(Image courtesy of The Game Awards. “The Game Awards has announced their nominees for 2025’s show.”)
Rick Dalton
Connector Staff
The 12th annual presentation of The Game Awards will take place on Dec. 11, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The show will honor the video game industry and share dozens of trailers for games arriving in 2026 and beyond. The nominations were revealed on Nov. 17,with six games in the running for Game of the Year. While there is a clear favorite, each nominee earned their place in a very crowded field.
“Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” leads the way with a record-breaking 12 nominations, including Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Roleplaying Game, and three actors nominated for Best Performance. This RPG’s rich story, excellent acting, and unique turn-based combat made the game a surprise hit when it launched in April, and it has been the Game of the Year frontrunner ever since. It is the debut effort from French studio Sandfall Interactive, so it also earned nominations for Best Independent Game and Best Debut Indie Game. “Expedition 33”should have a very big night.
“Death Stranding 2: On the Beach” received seven nominations, including Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, and Best Action / Adventure Game. The game is Japanese studio Kojima Productions’ follow up to 2019’s “Death Stranding”, which earned industry legend Hideo Kojima the award for Best Game Direction. The game offers unique open-world gameplay, centered around delivering packages in a post-apocalyptic United States. It offers strongnarrative elements and a cinematic presentation, with over six hours of cutscenes. “Death Stranding 2” appears to be the biggest threat to an “Expedition 33” sweep.
“Hades 2” has six nominations, including Best Game Direction and Best Action Game. It is the sequel to “Hades”, which earned American studio Supergiant Games a Game of the Year nomination in 2020. The game is an action roguelike that features Melinoë, daughter of Hades, on a mission to rescue her family from her grandfather Chronos, Titan of Time. It also offers a great story, following Melinoë as she forms bonds with Greek gods and mythological figures. “Hades 2” received the highest review scores this year, but its scope is smaller than previous Game of the Year Winners.
“Hollow Knight: Silksong” is next with five nominations, including Best Action / Adventure Game. It comes from Australian studio Team Cherry, a group of just three developers. “Silksong”, the sequel to 2017 hit “Hollow Knight”, was announced in 2019 but was delayed multiple times before it finally released in September. The game met its almost impossibly high expectations, and broke multiple online gaming store fronts when it launched in September. It is a tough as nails 2D Metroidvania, featuring tight combat and a beautiful underground world to explore. “Silksong” cannot be counted out, but it is no favorite.
“Kingdom Come: Deliverance II” is a dark horse. It received three nominations, including Best Roleplaying Game and Best Narrative. It is Czech developer Warhorse Studios’ follow up to “Kingdom Come: Deliverance”, which released in 2018. The story follows a fictional warrior named Henry of Skalitz in the early 15th century Kingdom of Bohemia. The game is an open-world, first-person action RPG that features deep roleplaying elements and a story that changes based on Henry’s decisions, along with brutal medieval combat.
The final Game of the Year nominee is “Donkey Kong Bananza”. Its only other nomination is for Best Family Game. “Bananza” is a 3D platformer from Japanese juggernaut Nintendo, featuring one of the most iconic characters in video game history. However, it is also Donkey Kong’s first 3D adventure since “Donkey Kong 64” from 1999. The gameplay has drawn comparisons to modern 3D “Mario” games but adds an environmental destruction aspect that is smashing good fun. “Bananza” is a very worthy contender, but it certainly feels like the biggest long shot.
Unfortunately, there are only six nominees for Game of the Year, so some excellent games always miss the cut. This year, “Ghost of Yotei” and “Split Fiction” are those games. “Yotei” received seven nominations, including Best Game Direction and Best Action / Adventure Game. It is the sequel to American studio Sucker Punch Productions’ “Ghost of Tsushima”, which was nominated for Game of the Year in 2020. “Split Fiction” got four nominations, including Best Game Direction and Best Action / Adventure Game. It is the follow up to Swedish developer Hazelight Studios’ 2021 Game of the Year winner “It Takes Two”. Both games are directed by Josef Fares, who won Best Game Direction for “It Takes Two”. Two games of the pedigree and quality of “Yotei” and “Split Fiction” missing out on Game of the Year nominations shows how lucky gamers are in 2025.
The Game Awards will be streaming live on Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. EST. Along with awards and trailers, The Game Awards Orchestra will perform a medley featuring visuals and music fromthis year’s Game of the Year nominees. Presenters are to be determined, but “The Oscars of Video Games” always delivers some fun surprises.
