamer in 2017, called the awards "rigged" after ARC Raiders was not nominated for Game of the Year,^[90][91][92] though journalists called these claims unfounded and noted the game had tough competition.^[93][94][95]

Ceremony

Keighley's post-show Twitter poll received mixed responses, with almost 39% of over 404,000 votes grading the show "D or below".^[97][98] Kotaku's Alyssa Mercante criticized the ticket prices, noting that nominees received only two tickets and were required to buy more—priced between $58 for the upper mezzanine and $1,000 for the rear orchestra—for additional attendees, who were often seated apart. She highlighted the complications in mixing developer and public seating, referencing the 2022 stage interruption.^[11] Dozens of members of the union United Videogame Workers protested outside the Peacock Theater to raise awareness of recent industry layoffs, with some directing their message at Phil Spencer and Strauss Zelnick, the chief executive officers of Microsoft Gaming and Take-Two Interactive, respectively.^[99][100]

Several critics considered the show a celebration of smaller, independent games, citing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's awards;^[19][54][70] Polygon's Oli Welsh compared its success to films like Everything Everywhere All at Once and Oppenheimer leading the Academy Awards in 2023 and 2024, respectively.^[54] GamesIndustry.biz's Rob Fahey suspected its success would lead to attempted emulations,^[101] though Kotaku's Ethan Gach considered its record-breaking status "overblown" and thought it should have been ineligible for the indie categories^[102] and Bloomberg News's Jason Schreier felt its sweeping wins removed tension from the awards.^[18] The French president, Emmanuel Macron, congratulated the developers, calling it "a great pride" for Montpellier and France.^{[53][103][104]} Gamepressure's Matt Buckley found the in-person excitement "contagious", lauding the show's atmosphere.^[105]

The Washington Post's Gene Park found the ceremony more entertaining than previous years and praised the live staging but recommended different categories to celebrate fields like character and level design.^[106] Polygon's Claire Lewis criticized important awards being relegated to the preshow or announced in quick succession but applauded the lack of time restrictions for speeches and the quality of the announcements, writing, "Yes, it was a three-and-a-half-hour commercial. But it was a good three-and-a-half-hour commercial".^[21] Some critics named independent game announcements, like Bradley the Badger and Coven of the Chicken Foot, among the show's highlights, as well as the Resident Evil Requiem and two Tomb Raider trailers.^{[19][106][107]} Kotaku's Gach found most announcements unmemorable.^[102] Several journalists found the show's final reveal—Highguard, a free-to-play first-person shooter from a new studio—questionable or lackluster, with some viewers expecting an announcement from an established series or different genre,^{[108][109][110]} though others found the trailer intriguing regardless.^{[111][112][113]}

Viewership

An estimated 171 million viewers watched the ceremony, the most in the show's history and an 11% increase from the previous year; the figure does not include Prime Video viewers. According to Streams Charts, the ceremony peaked at 4.4 million concurrent viewers—the most in its history and a 9% increase from 2024—including 1.4 million viewers on the official YouTube broadcast (an 8% increase) and 1.8 million on Twitch. On YouTube, the ceremony peaked at 2.4 million total concurrent viewers (a 9% increase), including a record 8,600 co-streams.^[6] More than 16,500 creators co-streamed on Twitch—a record for the show, representing a 50% yearly increase—with total unique viewers and hours watched each increasing 5% from 2024.^[6][114] On Twitter, posts about the show increased by 12%, with more than 1.79 million posts from December 10–12, while the broadcast and related videos received over 60 million views.^[6] Eurogamer's Connor Makar noted the figures "overshadowed" the 97th Academy Awards, which received 19.7 million viewers in the United States.^[114]