The Game Awards 2025 is fast approaching, and while some fans might be thinking about Sandfall Interactive's Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as the outright Game of the Year winner, it might not be that simple. It launched Warhorse Studios earlier this year Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 to great critical acclaim, with critics praising the improvements made to its predecessor's formula, its scope, and its ambitious choice-based narrative. It is currently 4 points lower than Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on Metacritic, that doesn't necessarily guarantee it will walk away with Game of the Year.
This is worth noting Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has already broken the record for the most gaming award nominations in a single year God of War Ragnarok and The Last of Us: Part 2which were previously tied at 11 for the most nominations. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2on the other hand, it received only three nominations — Best RPG, Best Story, and Game of the Year. That alone might be enough to get fans thinking Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 it already has game of the year in the bag, but then again, it's not always that easy with the Game Awards.
God of War Ragnarok had a similar battle with the Elden Ring in 2022
First, look at God of War Ragnarok's Game Awards battle with Elden Ring in 2022 may provide more insight into why the race for the 2025 game isn't as straightforward as it seems. As already mentioned, God of War Ragnarok received a record 11 Game Awards nominations in 2022, while Elden Ring he received only 8. Of these nominations God of War Ragnarok took home 6 wins while Elden Ring he left with 4. Judging by these numbers, one might think God of War Ragnarok to be the “better” game, and therefore worthy of Game of the Year.
Surprisingly, this was not the case. Elden Ring won the 2022 game despite having fewer nominations and fewer wins. In fact, leaving Game of the Year out of the conversation, Elden Ring won only 3 awards God of War Ragnarok's 6 and yet it didn't matter in the end. As the 2022 awards went on, it looked more and more certain God of War Ragnarok would actually beat Elden Ring in their apparent head-to-head battle for game of the year. But again, that's not how the story ended.
Of course, Elden RingMetascore was two points higher than God of War Ragnarok's, but its Metacritic user score was only a tenth of a point higher, making the potential winner even less clear. So the question is how God of War Ragnarok managed to walk away with multiple awards and still failed to win Game of the Year. And the answer lies in the complexity of game prizes.
Part of the reason the 2022 result wasn't obvious is that the Game Awards don't rely on a single voting pool. Winners are selected through a mix of jury media voting and public voting, with the jury weighing the most. This structure means that the most decorated game of the night is not always the one that claims the ultimate prize. And it also means that broad critical consensus, fan enthusiasm, and overall gaming industry perception of the game all factor into the outcome in different ways.
Don't write off Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Just Yet
Now, the same dynamics that were at play in 2022 have returned in 2025, with the battle now primarily between Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. They aren't the only two Game of the Year nominees, but they seem like the two most likely to win among the rest of the bunch for a number of reasons.
Here is the full list of Game of the Year 2025 nominees:
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive
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Death Stranding 2: On the Beach — Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Donkey Kong Banana — Nintendo EPD / Nintendo
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Hades 2 — Supergiant Games
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Hollow Knight: Silksong — Team Cherry
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Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 — Warhorse Studios / Deep Silver
One reason Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 may still have what it takes to walk away with game of the year in 2025 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that's because it recently came second in the Ultimate Game of the Year category at this year's Golden Joystick Awards — right behind its rival. The same thing happened God of War Ragnarok at the 2022 Golden Joystick Awards, as it was runner-up in the Ultimate Game of the Year competition, losing only to Elden Ring. However, winning the Golden Joystick Awards does not always guarantee winning the Game Awards.
For example in 2024 Black Myth: Wukong took home Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards, yet not only did it only win 2 of its 5 Game Award nominations, it also lost Game of the Year to Astro Bot. as such Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 could take home the top prize at this year's Golden Joystick Awards, but Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 could yet surprise at the Game Awards in December by coming out on top.
But it might not even come as a surprise to some Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 he has a lot of fans who played either way Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 he keeps saying it KCD2 should walk away with game of the year. One post by Reddit user Rikari77 suggests this, and many comments in the thread below agree.
All that said, at the end of the day, both games bring something memorable to the table, and both make a strong case for why they deserve the industry's top honors in 2025. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 may have numbers and momentum heading into the ceremony but Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 it has the critical support, fan passion and underdog energy that often make the final vote more interesting than expected. Whether she wins or not, she's already positioned herself as one of the standout releases of the year. And with the voting process determined by both critics and gamers, there's still room for a result that defies initial expectations when the 2025 awards roll out in December.
- Released
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February 4, 2025
- ESRB
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Adults 17+ / Use of alcohol, blood and gore, sexual content, strong language, intense violence, partial nudity
- Developers
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Warhorse Studios
