The Game Awards are almost here! Host Geoff Keighley has revealed the 2025 nominees. From this year alone, 83 games have been nominated to compete in the most intense award show. What makes 2025 a special year is the number of indie game developers who shone through the AAA companies’ shadows. Here are the titles that earned their spot.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
The most nominated indie game for the 2025 Game Awards is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Creator Guillame Broche has successfully done what no other inspired JRPG developer has tried. He took his love for the genre and designed an original European RPG. Expedition 33 attracted a new generation with its refreshing real-time turn-based battles, the beautiful, haunting world of Lumière, and its captivating story of humanity surviving.
Broche and Sandfall Interactive reported that the acclaimed RPG sold over 5 million copies on Oct. 8th. Aside from its presentation, Expedition 33 also broke records on music streaming services with 333 million plays. The French RPG dominates with 10 nominations, including “Game of the Year.” The game has a high chance of taking home the “Best Performance” award with three cast members: Ben Starr, Charlie Cox, and Jennifer English.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Coming behind with four nominations is Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight: Silksong. Since its predecessor’s debut, the three-person developer kept the sequel’s development behind closed doors. The soulslike metroidvania was announced back in 2018, leading the community to make multiple predictions about its release over the next 7 years, until a gameplay clip appeared during the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct in April.
Silksong earned a spot at the 2025 Game Awards through its dedicated fanbase, engaging acrobatic combat, and challenging bosses. The metroidvania will be competing against Expedition 33 for “Game of the Year”, “Best Art Direction”, and “Best Independent Game” awards. Hollow Knight won for “Best Debut Indie” back in 2017.
Hades II
Supergiant Games’ Hades II shatters AAA companies’ hearts as it lands a nomination for “Game of the Year.” Like Silksong, the action roguelike surpassed the original game. As Hades’ daughter, Melinoë, players traverse and fight through the Underworld to defeat the Titan of Time. The community participated in the game’s early access development, giving Supergiant Games active feedback towards completion.
After releasing on Sept. 25th, almost every game critic rated Hades II with a perfect score. From the improved gameplay to the stunning art of the Underworld. Supergiant Games hopes its sequel will be a Game Awards winner like its predecessor. Hades won for “Best Action Game” and “Best Indie” in 2020.
Blue Prince
It’s rare for a puzzle adventure game to enter the Game Awards until indie developer Dogubomb arrived. Studio founder Tonda Ros partnered with indie publisher Raw Fury to produce Blue Prince. The game’s mechanics and storytelling take inspiration from Myst and its sequel, Riven. Ros gave new life to the genre by using architectural elements and a randomizer.
As the heir of Mt. Holly, players are tasked to decide which rooms to draft to search for Room 46. The risk is that the manor will reset them daily and turn into different rooms, which gives Blue Prince great replayability. Ros is honored that the game has been nominated for the “Best Independent Game” and “Best Debut Indie” awards.
Dispatch
Within over a month, superhero visual novel Dispatch quickly nabbed a nomination for the Game Awards. The original minds behind Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us and Tales from the Borderlands bring a refreshing experience to interactive stories. Instead of being the hero, players control retired superhero Mecha Man. Not only is it his duty to form bonds with a squad of former villains, Mecha Man is also responsible for sending the right vigilantes to ongoing crime.
Now, as AdHoc Studio, the team transcends traditional point-and-click games with an enticing work simulator. Dispatch successfully became their first original IP through passion and talent. Rather than using the 5-episode release format, the team decided to expand to 8 episodes. Two chapters would launch in a weekly format. Dispatch will be competing for “Best Debut Indie.”
The Midnight Walk
MoonHood Studios makes its return with its VR horror title, The Midnight Walk. There are many reasons why it deserves its Game Awards nomination. The crew used Laika’s 3D scanning method to produce full-scale claymation game assets, from the monsters to the Tim Burton-inspired environments.
Horror and VR fans loved The Midnight Walk for taking advantage of VR controls, its gruesome atmosphere, and the adorable Potboy. The game also provided a beautiful soundtrack along with a colorful voice cast. This will be MoonHood’s second Game Awards nomination, as the developer participated in the Swedish division back in September. The Midnight Walk will be competing for “Best VR/AR Game” in the US.
Peak
Aggro Crab’s Peak is well-deserved for a Game Award, as it was once a cancelled project. The mountain climbing co-op was almost scrapped due to creative differences during development. Thanks to their newfound partnership with Landfall, Peak became a sensational indie multiplayer venture.
Despite the deceivingly colorful atmosphere, the game challenges players to climb the island’s biomes to reach the top of the highest mountain. This co-op survival is praised for hikers to face the dangers of Mother Nature. The devs even allow players to practice their runs solo for certain achievements. Peak is competing for “Best Multiplayer.”
Megabonk Withdraws from Game Awards
There’s no doubt that the 2025 Game Awards has the largest list of indie games in its nomination bracket. Other honorable mentions include Consume Me, Absolum, Ball X Pit, Ghost Town (2025), and Despolote. However, Megabonk’s developer, Vedinad, decides to withdraw his action roguelike from “Best Indie Debut.”
He made a public announcement on Nov. 18th, a day after Keighley revealed the candidates. On X (then Twitter), Vedinad responded, “It’s an honor and a dream to be nominated for TGA, but honestly, I don’t think I’m qualified for [“Best Indie Debut”]. I’ve made games in the past under different studio names, so Megabonk is not my debut game.”
This could be related to the developer’s suspected identity as YouTuber, Dani Dev. He was well-known as the creator behind the fan-made 3D Among Us and Squid Game parody, Crab Game. Vedinad did encourage the community to vote for the other indie candidates that earned their spot.
