The Game Awards 2025: Ranking Every Nominee by Total Nominations Clair Obscur leads the pack as indie hits, blockbusters, and surprise contenders battle across this year’s categories

The Game Awards has officially revealed its 2025 nomination list, and the lineup is one of the most competitive in recent memory. Voting is now live, and fans will ultimately decide which titles walk away with top honors.

Some games dominated with double-digit nominations, while more than sixty others scored only a single nod. From blockbuster sequels to long-awaited indies, here’s a breakdown of which contenders are leading the race.

🎨 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — 12 Nominations

The year’s biggest standout, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, leads all nominees with a massive 12 categories, including:

Game of the Year
Best Game Direction
Best Narrative
Best Art Direction
Best Score and Music
Best Audio Design
Best RPG
Best Independent Game
Best Debut Indie Game
Best Performance (3 nominations)

Actors Ben Starr, Charlie Cox, and Jennifer English all earned performance nominations for their roles.

🌊 Death Stranding 2: On the Beach — 7 Nominations

Hideo Kojima’s surreal sequel made a strong showing with nominations across:

Game of the Year
Best Game Direction
Best Narrative
Best Art Direction
Best Score and Music
Best Audio Design
Best Action-Adventure Game

🗡️ Ghost of Yotei — 7 Nominations

Matching Death Stranding 2, Ghost of Yotei secured seven nominations, including:

Best Game Direction
Best Narrative
Best Art Direction
Best Score and Music
Best Audio Design
Best Action-Adventure
Best Performance

🔥 Hades 2 — 6 Nominations

Supergiant Games returns to the spotlight with nods for:

Game of the Year
Best Game Direction
Best Art Direction
Best Score and Music
Best Independent Game
Best Action Game

🐞 Hollow Knight: Silksong — 5 Nominations

Silksong made a huge impact with:

Game of the Year
Best Art Direction
Best Score and Music
Best Independent Game
Best Action-Adventure Game

🎭 Split Fiction — 4 Nominations

Nominated for:

Best Game Direction
Best Action/Adventure
Best Family Game
Best Multiplayer

🌫️ Silent Hill f — 3 Nominations

Showing up strong in narrative categories:

Best Narrative
Best Audio Design
Best Performance

🛡️ Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — 3 Nominations

A surprise Game of the Year contender with:

Game of the Year
Best Narrative
Best RPG

🎧 Battlefield 6 — 3 Nominations

DICE’s latest received recognition in:

Best Audio Design
Best Action Game
Best Multiplayer

🍌 Donkey Kong Bananza — 2 Nominations

Game of the Year
Best Family Game

🏁 Mario Kart World — 2 Nominations

Best Family Game
Best Sports/Racing

🧭 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle — 2 Nominations

Troy Baker’s performance helped the adventure earn:

Best Performance
Best Action/Adventure

💥 Additional Two-Nominee Games

Some of the notable titles with two nominations include:

Doom: The Dark Ages
Final Fantasy XIV
Fortnite
Helldivers 2
No Man’s Sky
EA Sports FC 26
Blue Prince

🕹️ Single-Nominee Games: Over 60 Titles

More than sixty games received a single nomination — including anticipated unreleased titles. Highlights include:

Arc Raiders
Elden Ring: Nightreign
Grand Theft Auto 6
Marvel’s Wolverine
Resident Evil Requiem
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Counter-Strike 2
Valorant
F1 25
Baldur’s Gate 3
Alien: Rogue Incursion
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O.
…and many more.

Even though these games received just one nomination, many are heavy hitters in their respective genres — and still strong contenders within their categories.

📌 Final Thoughts

The 2025 Game Awards lineup represents one of the strongest and most diverse collections of nominees yet. From indie darlings to blockbuster sequels, the field is packed with potential winners — and with fan voting deciding the final results, anything can happen.

Stay tuned as the ceremony approaches and see which titles rise above the competition.