The Game Awards’ 2025 Game of the Year category has six nominees: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hades II, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. The list applies specifically to The Game Awards’ GOTY category, not every publication’s 2025 game-of-the-year selections or the complete slate of awards presented at the ceremony.
The category is defined by The Game Awards as recognizing “a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.” The six titles below are therefore nominees for that single category; a nomination is not itself an announcement of the winner.
Which six games are nominated for The Game Awards’ Game of the Year 2025?
The official Game of the Year category page lists these six nominees. Epic Games Store’s November 17, 2025 roundup independently names the same lineup.
| Nominee | Category-specific context |
|---|---|
| Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Epic Games Store reported 12 total Game Awards nominations for the title in its November 17, 2025 roundup. |
| Death Stranding 2: On the Beach | Listed by The Game Awards and Epic Games Store as a Game of the Year nominee. |
| Donkey Kong Bananza | Nintendo identifies the game as a Nintendo Switch 2 title in its awards roundup. |
| Hades II | Listed by The Game Awards and Epic Games Store as a Game of the Year nominee. |
| Hollow Knight: Silksong | Xbox Wire included it among the 2025 Game of the Year nominees and said it was playable with Xbox Game Pass at the time of that article. |
| Kingdom Come: Deliverance II | Xbox Wire included it among the 2025 Game of the Year nominees. |
Those are the complete nominees for the category. They should not be confused with nominees in other Game Awards categories, where additional games appear.
What does The Game Awards’ Game of the Year category recognize?
The category description emphasizes the complete experience rather than one isolated achievement. Its wording covers creative and technical fields together, so the nomination is presented as an overall award rather than a prize limited to writing, visual design, performance, sound, innovation, or a particular platform.
That wording also explains why a category list alone cannot tell you which game is “best” for your own tastes. The nominees are being considered for the broadest award on the program, while individual players may care most about genre, length, accessibility, controls, story, challenge, or whether a game runs on hardware they own.
What should you know about each 2025 nominee?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 appears in the official Game of the Year lineup and in Epic Games Store’s dated nominee roundup. That roundup gives the title an additional distinction: it received 12 nominations across The Game Awards, described there as the most nominations for a game in the event’s history at that time.
The 12-nomination figure is a count across categories, not a claim that the game won 12 awards or that it was guaranteed to win Game of the Year. It is also tied to the November 17, 2025 publication date, so it should be read as a snapshot of that year’s nominations.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is one of the six names on the official category page and in Epic Games Store’s independent list. The evidence establishes its place in the Game of the Year field, but does not provide a verified platform, edition, price, subscription status, or regional availability for this article.
That distinction matters when using a nominee list as a buying guide. A nomination identifies the award entry; it does not specify which version a particular storefront is selling or whether that version is available in every territory.
Donkey Kong Bananza
Donkey Kong Bananza is a Game of the Year nominee, and Nintendo’s official roundup identifies it as a Nintendo Switch 2 title. That is the confirmed hardware pairing in the cited material.
The Switch 2 identification should not be silently broadened to the original Nintendo Switch. The available evidence does not establish an original-Switch edition, a physical format, current stock, or a current price. Check the exact console label and edition before buying, especially if a listing uses a shortened title or a bundle description.
Hades II
Hades II is included in both the official Game of the Year category list and Epic Games Store’s November 17, 2025 roundup. Those sources establish the nomination, but they do not establish a current platform matrix, retail edition, subscription inclusion, or regional release status for the purposes of this list.
As with every nominee, the award category is the stable fact. Storefront details can change independently through later releases, updates, regional listings, or subscription catalog rotations, so they should be verified separately.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Hollow Knight: Silksong is named in the official category lineup and in Xbox Wire’s November 17, 2025 nominee roundup. Xbox Wire said that some nominees, including Hollow Knight: Silksong, were playable with Xbox Game Pass when that article was published.
That statement is date-specific. It does not promise that the title remains in a particular Game Pass catalog, tier, or region. Subscription libraries change, and access can differ between console, PC, cloud, and territory; verify the current service listing before relying on a subscription.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is the sixth title listed by The Game Awards for the 2025 Game of the Year category and is also included in Xbox Wire’s nominee roundup.
The cited material does not settle every practical question a player might have about platforms, editions, pricing, or subscription access. Treat the nomination as the verified award information, then check the publisher or platform store for the version that matches your hardware and region.
Is this the full list of nominees at The Game Awards 2025?
No. It is the full list for one category: Game of the Year. The ceremony has a broader slate of categories, and a game can appear in several of them. The official category page is therefore the appropriate source for answering “which games were nominated for GOTY,” while a complete ceremony-wide list requires consulting every category.
This distinction also explains why another article may show more than six games while still discussing The Game Awards 2025. It may be listing nominees for all awards, nominees from a different category, or an outlet’s own editorial game-of-the-year selections.
