The Game Awards 2025: List of all categories and nominations

The nominations for The Game Awards 2025 were officially revealed during a YouTube livestream on November 17, 2025. For those who don't know, this annual event highlights excellence across the gaming industry, including game design, storytelling, sound, and more categories. This year is stacked with several fan-favorite and critically acclaimed titles. All the categories from the previous year are still part of the upcoming event.

On that note, here are all the nominations for The Game Awards 2025.

All categories and nominations for The Game Awards 2025

This year’s lineup features a total of 29 award categories, and all of them include quite promising nominations, highlighting some of the best talent and games that were released over the past year.

Here are all The Game Awards 2025 categories and nominations:

Game of the Year

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Hades 2
• Hollowknight: Silksong
• Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

Best Game Direction

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2
• Ghost of Yotei
• Hades 2
• Split Fiction

Best Esports Team

• NRG, Valorant
• Gen.G, League of Legends
• Team Liquid PH, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
• Team Vitality, Counter-Strike 2
• Team Falcons, Dota 2

Best Esports Athlete

• brawk, Valorant
• Chovy, League of Legends
• f0rsakeN, Valorant
• Kakeru, Street Fighter 6
• MenaRD, Street Fighter 6
• ZywOo, Counter-Strike 2

Best Esports Game

• Counter-Strike 2
• Dota 2
• League of Legends
• Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
• Valorant

Best Sports/Racing Game

• EA FC26
• F1 25
• Mario Kart World
• Rematch
• Sonic Racing Crossworlds

Best Sim/Strategy Game

• The Alters
• Finao Fantasy Tactics
• Jurassic World Evolution 3
• Sid Meier's Civilization VII
• Tempest Rising
• Two Point Museum

Best Family Game

• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Lego Party
• Lego Voyagers
• Mario Kart World
• Sonic Racing Crossworlds
• Split Fiction

Innovation in Accessibility

• Assassin's Creed: Shadows
• Atomfall
• Doom: The Dark Ages
• EA FC26
• South of Midnight

Best Action Game

• Battlefield 6
• Doom: The Dark Ages
• Hades 2
• Ninja Gaiden 4
• Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

Best Fighting Game

• 2XKO
• Capcom Fighting Collection 2
• Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
• Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection
• Virtua Fighter 5

Best Role-Playing Game

• Avowed
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• The Outer Worlds 2

Best Action/Adventure Game

• Death Stranding 2
• Ghost of Yotei
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Split Fiction

Most Anticipated Game

• 007: First Light
• Grand Theft Auto 6
• Marvel's Wolverine
• Resident Evil: Requiem
• The Witcher IV

Content Creator of the Year

• Caedrel
• Kai Cenat
• Moistcr1tikal
• Sakura Miko
• The Burnt Peanut

Best VR/AR Game

• Alien: Rogue Incursion
• Arken Age
• Ghost Town
• Marvel's Deadpool VR
• The Midnight Walk

Best Debut Indie Game

• Blue Prince
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Despelote
• Dispatch
• Megabonk

Best Independent Game

• Absolum
• Ball X Pit
• Blue Prince
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Hades 2
• Hollow Knight: Silksong

Best Multiplayer

• Arc Raiders
• Battlefield 6
• Elden Ring: Nightreign
• Peak
• Split Fiction

Best Community Support

• Baldur's Gate 3
• Final Fantasy XIV
• Fortnite
• Helldivers 2
• No Man's Sky

Games for Impact

• Consume Me
• Despelote
• Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
• South of Midnight
• Wanderstop

Best Narrative

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2
• Ghost of Yotei
• Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
• Silent Hill F

Best Adaptation

• A Minecraft Movie
• Devil May Cry
• Splinter Cell: Deathwatch
• The Last of Us Season 2
• Until Dawn

Best Audio Design

• Battlefield 6
• Death Stranding 2
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Ghost of Yotei
• Silent Hill F

Best Score & Music

• Christopher Larkin, Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Darren Korb, Hades II
• Lorien Testard, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Toma Otowa, Ghost of Yotei
• Woodkid and Ludvig Forssell, Death Stranding 2

Best Art Direction

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2
• Ghost of Yotei
• Hades II
• Hollow Knight: Silksong

Best Mobile Game

• Destiny Rising
• Persona 5: The Phantom X
• Sonic Rumble
• Umamusume: Pretty Derby
• Wuthering Waves

Best Performance

• Ben Starr, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Charlie Cox, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Erika Ishii, Ghost of Yotei
• Jennifer English, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Konatsu Kato, Silent Hill F
• Troy Baker, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Best Ongoing Game

• Final Fantasy XIV
• Fortnite
• Helldivers II
• Marvel Rivals
• No Man's Sky

The Game Awards 2025: How to vote and live countdown

Fans can cast their votes online through The Game Awards 2025 website. Do note that signing up on the website is mandatory, and you can only vote once per email address. The event will take place on December 11, 2025, at 7:30 pm Eastern Time. Here's The Game Awards 2025 start time and date across major regions:

• ET: December 11, 2025, at 7:30 pm
• PT: December 11, 2025, at 4:30 pm
• GMT: December 12, 2025, at 12:30 am
• CET: December 12, 2025, at 1:30 am
• IST: December 12, 2025, at 6 am
• China: December 12, 2025, at 8:30 am
• JST: December 12, 2025, at 9:30 am
• KST: December 12, 2025, at 11:30 am

That's everything you need to know about The Game Awards 2025 nominations.

Read more articles here:

• Shroud calls The Game Awards 2025 "rigged," as he advocates for Arc Raiders as the Game of the Year
• Expedition 33 vs ARC Raiders Game of the Year award debate: Exploring what streamers have said so far
• Our picks for best CS2 StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Pick'Ems

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Edited by Harshit "Hysaze" Singh