Honestly, if you told me a year ago that a French indie studio’s debut title would walk into the Microsoft Theater and absolutely dismantle the competition, I would’ve laughed. We were all waiting for the "big" names. We were looking for the safe bets. But 2025 didn’t play by those rules.
2025 game of the year ended up being a coronation for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and looking back, it’s wild how many people didn’t see it coming.
While everyone was busy tracking the second (yes, second) delay of Grand Theft Auto VI—which is now officially a November 2026 problem—Sandfall Interactive was quietly building a masterpiece. They didn't just make a good game. They basically reinvented how we look at turn-based RPGs by mixing in this aggressive, almost rhythmic parry system that makes you sweat even when it’s "your turn."
It was a weird year for the giants. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach had eight nominations and went home with basically nothing. People are still salty about that on Reddit. You’ve got Hideo Kojima, a literal industry god, being outpaced by a team that most people hadn't heard of before their first trailer dropped. It’s kinda poetic, in a way.
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Why Clair Obscur Took the Crown
Most critics and casual players get hung up on the "indie" label. They think it means pixel art or short playtimes. Expedition 33 threw that out the window. It looked like a high-budget Renaissance painting come to life.
It won nine awards at The Game Awards 2025. Nine. That broke the record.
The story is what really got people. You’re basically part of this doomed group of people trying to stop "The Paintress" from painting a number on a monolith that wipes out everyone of that age. It’s dark. It’s French. It’s incredibly emotional. Jennifer English—who you probably know as Shadowheart from Baldur's Gate 3—won Best Performance for her role as Maelle, and she absolutely deserved it.
The Contenders That Almost Made It
- Hades II: Supergiant Games didn't miss. They launched the full version in September, and it was better than the first one. It won Best Action Game, but it felt a little too "safe" for the top spot.
- Hollow Knight: Silksong: It actually exists! After years of memes, Team Cherry finally dropped it. It won Best Action-Adventure and took the Steam User's Choice for GOTY. If the jury didn't exist, Silksong probably would’ve won the whole thing.
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II: This one was for the history nerds. It was massive and brutal, but it got overshadowed by the flashier RPG mechanics of Expedition 33.
- Donkey Kong Bananza: The surprise hit for the Nintendo Switch 2. It won Best Family Game and proved that we still love a well-made 3D platformer.
The Drama We Can’t Ignore
Let's talk about the Elephant in the room: Wuthering Waves winning the Player’s Voice award.
That was a moment.
The "official" jury went one way, and the public went the other. It shows this massive gap between what critics value (narrative, art, innovation) and what the massive global player base values (ongoing support, gacha mechanics, community engagement). It was the most-voted Player's Voice in the show's history, mainly because the community rallied together to prove a point.
Then there’s the AI controversy. Blue Prince, which was a fantastic puzzle game, actually got stripped of an award because of concerns over AI-generated assets. It’s a messy conversation that isn't going away. It basically set the precedent for how major awards will handle "generative tools" going forward.
What This Means for 2026
The fallout of the 2025 game of the year results is already changing how studios approach games. We’re seeing a shift away from "safe" sequels.
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When Split Fiction—the new one from the It Takes Two creators—didn't quite hit the same heights, it sent a message. You can't just do the same thing twice. Players want something that feels fundamentally new.
And with GTA VI looming over 2026 like a giant shadow, the industry is in this weird holding pattern. Every developer is trying to figure out if they should launch before or after Rockstar inevitably sucks all the oxygen out of the room in November.
Actionable Takeaways for Players
If you’re looking to catch up on the best of 2025, don’t just stick to the winners.
- Play Expedition 33 on Game Pass or PS5: Even if you hate turn-based games, the "reactive" combat system changes the vibe entirely.
- Don’t sleep on Arc Raiders: It won Best Multiplayer for a reason. Embark Studios nailed the feeling of PvE tension that most "extraction shooters" miss.
- Check out The Midnight Walk: If you have a VR headset, this was the sleeper hit of the year. It uses a clay-animation style that looks hauntingly beautiful.
- Follow Sandfall Interactive: They are the new Larian. Whatever they do next is going to be the most anticipated thing in the industry.
The year 2025 was a reminder that gaming is at its best when it surprises us. We expected a year of "waiting for GTA," but we got a year of incredible, weird, and artistically daring projects that proved the "indie" versus "AAA" distinction is basically dead.
Go download the Expedition 33 soundtrack. Seriously. Lorien Testard’s score is the best thing you'll hear all year.
Next Steps for You:
- Check your backlog: See if you missed Blue Prince or Dispatch; both are shorter experiences that define 2025's creative peak.
- Update your hardware: If you haven't grabbed a Switch 2 yet, Donkey Kong Bananza is the definitive reason to finally make the jump.
- Monitor Rockstar's Newswire: With the 2026 date now "set," expect the marketing machine for GTA VI to start dropping "Trailer 3" rumors by mid-summer.