The 2025 Game Awards ceremony is fast approaching, and while some fans may consider Sandfall Interactive's Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as a clear Game of the Year winner, it might not be that simple. Earlier this year, Warhorse Studios was launched Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 to strong criticism, with critics praising the improvements made to its predecessor's formula, its scope, and its ambitious choice-driven narrative. While 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.
It is worth noting that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has already broken the record for receiving the most Game Awards nominations in a single year, beat God of War Ragnarok and The Last of Us: Part 2which previously stood at 11 for the most nominations. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2on the other hand, has only received three nominations – Best RPG, Best Story and Game of the Year. That alone might be enough to get fans thinking Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 already has Game of the Year under its belt, but then again, it's not always that easy with the Game Awards.
God of War Ragnarok had a similar battle with the Ring of Fire in 2022
First a look at God of War Ragnaroks Game Awards fight with Fire Ring 2022 may provide more insight into why the 2025 Game of the Year race isn't as easy as it seems. As previously mentioned, God of War Ragnarok received a record 11 Game Awards nominations in 2022, while Fire Ring received only 8. Of these nominations, God of War Ragnarok took home 6 wins, while Fire Ring walked away with 4. Judging by those numbers alone, one might think God of War Ragnarok to be the “better” game and therefore the one worthy of Game of the Year.
Surprisingly, however, this was not the case. Fire Ring won Game of the Year 2022, despite fewer nominations and fewer wins. In fact, leaving game of the year out of the conversation, Fire Ring just won 3 more awards God of War Ragnarokis 6, and yet it didn't matter in the end. As the 2022 Game Awards went on, it looked more and more certain God of War Ragnarok would actually beat Fire Ring in their apparent head-to-head battle for game of the year. But again, that's not how the story ended.
Of course, Fire Rings Metascore was two points higher than God of War Ragnaroks, but its user score on Metacritic 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 more awards and still failed to win Game of the Year. And the answer depends on the complexity of the Game Awards.
Part of the reason the outcome wasn't obvious in 2022 is that the Game Awards aren't dependent on a single voting pool. Winners are selected through a mix of jury voting in the media and popular vote, with the jury carrying the majority of the weight. That structure means the most decorated game of the night isn't always the one claiming the ultimate prize. And it also means that broad critical consensus, fan enthusiasm, and the industry's overall perception of a game all feed into the outcome in different ways.
Don't write off Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Just Yet
Now the same dynamic that was going on in 2022 has returned in 2025, where the battle is now mainly between Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. They aren't the only two nominated for Game of the Year, but they seem to be the two most likely to win out of the rest of the group for several reasons.
Here's the full list of 2025 Games of the Year 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
A reason Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 may still have what it takes to walk away with Game of the Year 2025 over Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is because it recently came second for Ultimate Game of the Year at this year's Golden Joystick Awards – just behind its rival. The same thing happened God of War Ragnarok at the 2022 Golden Joystick Awards, as it was the runner-up for Ultimate Game of the Year, losing only to Fire Ring. However, a Golden Joystick Awards win does not always guarantee a Game Awards win.
For example, in 2024, Black Myth: Wukong took home Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards, and yet it not only won 2 of its 5 nominations at the Game Awards, it also lost Game of the Year to Astro Bot. As such, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 may have taken home the ultimate prize at this year's Golden Joystick Awards, but Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 could still surprise at the Game Awards in December by coming out on top.
That might not even be a surprise to some, though Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has plenty of fans who have played both that and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 still saying that KCD2 should walk away with Game of the Year. A post by Reddit user Rikari77 suggests as much, and many of the 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 have made a strong case for why they deserve the industry's top honor in 2025. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 may have the numbers and speed heading into the ceremony, but Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has the critical support, fan passion and underdog energy that often makes the final vote more interesting than expected. Whether it wins or not, it has already positioned itself as one of the standout releases of the year. And with a voting process determined by critics and gamers alike, there's still room for a result that defies early expectations when the 2025 Game Awards take place in December.
- Released
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February 4, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+/Use of alcohol, blood and grime, sexual content, strong language, intense violence, partial nudity
- Developer
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Warhorse Studios
