One of 2025’s GOTY Nominees Thinks Another Game Will Win Instead of Them

The Game of the Year category at the Game Awards is typically a highly competitive field. Even when there are clear frontrunners, the competition can have some unexpected twists and turns to deliver big wins to unsuspecting winners. However, this year has taken a turn, with Clair Obscura: Expedition 33 barreling ahead in early projections to become the clear favorite for most categories, but especially Game of the Year.

This was only cemented further by recent developments, such as the Sandfall Interactive-developed title earning 12 award nominations at the Game Awards and cleaning up at the Golden Joystick Awards. The game has picked up so much momentum, in fact, that one of the developers seen as the most competitive rival for the top award doesn’t even seem to think they need to show up. Here’s why Clair Obscura has become such a lock for the Game of the Year Award, and the chances of another nominee upsetting it.

Why Hollow Knight: Silksong’s Developers Don’t Think They’ll Win Game Of The Year

Although Hollow Knight: Silksong is in the running for Game of the Year at this year’s Game Awards, it seems that the team behind it doesn’t think they’re going to actually walk away with the award. During an interview with Bloomberg, Team Cherry developers William Pellen and Ari Gibson discussed the game’s reception and their chances at the Game Awards.

While it’s clear the team is honored by the nominations that Silksong has received, Gibson believes the game is “On that knife’s edge, where it appeals to some and infuriates others.” This is reflective of the game’s overall reception among critics and the broader gaming audience. While Silksong received high marks for its design, gameplay, and core mechanics, the title has also attracted plenty of complaints from players who feel the side-scrolling Metroid-vania game is just too difficult.

As a result, the pair of developers isn’t clearing the schedule to attend the Game Awards this year, reasoning they’re plenty busy and that they expect another game to take home the Game of the Year award. “This year I think we’re safe. I think Expedition 33 — it’s exceptional and broadly palatable,” Gibson explained. This blunt assessment of the state of the race speaks to just how much of a favorite that Clair Obscura: Expedition 33 has become for the big award.

Expedition 33 Has All The Makings Of An Award Season Frontrunner

Dominating the gaming conversation all year since it launched in April, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has all the makings of an award season favorite. The game’s art design and narrative appeal to the critics who appreciate the artistry behind games, while the tight modern refinement of the classic RPG gameplay makes the game a clear winner in the eyes of hardcore gamers. The cinematic qualities of the game lend a certain prestigious element to the experience, while the stand-alone original nature of the game gives it a natural edge over the various sequels and franchise titles that otherwise dominate the nominations for the top award.

The game was even produced by an independent developer, Sandfall Interactive, which is a genuine boon in an era where criticism against the larger gaming conglomerates has become more open. It’s popular with gamers, selling over 5 million copies within six months, all while being available for players who have Xbox Game Pass. It’s also been doing well at precursor awards, earning major wins at the TIGA Awards, Japan Games Awards, and Golden Joystick Awards. In pretty much every important precursor field, Expedition 33 has been a dominant force, to the point where Vegas odds have the game as the faraway favorite to take the Game of the Year award with a 90% chance of taking home the top award.

What Are The Chances Any Other Game Will Unseat Expedition 33 For Game Of The Year?

At this point, it’s looking incredibly unlikely that any game could upset Clair Obscura. The best chance the game has is that the voting base, confident enough in the victory from other sources, goes for more unorthodox picks. However, following Clair Obscura‘s record-breaking number of nominations and domination at the Golden Joystick Awards, those chances seem to be an outlier at best.

Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding 2 and Hollow Knight: Silksong are currently projected to be the closest in contention for the top award, but even Silksong‘s developers don’t seem to have any expectations of upsetting the award. Hades 2 has been incredibly well-received, but Silksong stole much of the thunder from that title due to their similar nature as deceptively difficult and gorgeously animated games.

Donkey Kong Bananza‘s lack of nominations in other categories suggests that it won’t make much of a splash at the event. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s devoted fan base and a timely sale for the complete game might make it a spoiler for the fan portion of the vote, but Clair Obscura seems to have pulled so far ahead that even full support from fans won’t be enough to counteract the momentum that Clair Obscura has gained. At this point, even other developers can see the writing on the wall, suggesting that Clair Obscura has a very good night to look forward to on December 11.