The Game Awards 2025: Criticisms, Announcements, and Oversights Amid Clair Obscur's Dominance

December 31, 2025

Building on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Game of the Year sweep at The Game Awards 2025—as covered in prior reporting—the ceremony drew backlash for commercial excess and snubs while unveiling major 2026 reveals.

Hosted by Geoff Keighley in Los Angeles on December 12, The Game Awards 2025 saw Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 secure nine awards total, reinforcing indie momentum previously highlighted. Nominations for Hades 2 and Hollow Knight: Silksong underscored the shift from AAA dominance.

However, the event faced sharp criticism for prioritizing ads over merit. Presenters hyped tie-ins like a Street Fighter movie linked to No Man's Sky, alongside trailers for Resident Evil Requiem (Leon Kennedy returns), the first James Bond game since 2012, Larian Studios' Divinity, and a Star Wars: Old Republic sequel. Absences of Kingdom Hearts 4 and Half-Life 3 updates fueled frustration, as did zero nominations for The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy—praised for its 100 endings rivaling Baldur's Gate 3.

Quirky moments included musical numbers by Disney's Miss Piggy and Rolf the Dog, contrasted by a standout orchestra medley of nominees' tracks. Outlets like The AV Club decried it as a 'total fraud,' yet the night affirmed indies' promise for 2026.

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What people are saying

X discussions celebrated Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's sweep of 9 awards including GOTY at The Game Awards 2025 as a major indie achievement. Criticisms focused on excessive ads, poor pacing, and underwhelming reveals. Users noted snubs for games like Silent Hill f and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Post-event backlash emerged over the game's undisclosed Gen AI use, resulting in stripped indie awards.

They did it. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Won Game of the Year, and a big sweep.

Every AAA studio right now, esp. Square Enix, is asking themselves why they have to spend 20x the budget for a fraction of the sales and hype. pic.twitter.com/pMevD67ReA

— Grummz (@Grummz) December 12, 2025

I enjoyed the 2025 Game Awards for the most part. The show continues to improve. I thought the devs got enough time on stage to be celebrated and I witnessed 10 games announced that I'd buy.

My main negative was the excessive Gotcha game ads. I get Geoff Keighley has bills to… pic.twitter.com/StD7T9RFUV

— The Black Hokage (@TheBlackHokage) December 12, 2025

The Game Awards was so strange.

There were some REALLY great reveals towards the start, but the final hour was a drag full of annoying ads.

Not to mention the incredibly underwhelming ending. Who the hell thought that it was a good idea to have a F2P multiplayer shooter as… pic.twitter.com/nhJULDdndT

— GameRoll (@GameRoll_) December 12, 2025

The Indie Game Awards have disqualified Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for "Gen AI usage"

Game of the Year now goes to Blue Prince instead pic.twitter.com/o91I7b5jhe

— Jake Lucky 🔜 SGF (@JakeSucky) December 20, 2025

Silent Hill f didn’t win in any of the categories it was nominated for at The Game Awards 2025. The game was up for Best Narrative, Best Audio Design, and Best Performance (Konatsu Kato), but, just like Silent Hill 2 Remake last year, it didn’t manage to take home any awards. pic.twitter.com/dP5zWQv2Ag

— malik (@immalkwalahi) December 12, 2025

Sources

• https://theboar.org/2025/12/the-game-awards-2025-re-cap/
• https://www.avclub.com/the-game-awards-are-still-a-total-fraud
• https://gamerant.com/baldurs-gate-3-hundred-line-last-defense-academy-100-endings/