What platform and availability information is confirmed?
Only a limited amount of platform information is established by the cited 2025 roundups. The table separates confirmed statements from details that remain unstated rather than turning a dated mention into a current promise.
| Game | Confirmed information | What is not established here |
|---|---|---|
| Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Xbox Wire said it was playable with Xbox Game Pass at the time of its November 17, 2025 article. | Current catalog presence, tier, region, edition, price, and stock are not stated. |
| Death Stranding 2: On the Beach | Game of the Year nomination is confirmed. | Platform and current availability are not stated in the cited category and roundup material. |
| Donkey Kong Bananza | Nintendo identifies it as a Nintendo Switch 2 title. | Original-Switch compatibility, physical format, price, and current inventory are not stated. |
| Hades II | Game of the Year nomination is confirmed. | Platform, edition, price, and subscription status are not stated here. |
| Hollow Knight: Silksong | Xbox Wire said it was playable with Xbox Game Pass at the time of its November 17, 2025 article. | Current catalog presence, tier, region, edition, price, and stock are not stated. |
| Kingdom Come: Deliverance II | Xbox Wire included it in its Game of the Year nominee roundup. | Current platform, subscription status, edition, price, and inventory are not stated. |
How can you check whether a nominee is available to play?
Use the award list as a starting point, then verify the purchase or subscription separately. A reliable check follows the same sequence for any of the six games.
- Identify your hardware. Record the exact console, PC storefront, or cloud service you intend to use. For Donkey Kong Bananza, confirm that the listing says Nintendo Switch 2 rather than assuming compatibility with another Switch model.
- Open the platform’s current product page. Compare the full title, developer or publisher information, and edition name. Avoid relying on a search-result snippet that may combine standard, deluxe, bundled, or downloadable versions.
- Check territory and language details. Prices, ratings, release timing, downloadable content, and physical stock can differ by country. Select your region before treating a listing as available.
- For subscriptions, check the live catalog. Xbox Wire’s 2025 statement about Game Pass describes availability at that time, not a permanent entitlement. Confirm the current catalog, plan tier, and whether access is console, PC, cloud, or more than one of those.
- Confirm the edition before checkout. Match the platform, disc or download format, included content, and account requirements to your setup. The award nomination does not identify a retail edition.
What does the 12-nomination figure for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 mean?
Epic Games Store’s November 17, 2025 roundup says Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 received 12 nominations and describes that total as the most nominations for a game in The Game Awards’ history at that point. The figure counts nominations across the event’s categories.
It should not be interpreted as a vote total, a win total, or a quality score. A game can receive several category nominations and still have a different result in each category, including Game of the Year.
Can the nominee list tell you which game will win?
No. It defines the eligible field for the Game of the Year award but does not publish a winner or a ranking among the six games. Any prediction requires an argument beyond the nomination fact, such as a voter’s preferences or an outlet’s stated forecast, and is separate from this verified list.
The most useful way to read the lineup is as a confirmed set of six finalists for the category’s broad creative-and-technical standard. Choosing what to play remains a personal decision shaped by platform, availability, price, accessibility, and the kind of experience you want.
Why might another 2025 GOTY article name different games?
“GOTY 2025” is used by many publications, critics’ groups, stores, and communities for their own annual awards. Those lists may use different eligibility periods, voting rules, release regions, or category definitions. This article uses GOTY to mean The Game Awards 2025 Game of the Year category, which is why its six-name list may not match an independent outlet’s awards.
When comparing lists, check the organizer and the exact category before treating a difference as an error. A ceremony-wide nominee roundup, a critics’ top-ten list, and a platform-specific award can all legitimately contain different games.
What is the verified takeaway?
The Game Awards’ 2025 Game of the Year nominees are Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hades II, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. The category recognizes an overall creative and technical achievement; platform, price, edition, and subscription details must be checked separately and may change after the dated 2025 announcements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one game receive nominations in several Game Awards categories?
Yes. The event’s categories are separate, so a title can be recognized in Game of the Year and in additional craft, performance, genre, or technical categories. A multi-category nomination count measures breadth of recognition, not the number of awards already won.
Does a Game of the Year nomination include a copy of the game?
No. Nomination is an awards designation, not a purchase, download, or subscription entitlement. You still need a compatible platform and a current store or service listing.
Is Donkey Kong Bananza confirmed for the original Nintendo Switch?
The cited Nintendo listing identifies it as a Nintendo Switch 2 title. It does not establish an original Nintendo Switch version, so check the exact hardware label on any current product page.
Can Xbox Game Pass availability change after an awards article is published?
Yes. Catalog membership, plan tiers, regions, and supported devices can change. Xbox Wire’s November 17, 2025 statement should be treated as a dated availability report, not a permanent guarantee.