MANILA, Philippines – Sandfall Interactive and Kepler Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has made history at The Game Awards 2025, sweeping nine trophies — the most any title has ever won at the show. It surpasses the previous record of seven wins, set by The Last of Us Part II in 2020.

The debut game from the Paris-based studio took home Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Performance, Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game, and Best RPG, establishing an unprecedented level of dominance for a first-time release.

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In the game, once a year, an entity called the Paintress wakes and paints a new number upon her monolith, indicating an age. Anyone that age will disintegrate and disappear. And every year, the world sends an expedition to go after the Paintress and save the world.

A star-powered ceremony

Broadcast live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, the ceremony featured presenters from across entertainment: Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser, Stranger Things actor David Harbour, actors Felicia Day, Milla Jovovich, and Gemma Chan, filmmaker J.J. Abrams, musician Lenny Kravitz, Milla Jovovich, and even Muppets Miss Piggy and Rowlf.

Rock band Evanescence delivered a live performance of “Afterlife” from Netflix’s Devil May Cry series, while the cast of Paramount’s upcoming Street Fighter movie — including Andrew Koji, Jason Momoa, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and more — presented the Best Ongoing Game award.

BAFTA- and Emmy-nominated composer Lorne Balfe once again conducted the Game Awards Orchestra, performing suites from all Game of the Year nominees.

New reveals and first looks

As is tradition, the ceremony debuted several major trailers and announcements, including 007 First Light, 4:LOOP, Invincible VS, Out of Words, Resident Evil: Requiem, Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Tomb Raider: Catalyst, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, and WARLOCK: Dungeons & Dragons.

HBO and PlayStation Productions’ The Last of Us: Season 2 won Best Adaptation, continuing the franchise’s strong showing at the awards.

A record-setting sweep

Only a handful of games in the past have managed five or more wins, including God of War: Ragnarök (5, 2022), Baldur’s Gate 3 (5, 2023), Astro Bot (4, 2024), and Overwatch (4, 2016). But Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 now sets a new bar with nine, signaling both the title’s critical resonance and the expanding power of high-ambition independent studios.

Making the win more impressive is that it’s the debut title for Sandfall Interactive studio.

For the studio, the victory is a defining moment — the kind that transforms a debut studio into an industry force overnight. For the awards themselves, it marks a new era where boundary-pushing indie releases can not only stand alongside AAA productions but also triumph over them in historic fashion.

With nine wins, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sets a new benchmark, one future Game Awards contenders will now have to chase.

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Full list of winners

GAME OF THE YEAR
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)

BEST GAME DIRECTION
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)

BEST NARRATIVE
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)

BEST ART DIRECTION
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)

BEST SCORE AND MUSIC, LEVELED UP BY SPOTIFY
Lorien Testard, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

BEST AUDIO DESIGN
Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios/EA)

BEST PERFORMANCE
Jennifer English, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY
Doom: The Dark Ages (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)

GAMES FOR IMPACT
South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios)

BEST ONGOING
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive)

BEST DEBUT INDIE GAME
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive)

BEST MOBILE GAME
Umamusume: Pretty Derby (Cygames Inc.)

BEST VR/AR
The Midnight Walk (MoonHood/Fast Travel Games)

BEST ACTION
Hades II (Supergiant Games)

BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE
Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)

BEST RPG
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)

BEST FIGHTING
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (SNK Corporation)

BEST FAMILY
Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

BEST SIM/STRATEGY
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS – The Ivalice Chronicles (Square Enix)

BEST SPORTS/RACING
Mario Kart World (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

BEST MULTIPLAYER
Arc Raiders (Embark Studios)

BEST ADAPTATION
The Last of Us: Season 2 (HBO/PlayStation Productions)

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games)

CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR
MoistCr1TiKaL

BEST ESPORTS GAME
Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)

BEST ESPORTS ATHLETE
Chovy – Jeong Ji-hoon (League of Legends)

BEST ESPORTS TEAM
Team Vitality – Counter-Strike 2

PLAYERS’ VOICE
Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)

– Rappler.com

Rappler is a jury at the 2025 Game Awards.