Clair Obscur Dominates The Game Awards with Historic Nine Wins

Sun Dec 14 2025 01:22:33 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The French RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 makes history by winning nine categories, including Game of the Year, at this year's Game Awards.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 achieved a historic nine wins at the latest Game Awards, including the prestigious Game of the Year. The game, celebrated for its emotional narrative and innovative gameplay, beat out major titles like Death Stranding 2 and Donkey Kong Bananza. Its success highlights a strong year for indie games and showcases the challenges and triumphs faced by its developing team, Sandfall Interactive.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been named game of the year in a record-breaking haul at this year's Game Awards.

The French-developed role-playing game (RPG) cleaned up in nine of the 10 categories it was nominated for, with wins in best narrative, best music, and best performance.

It fended off strong competition from titles such as Death Stranding 2, Nintendo's Donkey Kong Bananza, indie favorites Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades 2, and medieval adventure Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

During the ceremony held in Los Angeles, audiences also got a preview of upcoming games including two new Tomb Raider titles and a sequel to Control.

Set in a world governed by a supernatural being known as The Paintress, Clair Obscur tells the story of a group of adventurers seeking to confront this powerful entity. The game received accolades for its emotional storytelling and engaging turn-based battle mechanics.

Developer Sandfall Interactive, founded by former Ubisoft employees pursuing their dream project, was recognized for its heartfelt narrative and player engagement.

Upon accepting the game of the year award, director Guillaume Broche, decked in a red beret and striped shirt to honor the game's French identity, expressed gratitude towards his team during a year filled with challenges.

Having emerged as the most-nominated game in the award's history with 12 nods, Clair Obscur also triumphed in categories such as best role-playing game, best independent game, and best debut indie game.

Its score and music, crafted by the rookie composer Lorien Testard, were also lauded, winning best score and music.

The actress Jennifer English clinched the best performance award, dedicating her win to every neurodivergent individual watching.

Despite its stunning performance, Clair Obscur missed out on two awards, with Battlefield 6 winning for best audio design, while Wuthering Waves claimed the fan-voted Player's Voice category.

This year's Game Awards also featured stars like David Harbour announcing new games and Lenny Kravitz unveiling his villainous role in the upcoming James Bond game. A new Game Changer award was presented to Girls Make Games, emphasizing the ongoing efforts to support and highlight underrepresented groups within the gaming industry.