The Game Awards has unveiled the official contenders for 2025’s Game of the Year, and the lineup is packed with fan favorites and critical darlings. As many expected, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Hollow Knight: Silksong made the cut, while some high-profile releases didn’t make the shortlist.
Game of the Year nominees for 2025:
– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
– Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
– Death Stranding 2
– Donkey Kong Bananza
– Hades 2
– Hollow Knight: Silksong
Beyond the top category, the event also announced nominees across multiple fields, including best indie game, best performance, best ongoing game, and more. Still, a few surprise omissions have people talking. Doom: The Dark Ages is notably missing from the GOTY lineup, and other acclaimed titles like Split Fiction, Arc Raiders, Ghost of Yotei, and The Outer Worlds 2 were also left out of the top category.
There’s good news for their fans, though. Ghost of Yotei scored seven nominations across other categories, making it a strong contender to take home at least one award. Meanwhile, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads the entire show with an impressive twelve nominations—the most ever recorded at The Game Awards—cementing its status as the game to beat this year. And while Hollow Knight: Silksong was always a favorite to appear, Hades 2 continues to impress by outpacing several big-budget competitors to secure its place among the finalists.
Public voting is open on the official The Game Awards website, but keep in mind that fan votes are only part of the decision-making process. Winners will be announced live on December 11.
