French RPG shatters Game Awards history with 12 nominations as Sony claims 19 across publishers

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By TGT Staff

The Game Awards 2025 nominations were announced on November 17, revealing a French-developed role-playing game as the year’s most recognized title. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, created by Sandfall Interactive in Montpellier, received 12 nominations across multiple categories, making it the most nominated game in the 11-year history of The Game Awards.

The ceremony will take place December 11 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California. Last year’s event drew 154 million livestreams globally, with Team Asobi’s Astro Bot claiming the Game of the Year award. This year’s nominees span 29 categories, with six games competing for the top prize.

The Game Awards 2025 Nominations

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Leads with Record 12 Nominations

📅 December 11, 2025 | Peacock Theater, Los Angeles

The Numbers Behind the Nominations

A breakdown of the key statistics from this year’s Game Awards nominations, including total categories, viewership records, and nomination counts.

12
Clair Obscur Nominations (Record)
29
Award Categories
154M
Livestreams in 2024
6
Game of the Year Nominees
Gaming awards ceremony

The Game Awards celebrates gaming excellence across multiple platforms and genres

Game of the Year Contenders

Six games compete for the industry’s most prestigious award, ranging from indie titles to major studio releases across multiple genres.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive
🏆 12 Nominations
French turn-based RPG with record-breaking nominations. Three actors nominated for Best Performance: Ben Starr (Verso), Charlie Cox (Gustave), and Jennifer English (Maelle). Also nominated for Best Narrative and Best Art Direction.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
🏆 8 Nominations
Hideo Kojima’s sequel starring Norman Reedus received nominations for Best Game Direction and Best Narrative. The game continues the story from the 2020 original.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Team Cherry
🏆 5 Nominations
The highly anticipated sequel crashed online stores upon its September 4 release due to overwhelming demand. Nominated for Best Independent Game and Best Art Direction.
Hades 2
Supergiant Games
🏆 6 Nominations
The follow-up to the 2020 hit set in the Greek underworld received nominations for Best Game Direction, Best Art Direction, and Best Score and Music (composer Darren Korb).
Donkey Kong Bananza
Nintendo EPD / Nintendo
🏆 4 Nominations
A key launch title for Nintendo Switch 2, nominated for Best Family Game alongside the Game of the Year category.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Warhorse Studios / Deep Silver
🏆 3 Nominations
Medieval European historical adventure competing for Best Narrative and Best RPG alongside Game of the Year recognition.
Video game controller

The ceremony recognizes achievement across console, PC, and mobile gaming platforms

Top Nominated Games Comparison

Visual comparison of nomination counts for the most recognized games at The Game Awards 2025.

Publishers with Most Nominations

Sony Interactive Entertainment leads all publishers with 19 nominations across its portfolio of exclusive and published titles.

Sony Interactive Entertainment
19
Nominations
Kepler Interactive
13
Nominations
Sega
7
Nominations
Nintendo
4
Nominations

About The Game Awards 2025

The Game Awards, founded and hosted by Geoff Keighley, combines award presentations with game announcements and trailers. The ceremony runs approximately three hours and includes musical performances by The Game Awards Orchestra. Voting combines selections from a global jury of over 150 media publications with public fan votes through authenticated online voting on the official website.

The 154 million livestreams recorded in 2024 represented a 31% increase from the previous year, making it the most-watched video game awards ceremony globally. Team Asobi’s Astro Bot won four awards in 2024, including Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Action/Adventure Game, and Best Family Game.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was developed by a core team of approximately 30 people at Sandfall Interactive’s offices in Montpellier, France. The turn-based RPG drew inspiration from classic role-playing games and received critical acclaim for its storyline, combat system, and voice performances. The game secured nominations in Best Performance for three actors, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music (composer Lorien Testard), Best Audio Design, Best Independent Game, Best Indie Debut, and Best RPG.

Other major nominees include Ghost of Yōtei with 8 nominations (Erika Ishii nominated for Best Performance as Atsu), Split Fiction with 4 nominations, and indie titles Blue Prince, Ball x Pit, and Dispatch receiving recognition in various categories. The Best Adaptation category includes A Minecraft Movie, Devil May Cry, The Last of Us Season 2, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, and Until Dawn.

For gaming industry coverage, explore developments including Valve’s upcoming Steam Machine hardware, NCsoft’s Horizon Steel Frontiers MMORPG, and analysis of Ubisoft’s XDefiant shutdown after 7 months. Additional context on AI controversies includes Ubisoft’s Anno 117 AI art placeholder controversy.

The Game Awards 2025 nominations were announced November 17, 2025, with the ceremony scheduled for December 11 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The event will stream live starting 5pm PT / 8pm ET on Amazon Prime and Twitch.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s 12 nominations established a new record for The Game Awards. Sony Interactive Entertainment received the most publisher nominations with 19, followed by Kepler Interactive with 13. The nominees were selected by a global jury of over 150 media publications and creator outlets.

Fan voting remains open until December 10 at 6pm PT through the official Game Awards website. The ceremony will feature world premiere game announcements, trailers, and musical performances alongside award presentations across 29 categories.

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