Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 just made history and not quietly. The breakout JRPG from indie developer Sandfall Interactive has picked up 12 nominations at The Game Awards 2025, officially becoming the most-nominated title the show has ever seen.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads the pack at Game Awards 2025
Released in April 2025, Expedition 33 stormed onto the scene with critical and player acclaim. The game currently holds a Metascore of 92 and a 9.6/10 user score based on nearly 22,000 player reviews. It’s even been tagged a “Must-Play” by Metacritic and maintains a 97% critic score on OpenCritic.
Now, it’s going toe-to-toe with some of the year’s biggest titles, securing nominations in major categories like:
- Game of the Year
- Best Game Direction
- Best Art Direction
- Best Score and Music
- Best Narrative
- Best Audio Design
- Best Independent Game
- Best Debut Indie Game
- Best Performances (3 slots)
That last category alone is worth a spotlight. Voice actors Ben Starr (Verso), Charlie Cox (Gustave), and Jennifer English (Maelle) all received nods an extremely rare sweep for a single title.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a surprising indie surge
Sandfall Interactive, a small French studio, wasn’t exactly a household name before 2025. That’s changed fast. In less than a year, they’ve flipped expectations of what a modern JRPG can be, delivering a cinematic, story-first experience that still plays like a classic.
Their celebratory post online wasn’t exactly subtle:
“What a privilege to be nominated, not only for 2025 GAME OF THE YEAR, but also TWELVE??!! TOTAL NOMINATIONS… SO SO very whee… THANK YOU!!”
Who else is in the running?
Clair Obscur isn’t alone at the top, but it’s definitely out in front. Here’s how the competition stacks up:
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach – 7 nominations
- Ghost of Yotei – 7 nominations
- Hades 2 – 6 nominations
- Hollow Knight: Silksong – 5 nominations
- Split Fiction – 4 nominations
- Donkey Kong: Bonanza – GOTY nomination
While the competition includes juggernauts like Hideo Kojima’s latest and highly anticipated sequels, Expedition 33 is the only debut indie entry with this level of attention.
Countdown to The Game Awards 2025
The ceremony kicks off December 11 at 7:30 PM EST live from the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. With Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leading the charge, indie games aren’t just showing up this year, they’re taking over.
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