The Game Awards began with a clear signal: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 would dominate the night. The preshow named it best independent game over high-profile sequels such as Hades II and Hollow Knight: Silksong, and the main stage followed with an operatic, orchestral performance of the game’s score — electric guitar and all — that felt like anointing.
The French indie from Sandfall Interactive (published by Kepler Interactive) did more than meet expectations. It walked away with nine trophies, including Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score, Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie, Best RPG and Best Performance for Jennifer English. By the time it won the top prize, Clair Obscur had overtaken The Last of Us Part II as the most-decorated title in Game Awards history.
Clair Obscur’s success is notable for how quietly the game rose: a small studio of former Ubisoft developers built a turn-based, Final Fantasy–inspired RPG with an intimate, existential story and a setting that felt both whimsical and epic. The team combined strong word-of-mouth with wide accessibility — notably its inclusion on Xbox Game Pass — allowing players and critics to experience the game without a steep purchase barrier. Motion-capture star Andy Serkis and veteran actors Ben Starr and Jennifer English helped bring the cast attention; English also delivered one of the night’s most memorable acceptance speeches, saying, “I just want to say to every neurodivergent person watching in this room, because I know there’s probably quite a lot of you… To all of you that feel like life is stuck on hard mode, this is for you.”
Clair Obscur’s sweep underlined two broader trends at the show: the rising profile of indie developers and the increasingly international nature of The Game Awards. The event’s nomination and voting process leans on a jury of more than 150 media outlets worldwide (U.S. outlets now represent roughly 15 percent), who decide category shortlists based on their own definitions of terms like “indie” or “action-adventure.” Those jurors’ votes form the bulk of the result, with an open online vote accounting for 10 percent. As the jury has grown global, winners have skewed both more international and, in some cases, more mainstream.
Even so, this year made clear that a small team can have outsized market and cultural impact. Clair Obscur’s visibility — aided by streaming, critical buzz, Game Pass availability and awards recognition — pushed it from indie darling to a household name among players.
Big publishers still scored notable wins. Nintendo, shut out last year, picked up prizes for Switch 2 exclusives: Donkey Kong Bananza won Best Family and Mario Kart World won Best Sports/Racing. Grand Theft Auto VI was once again named Most Anticipated Game. Wuthering Waves, a Chinese mobile hit, won the Players’ Voice award — the only category decided entirely by public online votes.
Other highlighted winners included Battlefield 6 for Best Audio Design, Hades II for Best Action, Hollow Knight: Silksong for Best Action/Adventure, No Man’s Sky for Best Ongoing, Baldur’s Gate 3 for Best Community Support, and Doom: The Dark Ages for Innovation in Accessibility. Esports honors went to Counter-Strike 2 as Best Esports Game, Chovy (Jeong Ji-hoon) as Best Esports Athlete, and Team Vitality as Best Esports Team. Content creator of the year was MoistCr1TiKaL.
The 2025 Game Awards offered a night where indie creativity, global perspectives, and blockbuster franchises all had their moments. But the evening belonged to Clair Obscur: a small studio’s ambitious RPG that captured critical acclaim, player attention, and almost every major prize it was nominated for.
