So, The Game Awards 2025 got a hefty list of nominees for this year’s celebration of best games in each category — up to and including the much coveted Game of The Year award.
As we’ve anticipated before, some of the nominated titles were pretty much guaranteed to show up: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 continues its stampede of praise with the most nominations — 12, total — and some other brands can be seen here and there, like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.
Others, like Arc Raiders, lie on the lesser number of nominations — just one, in fact — which drew the ire of some people, while Battlefield 6 can also be found in there somewhere (by itself and no presence of its direct competitor in sight, to boot).
Still, the entire list is packed, much like the year of 2025 was in cool releases.
Check out the entire list below and make sure to take note of the titles in bold to know which ones PlayRatedGames is placing its bets on!
The Game Awards 2025: full nominees and our picks!
| Category | Nomination |
|---|---|
| Game of the Year | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 |
| Death Stranding 2: On the Beach | |
| Donkey Kong Bananza | |
| Hades 2 | |
| Hollow Knight: Silksong | |
| Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 | |
| Best Game Direction | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 |
| Death Stranding 2: On The Beach | |
| Ghost of Yōtei | |
| Hades 2 | |
| Split Fiction | |
| Best Narrative | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 |
| Death Stranding 2: On The Beach | |
| Ghost of Yōtei | |
| Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 | |
| Silent Hill F | |
| Best Art Direction | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 |
| Death Stranding 2: On The Beach | |
| Ghost of Yōtei | |
| Hades 2 | |
| Hollow Knight: Silksong | |
| Best Score and Music | Hollow Knight: Silksong – Composer Christopher Larkin |
| Hades 2 – Composer Darren Korb | |
| Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Composer Lorien Testard | |
| Ghost of Yōtei – Composer Toma Otowa | |
| Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – Composers Woodkid and 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 – Verso, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 |
| Charlie Cox – Gustave, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | |
| Erika Ishii – Atsu, Ghost of Yōtei | |
| Jennifer English – Maelle, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | |
| Konatsu Kato – Hinako Shimizu, Silent Hill F | |
| Troy Baker – Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | |
| 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 14 |
| Fortnite | |
| Helldivers 2 | |
| Marvel Rivals | |
| No Man’s Sky | |
| Best Community Support | Baldur’s Gate 3 |
| Final Fantasy 14 | |
| Fortnite | |
| Helldivers 2 | |
| No Man’s Sky | |
| 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 Mobile Game | Destiny: Rising |
| Persona 5: The Phantom X | |
| Sonic Rumble | |
| Umamusume: Pretty Derby | |
| Wuthering Waves | |
| Best VR/AR | Alien: Rogue Incursion |
| Arken Age | |
| Ghost Town | |
| Marvel’s Deadpool VR | |
| The Midnight Walk | |
| 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 2 | |
| The Outer Worlds 2 | |
| Monster Hunter Wilds | |
| Best Fighting | 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 | The Alters |
| Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles | |
| Jurassic World Evolution 3 | |
| Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 | |
| Tempest Rising | |
| Two Point Museum | |
| Best Sports/Racing | 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 | |
| The Last of Us: Season 2 | |
| Splinter Cell: Deathwatch | |
| Until Dawn | |
| Most Anticipated Game | 007 First Light |
| Grand Theft Auto 6 | |
| Marvel’s Wolverine | |
| Resident Evil Requiem | |
| The Witcher 4 | |
| Content Creator of the Year | Marc Robert “Caedrel” Lamont |
| Kai Cenat | |
| Charles “MoistCr1TiKaL” White Jr. | |
| Sakura Miko (VTuber, Hololive Production) | |
| The Burnt Peanut | |
| Best Esports Game | Counter-Strike 2 |
| DOTA 2 | |
| League of Legends | |
| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | |
| Valorant | |
| Best Esports Athlete | Brock “brawk” Somerhalder (Valorant) |
| Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon (League of Legends) | |
| Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto (Valorant) | |
| Kakeru “Kakeru” Watanabe (Street Fighter) | |
| Saul “MenaRD” Leonardo (Street Fighter) | |
| Mathieu “Zyw0o” Herbaut (Counter-Strike 2) | |
| 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) |
Now it’s your turn!
Much more than a mere awards ceremony, The Game Awards 2025 is a place for open debate. And as such, it seeks to up the ante on its deliveries for this year in comparison to the event’s previous iterations.
Now, we turn to you: which games do you think will win in your favorite categories and why? Remember: The Game Awards 2025 will be aired at December 11, 2025, at 7:30PM ET / 4:30PM PT / 12:30AM times, across X, Twitch, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and several otehr social platforms. Let us know your choices in the comments!
