The Game Awards is going to have to be close enough to the video game Oscars at this point, as no one is putting anything else out that is going to come close to its viewership. So, when it announces its nominees and eventually crowns the winners, it’s a big deal in the gaming industry, like it or not.
Not that other awards don’t matter, but the award is, of course, Game of the Year, and those six games have just been announced as 2025 nominees. There was zero chance that large groups of fans wouldn’t end up offended with snubs that would obviously follow with that many slots, and that’s certainly true this year. I will pat myself on the back for guessing all six out of six nominees two weeks ago.
First, we’ll start with the actual 2025 Game of the Year nominees that were just announced (and also leaked early, much to Geoff Keighley’s dismay, I imagine):
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Sandfall
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
While I pre-wrote the intro to this post, this was the only game I felt 100% comfortable putting on this list before it was even announced. It wasn’t even a question that the generation RPG Expedition 33 from newcomer Sandfall wasn’t going to be nominated, and it’s far and away the frontrunner. Not that there couldn’t be an upset in this stellar year of gaming, but it would take something of a miracle.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
It’s not the biggest of surprises the Hideo Kojima title that scored decently above the first game made the list, as it was viewed as a potential nominee when it dropped. No, I do not think Keighley is weighting things in favor of his best friend. It’s a worthy entry on the list, as a large number of Kojima’s games are, of course. No surprise DS2 also snagged a best game direction nomination.
Donkey Kong Bananza
Nintendo
Donkey Kong Bananza
The Nintendo Switch 2 is the fastest-selling console ever, and Donkey Kong Bananza is the best first party game for the system. Bananza is a stellar entry in the pantheon of Donkey Kong, and a somewhat rare non-Zelda, non-Mario Nintendo game to land on this list.
Hades II
It has the highest Metacritic score of any game of 2025, so it’s not a huge surprise that a lot of those same critics on the Game Awards voting body here put it in this spot. The original Hades is an all-timer roguelike, and Hades II is…more Hades, albeit with evolutions and improvements. I’m not sure it made quite the same impact for me, but I can understand why it’s here.
Hollow Knight Silksong
Hollow Knight Silksong
Hollow Knight: Silksong
After waiting literal ages for this game, it had better of been good, and the highly-scored, well-liked, quite difficult Hollow Knight follow-up has in fact landed a place here. It could be a dark horse, based on the makeup of this voting body.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Warhorse
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
KCD2 seemed like it was on the bubble more than other games potentially making this list, possibly a split between the “elite” voters and the “common man” fans, but both were in agreement here. It’s the lowest Metacritic-scored game nominated here, but most would agree, certainly worthy of a slot.
The Snubs – Well, here we go. Some bigger games were left off the list, much to the dismay of many.
ARC Raiders – It is arguably the biggest success story of the year in terms of expectations versus reality. What could have been a niche multiplayer title is currently challenging Call of Duty for 2025’s biggest multiplayer game. Expedition 33 may be the biggest surprise in overall quality, but ARC? I do think it should have gotten a spot here.
Split Fiction – It’s a little surprising that the well-reviewed, widely-liked Split Fiction was left off the list when its predecessor, It Takes Two, secured a full-on win in 2021. Granted, in such a crowded list, some things had to be pushed out. It was nominated in a number of other categories, however, including Best Game Direction.
Blue Prince – I figured this was going to be relegated to the indie list, but it was my actual GOTY before Expedition 33 and I was hoping to see it get an actual nomination. I’m not surprised it didn’t make the final cut, but wow, what an incredible game in a genre I normally wouldn’t bother with.
Ghost of Yotei – It had a number of high-profile nominations, but did not land a GOTY slot. It may win in other categories, but I do think with the impressive slate this year, it may even possibly get shut out, we’ll have to see.
Check out the full list of nominees here.
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