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French video game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took home the top prize — game of the year — at The Game Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday night.
The indie video game cleaned up at the awards, taking home nine total awards, including for best game direction, best narrative and best independent game, after receiving 12 nominations.
The game by Sandfall and Kepler Interactive is a role-playing game that follows a group of characters in a dark fantasy world as they try to put an end to a curse that annually kills anyone at or above a certain age.
The game’s director, Guillaume Broche, thanked his team, and creators who make tutorials on YouTube, as he accepted the award for best game this year.
“A massive thank you to the players for all your covers, all your fan art, your endless arguing about which ending is a good one,” Broche told the audience. “You changed our lives, you changed the studio’s lives, and it’s really wonderful.”
Among the other winners:
- Battlefield 6 for best audio design.
- Mario Kart World for best sports/racing game.
- Grand Theft Auto 6 (the release of which has been delayed repeatedly and is now expected in November 2026) for most anticipated game.
- The second season of The Last of Us took home best adaptation, for HBO’s TV series based on the game.
Along with the big wins came some big announcements for new games, too.
U.S. singer Amy Lee of the rock band Evanescence performs during the Game Awards on Thursday. The awards ceremony featured musical performances, celebrity drop-ins and game announcements. (Michael Tran/AFP/Getty Images)
Viewers got a first look at the next games in the Tomb Raider series. Makers Amazon Game Studios and Crystal Dynamics announced a new reimagining of the iconic character Lara Croft’s first adventure with the game Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, as well as Tomb Raider: Catalyst, the next chapter of the character’s story.
Star Wars fans also got trailers for Fate of the Old Republic and Galactic Racer — two new games based on the film characters, the first of which is highly anticipated as the follow-up to the Knights of the Old Republic game.
The makers behind Resident Evil also revealed that character Leon S. Kennedy will be joining as a second protagonist in the games’ ninth edition, Resident Evil Requiem.
Larian Studios, creators behind Baldur’s Gate 3, announced a new game called Divinity.
Fans on Reddit also expressed their joy at the return of “flute guy” Pedro Eustache — a musician in the live orchestra who returned for the final performance, playing multiple wind instruments.
