Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 dominated The Game Awards 2025, sweeping nine categories including Game of the Year, and delivering a breathtaking live performance that became the night’s centerpiece. Below is a full breakdown of winners and highlights from this historic ceremony.
The Game Awards 2025, hosted at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, was a celebration of creativity, technical mastery, and the cultural weight of video games. Broadcast to a record-breaking global audience, this year’s show will be remembered for one name above all: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the dark fantasy RPG that not only won Game of the Year but also shattered records with nine total awards, surpassing the previous benchmark set by The Last of Us Part II in 2020.
🎭 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Performance & Awards
- The evening’s most talked-about moment was the live musical performance inspired by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, blending orchestral arrangements with haunting vocals. The segment captured the game’s surreal atmosphere and left the audience in awe.
- The game’s victories included:
- Game of the Year
- Best Game Direction
- Best Narrative
- Best Independent Game
- Debut Indie Game
- Best RPG
- Best Art Direction
- Best Performance (Jennifer English)
- Best Score & Music
This sweep cemented Clair Obscur as not just a breakout indie, but a cultural phenomenon redefining what ambitious storytelling in games can achieve.
🏆 Full List of Winners – The Game Awards 2025
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Game of the Year | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 |
| Best Game Direction | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 |
| Best Narrative | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 |
| Best Art Direction | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 |
| Best Score & Music | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 |
| Best Performance | Jennifer English (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33) |
| Best Independent Game | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 |
| Debut Indie Game | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 |
| Best RPG | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 |
| Best Multiplayer | ARC Raiders |
| Best Action Game | Hades II |
| Best Action/Adventure | Hollow Knight: Silksong |
| Best Fighting Game | Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves |
| Best Family Game | Donkey Kong Bananza |
| Best Sports/Racing | Mario Kart World |
| Best Simulation/Strategy | Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles |
| Best Ongoing Game | No Man’s Sky |
| Best Mobile Game | Umamusume: Pretty Derby |
| Innovation in Accessibility | Doom: The Dark Ages |
| Games for Impact | South of Midnight |
| Best VR/AR | The Midnight Walk |
| Best Community Support | Baldur Gate 3 |
| Content Creator Of The Year | MoistCr1TiKaL |
| Player’s Voice | Wuthering Waves |
| Most Anticipated Game | Grand Theft Auto VI |
| Best Adaptation | The Last of Us: Season 2 |
| Best Audio Design | Battlefield 6 |
| Best eSport Team | Team Vitality – Counter-Strike 2 |
| Best eSport Athlete | Chovy |
| Best eSport Game | Counter-Strike 2 |
🌟 Important Highlights
- Evanescence performed live, adding a gothic flair to the ceremony and complementing the dark fantasy tone of the 2nd part of the Devil May Cry anime as per Netflix.
- Grand Theft Auto VI won Most Anticipated Game, proving Rockstar’s upcoming release is still the most hyped project in the industry.
- Donkey Kong Bananza! charmed audiences by winning Best Family Game, showing a needed Year 0 success for Nintendo and the Nintendo Switch 2.
- It is expectant that the ceremony will break streaming records, continuing the trend of The Game Awards as one of the most-watched entertainment events globally.
The Game Awards 2025 will be remembered as the year an indie RPG conquered giant, with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 rewriting history. Its sweeping victories, unforgettable live performance, and cultural resonance mark a turning point in how indie titles are perceived in the mainstream. Meanwhile, the diversity of winners across genres—from ARC Raiders to Donkey Kong Bananza—showcases the vibrancy of modern gaming.
