The Game Award for Game of the Year facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Game Award for Game of the Year
Larian Studios won Game of the Year for Baldur's Gate 3 in 2023.
Presented by	The Game Awards
Country	United States
First awarded	December 5, 2014; 11 years ago (2014-12-05)
Currently held by	Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (2025)

The Game Award for Game of the Year is a very special prize given out every year at The Game Awards. It celebrates the video game that offers the most amazing experience. This includes both its creative ideas and how well it's made. Usually, the game's creators or leaders from the studio accept this important award.

First, more than 100 different video game websites and magazines pick six games they think are the best. These become the nominees. Then, a special group of experts (called the jury) makes up 90% of the vote. The public, like you, gets to vote too, making up the other 10%.

Since it started, eleven different video games have won this top award. Sony Interactive Entertainment has won three times and been nominated 14 times, which is a record! FromSoftware is the only game maker to win more than once. Bethesda Softworks and Capcom have been nominated four times each, but haven't won yet. The most recent winner, for 2025, is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 by Sandfall Interactive.

How the Game of the Year is Chosen

A special group of over 100 video game experts, writers, and online personalities forms the voting jury. They are chosen because they are great at reviewing games. Each expert picks their top five favorite games. The games that appear most often on these lists become the official nominees.

The winner is decided by combining the jury's votes (90%) and votes from the public (10%). You can vote on the official website and social media like Discord, Facebook, and Twitter. In China, fans vote on Bilibili.

To be considered for the award, a game must be released before a specific date in November each year. If a game comes out after this date, it can be nominated for the awards the next year. For example, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from 2018 was nominated in 2019. Sometimes, games released very close to the deadline might be missed by the voters.

Games that are in 'early access' (still being developed but playable) can also be nominated if they are available before the deadline. Even 'live service' games, which are updated over many years, can be nominated. For instance, Among Us received nominations in 2020, even though it came out in 2018.

Josef Fares presenting Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2022

The Game of the Year award goes to the game that truly stands out in both its creative ideas and how well it's made. It's the very last award given out at the ceremony and is seen as the biggest honor a game can receive. Since 2017, before the winner is announced, the Game Awards Orchestra plays music from all the nominated games. This is led by Lorne Balfe. In 2018, they started nominating six games instead of five.

The director of the winning game or a leader from the studio usually accepts the award. For example, in 2014, Mark Darrah and Aaryn Flynn accepted the first award for Dragon Age: Inquisition. Geoff Keighley, who hosts and produces The Game Awards, presented the award for the first four years. Famous people and past winners also present the award. For example, directors like Josef Fares and celebrities like Vin Diesel and Christopher Nolan have been presenters.

Past Winners and Nominees

Acceptees of the award

Mark Darrah for Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014)

Marcin Iwiński for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)

Eiji Aonuma and Hidemaro Fujibayashi for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)

Cory Barlog for God of War (2018)

Hidetaka Miyazaki for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019) and Elden Ring (2022)

Neil Druckmann for The Last of Us Part II (2020)

Josef Fares for It Takes Two (2021)

Swen Vincke for Baldur's Gate 3 (2023)

Nicolas Doucet and Masayuki Yamada for Astro Bot (2024)

Winners are listed first, highlighted in yellow and boldface, and indicated with a double dagger ().

Winners and nominees

Event	Game	Developer	Publisher
2014	Dragon Age: Inquisition	BioWare	Electronic Arts
	Bayonetta 2	PlatinumGames	Nintendo
	Dark Souls II	FromSoftware	Bandai Namco Games
	Hearthstone	Blizzard Entertainment
	Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor	Monolith Productions	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
2015	The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	CD Projekt Red	CD Projekt
	Bloodborne	FromSoftware	Sony Computer Entertainment
	Fallout 4	Bethesda Game Studios	Bethesda Softworks
	Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain	Kojima Productions	Konami
	Super Mario Maker	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo
2016	Overwatch	Blizzard Entertainment
	Doom	id Software	Bethesda Softworks
	Inside	Playdead
	Titanfall 2	Respawn Entertainment	Electronic Arts
	Uncharted 4: A Thief's End	Naughty Dog	Sony Computer Entertainment
2017	The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild	Nintendo EPD	Nintendo
	Horizon Zero Dawn	Guerrilla Games	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Persona 5	P-Studio	Atlus
	PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds	PUBG Corporation
	Super Mario Odyssey	Nintendo EPD	Nintendo
2018	God of War	Santa Monica Studio	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Assassin's Creed Odyssey	Ubisoft Quebec	Ubisoft
	Celeste	Maddy Makes Games
	Marvel's Spider-Man	Insomniac Games	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Monster Hunter: World	Capcom
	Red Dead Redemption 2	Rockstar Games
2019	Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice	FromSoftware	Activision
	Control	Remedy Entertainment	505 Games
	Death Stranding	Kojima Productions	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Resident Evil 2	Capcom
	Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	Bandai Namco Studios	Nintendo
		Sora Ltd.
	The Outer Worlds	Obsidian Entertainment	Private Division
2020	The Last of Us Part II	Naughty Dog	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Animal Crossing: New Horizons	Nintendo EPD	Nintendo
	Doom Eternal	id Software	Bethesda Softworks
	Final Fantasy VII Remake	Square Enix
	Ghost of Tsushima	Sucker Punch Productions	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Hades	Supergiant Games
2021	It Takes Two	Hazelight Studios	Electronic Arts
	Deathloop	Arkane Studios	Bethesda Softworks
	Metroid Dread	MercurySteam	Nintendo
	Psychonauts 2	Double Fine	Xbox Game Studios
	Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart	Insomniac Games	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Resident Evil Village	Capcom
2022	Elden Ring	FromSoftware	Bandai Namco Entertainment
	A Plague Tale: Requiem	Asobo Studio	Focus Entertainment
	God of War Ragnarök	Santa Monica Studio	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Horizon Forbidden West	Guerrilla Games
	Stray	BlueTwelve Studio	Annapurna Interactive
	Xenoblade Chronicles 3	Monolith Soft	Nintendo
2023	Baldur's Gate 3	Larian Studios
	Alan Wake 2	Remedy Entertainment	Epic Games Publishing
	The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom	Nintendo EPD	Nintendo
	Marvel's Spider-Man 2	Insomniac Games	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Resident Evil 4	Capcom
	Super Mario Bros. Wonder	Nintendo EPD	Nintendo
2024	Astro Bot	Team Asobi	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Balatro	LocalThunk	Playstack
	Black Myth: Wukong	Game Science
	Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree	FromSoftware	Bandai Namco Entertainment
	Final Fantasy VII Rebirth	Square Enix
	Metaphor: ReFantazio	Studio Zero	Sega
2025	Clair Obscur: Expedition 33	Sandfall Interactive	Kepler Interactive
	Death Stranding 2: On the Beach	Kojima Productions	Sony Interactive Entertainment
	Donkey Kong Bananza	Nintendo EPD	Nintendo
	Hades II	Supergiant Games
	Hollow Knight: Silksong	Team Cherry
	Kingdom Come: Deliverance II	Warhorse Studios	Deep Silver

Top Game Creators

Developers

Publishers

Top Game Series

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:The Game Award al Juego del Año para niños