The Game Awards has revealed the nominees for 2025 and this year’s lineup is absolutely stacked, mixing top-tier indies with blockbuster AAA releases. Happening December 11 in LA, the event celebrates the years gaming highlights, along with a plenty of new game announcements and details.
Unsurprisingly, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads this year’s nominations with a record-setting 12 nominations, surpassing The Last Of Part 2 and God of War: Ragnarok on 11 nominations in respective years. Death Stranding 2 and Ghosts of Yotei are also up there with 8 award nominations each.
Nintendo is also up there with Donkey Kong Bananza, while Geoff Keighley’s best friend Hideo Kojima returns with Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. With Hades II finally out of early access it’s also nominated, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II shows just how much the judges loved that RPG. Australia hasn’t been forgotten either, with Hollow Knight: Silksong earning five nominations, including being up for game of the year. It’s certainly looking like another insane year of strong contenders.
The Game Awards 2025 nominees are:
Game of the Year
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Best Game Direction
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Hades II
- Split Fiction
Best Narrative
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- Silent Hill f
Best Art Direction
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2:
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
Best Score & Music
- Hollow Knight: Silksong – Christopher Larkin
- Hades II – Darren Korb
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Lorien Testard & Alice Duport-Percier
- Ghost of Yōtei – Toma Otowa
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Woodkid & Ludvig Forssell
Best Audio Design
- Battlefield 6
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Silent Hill f
Best Performance
- Ben Starr – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Charlie Cox – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Jennifer English – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Erika Ishii – Ghost of Yōtei
- Troy Baker – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Konatsu Kato – Silent Hill f
Innovation in Accessibility
- Assassin’s Creed: Shadows
- Atomfall
- DOOM: The Dark Ages
- EA Sports FC 26
- South of Midnight
Games for Impact
- Consume Me
- Despelote
- Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
- South of Midnight
- Wanderstop
Best Ongoing Game
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Helldivers 2
- Marvel Rivals
- No Man’s Sky
Best Community Support
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Helldivers 2
- No Man’s Sky
Best Independent Game
- Absolum
- BALL x PIT
- Blue Prince
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
Best Debut Indie Game
- Blue Prince
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Despelote
- Dispatch
- Megabonk (Vedinad, Megabonk has since dropped out of the running citing concerns around not actually being a debut studio)
Best Mobile Game
- Destiny: Rising
- Persona 5: The Phantom X
- Sonic Rumble
- Umamusume: Pretty Derby
- Wuthering Waves
Best VR / AR Game
- Alien: Rogue Incursion
- Arken Age
- Ghost Town
- Marvel’s Deadpool VR
- The Midnight Walk
Best Action Game
- Battlefield 6
- DOOM: The Dark Ages
- Hades II
- 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
- 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 R.E.V.O. World Stage
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
- F1 25
- Mario Kart World
- Rematch
- Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
Best Multiplayer
- Arc Raiders
- Battlefield 6
- Elden Ring: Nightreign
- Peak
- Split Fiction
Best Adaptation
- A Minecraft Movie
- Devil May Cry
- Splinter Cell: Deathwatch
- The Last of Us: Season 2
- Until Dawn
Most Anticipated Game
- 007 First Light
- Grand Theft Auto VI
- Marvel’s Wolverine
- Resident Evil Requiem
- The Witcher IV
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 – Brock Somerhalder
- Chovy – Jeong Ji-hoon
- f0rsakeN – Jason Susanto
- Kakeru – Kakeru Watanabe
- MenaRD – Saul Leonardo
- Zyw0o – Mathieu Herbaut
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
When is The Game Awards 2025 in Australia and New Zealand?
Melbourne / Sydney / Canberra / Hobart (AEDT) – Fri Dec 12, 11:30 a.m.
Brisbane (AEST) – Fri Dec 12, 10:30 a.m.
Adelaide (ACDT) – Fri Dec 12, 11:00 a.m.
Darwin (ACST) – Fri Dec 12, 10:00 a.m.
Perth (AWST) – Fri Dec 12, 8:30 a.m.
New Zealand (NZDT) – Fri Dec 12, 1:30 p.m.
Voting is on now till December 10 so make sure you jump on here and and choose your favs. You can stream The Game Awards 2025 over on YouTube and Twitch.
