Clair Obscur is the finalist in eight categories, leading this year’s games in total nominations.
The organizers of the GDC Festival of Gaming have announced the finalists for the 26th annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA).
The GDCA, which will take place the night after the 28th annual Independent Games Festival awards ceremony, are being led by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Ghost of Yōtei as the top finalists, accruing eight and five nominations respectively across nine categories.
The games in all nine categories were nominated by, voted on, and ultimately decided by video game developers within the industry. Any title made publicly available during the 2025 calendar year is eligible for a free nomination. The Game of the Year ballot, for example, includes Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Blue Prince, Donkey Kong Bananza, Ghost of Yōtei, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Split Fiction.
The GDCA will be held on Thursday, March 12, during the GDC Festival of Gaming in San Francisco. It will also be livestreamed via Twitch.
You can find the full list of nominees alongside honorable mentions for each category below:
Best Audio
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Rift of the NecroDancer (Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Games/Klei Publishing)
• South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios)
Honorable Mentions:
ARC Raiders (Embark Studios), Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo), Doom: The Dark Ages (id Software/Bethesda Softworks), Lumines Arise (Enhance/Monstars Inc.), To a T (uvula LLC/Annapurna Interactive)
Best Debut
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BALL X PIT (Kenny Sun & Friends/Devolver Digital)
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Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
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Dispatch (Adhoc Studio)
Honorable mentions:
ARC Raiders (Embark Studios), Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia), Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry), The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy (Too Kyo Games, Media. Vision Inc./Aniplex), The Roottrees are Dead (Evil Trout Inc.)
Best Design
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BALL X PIT (Kenny Sun & Friends/Devolver Digital)
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Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
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Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
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Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
Honorable Mentions:
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment), Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment), Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver), The Alters (11 Bit Studios)
Innovation Award
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BALL X PIT (Kenny Sun & Friends/Devolver Digital)
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Baby Steps (Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy/Devolver Digital)
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Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
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Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Honorable Mentions:
CloverPit (Panik Arcade/Future Friends Games), Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia), REPO (Semiwork Studios), Sunderfolk (Secret Door/Dreamhaven), To a T (uvula LLC/Annapurna Interactive)
Best Narrative
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
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Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastián Valbuena/Panic)
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Dispatch (AdHoc Studio)
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Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
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Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
Honorable Mentions:
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage (DON'T NOD Montréal, DON'T NOD), South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios), The Outer Worlds 2 (Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios), The Séance of Blake Manor (Spooky Doorway/Raw Fury)
Best Technology
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
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Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
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Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
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Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
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Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
Honorable Mentions:
ARC Raiders (Embark Studios), Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios/Electronic Arts), Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry), Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver), PEAK (Team PEAK/Aggro Crab, Landfall)
Best Visual Art
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Absolum (Guard Crush Games, Dotemu, Supamonks/Dotemu)
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
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Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
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Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
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Hades II (Supergiant Games)
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Keeper (Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios)
Honorable Mentions:
Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry), South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios), Sword of the Sea (Giant Squid), The Midnight Walk (MoonHood/Fast Travel Games)
Social Impact
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And Roger (TearyHand Studio/Kodansha)
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Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia/AP Thomson/Jie En Lee/Violet W-P/Ken "coda" Snyder/Hexecutable)
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Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastián Valbuena/Panic)
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Dispatch (AdHoc Studio)
Honorable Mentions:
Herdling (Okomotive/Panic), Lost Records: Bloom & Rage (DON'T NOD Montréal, DON'T NOD ), PEAK (Team PEAK/Aggro Crab, Landfall), To a T (uvula LLC/Annapurna Interactive)
Game of the Year
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Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
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Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
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Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
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Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)
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Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
Honorable Mentions:
Absolum (Guard Crush Games, Dotemu, Supamonks/Dotemu), BALL X PIT (Kenny Sun & Friends/Devolver Digital), Hades II (Supergiant Games)
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