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.

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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.

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Edited by Harshit Singh