Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Dominates the 29th Annual DICE Awards and Wins Game of the Year Again

The Game Awards might be the biggest stage in gaming, but anyone who watches it knows the priorities lean heavily toward reveals and premieres. The DICE Awards are the opposite. This night is built around recognition, craft, and the developers behind the work, with nominees and winners selected by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, a structure that gives the ceremony its industry peer weight and its often compared to the Oscars vibe.

Going into the 29th Annual DICE Awards, there was at least one reason to think Clair Obscur Expedition 33 might finally face real resistance. Ghost of Yōtei had already proven it could win in categories where Expedition 33 took equivalent honors at other shows, and it did exactly that again here by taking Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition and Outstanding Achievement in Character. For a moment, it felt like this might be the one major awards night where Expedition 33 would not fully own the room.

That did not happen.

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 walked away with 5 wins, including Outstanding Achievement in Story, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, and the biggest prize of the night, Game of the Year. With that, it extends its lead as the most Game of the Year awarded title in the medium’s history by 1 more win, and the DICE result adds serious momentum heading into the last major 2025 focused awards beat still on the calendar, the GDC Awards.

It was not a total sweep, and that is part of what made the night feel compelling. Ghost of Yōtei finished with 3 wins. Blue Prince continued its own strong run by going back to back with 2 wins, taking Outstanding Achievement in Game Design and Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game. ARC Raiders, arguably the biggest commercial story among the Game of the Year nominees, secured Online Game of the Year. Death Stranding 2 On the Beach was another multi winner despite not being nominated for Game of the Year, proving that DICE voters were happy to spread recognition when the craft warranted it.

Outside of wins, the emotional heart of the night came from the tributes. Vince Zampella received a particularly moving recognition, not only for his enormous creative impact but for the mentorship footprint he has left across multiple generations of developers. Naughty Dog veteran Evan Wells was inducted into the DICE Hall of Fame, introduced by Neil Druckmann, a moment that landed as both a career celebration and a reminder of how much institutional leadership shapes the games we all end up playing.

A theme that echoed across the microphones was solidarity. Speaker after speaker used their moment to call for a more sustainable industry, fair treatment for developers, and respect for the craft. That tone sharpened when some presenters aimed direct frustration at GenAI adoption in production pipelines, with Double Fine Productions art director Lee Petty drawing laughs and cheers by bluntly calling out that if you need animation, you should hire an animator. In a room that likely included executives driving GenAI policy shifts, the comments landed less like jokes and more like a line in the sand from the creators themselves.

With DICE now wrapped, the next major checkpoint is the GDC Awards, where Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is nominated in almost every category. The open question is whether it can pull off yet another sweep, or whether Blue Prince, Ghost of Yōtei, Hollow Knight Silksong, Donkey Kong Bananza, or Split Fiction can finally take a meaningful crown away from one of the most awarded games the industry has ever seen.

29th Annual DICE Awards Winners and Nominees

Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Death Stranding 2 On the Beach
Ghost of Yōtei
Monster Hunter Wilds
South of Midnight Winner
The Midnight Walk

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Winner
Death Stranding 2 On the Beach
Dispatch
Ghost of Yōtei
The Midnight Walk

Outstanding Achievement in Character
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Esquie
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Maelle
Dispatch Courtney Invisigal
Dispatch Robert Robertson III Mecha Man
Ghost of Yōtei Atsu Winner

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
Clair Obscur Expedition 33
Ghost of Yōtei Winner
Herdling
Mario Kart World
Sword of the Sea

Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
ARC Raiders
Death Stranding 2 On the Beach Winner
Ghost of Yōtei
Lumines Arise
Split Fiction

Outstanding Achievement in Story
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Winner
Consume Me
Despelote
South of Midnight
The Drifter

Outstanding Technical Achievement
ARC Raiders
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Death Stranding 2 On the Beach Winner
Donkey Kong Bananza
DOOM The Dark Ages

Action Game of the Year
Absolum
ARC Raiders
DOOM The Dark Ages
Hades II Winner
Ninja Gaiden 4

Adventure Game of the Year
Blue Prince
Dispatch
Donkey Kong Bananza
Ghost of Yōtei Winner
Hollow Knight Silksong

Family Game of the Year
LEGO Party Winner
LEGO Voyagers
Lumines Arise
MARVEL Cosmic Invasion
POPUCOM

Fighting Game of the Year
2XKO
Capcom Fighting Collection 2
FATAL FURY City of the Wolves
Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection Winner
WWE 2K25

Racing Game of the Year
EA SPORTS F1 25
Kirby Air Riders
Mario Kart World Winner
Wheel World

Role Playing Game of the Year
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Winner
Citizen Sleeper 2 Starward Vector
Kingdom Come Deliverance II
Monster Hunter Wilds
The Outer Worlds 2

Sports Game of the Year
EA SPORTS FC 26
PGA Tour 2K25
MLB The Show 25
NBA 2K26
Rematch Winner

Strategy Simulation Game of the Year
The Alters Winner
Drop Duchy
Europa Universalis V
The King is Watching
StarVaders

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
Ghost Town
Hotel Infinity Winner
Marvel’s Deadpool VR
Star Wars Beyond Victory A Mixed Reality Playset
Unloop

Immersive Reality Game of the Year
Demeo x Dungeons and Dragons Battlemarked
Ghost Town Winner
Marvel’s Deadpool VR
The Midnight Walk
Thief VR Legacy of Shadow

Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game
Baby Steps
Blue Prince Winner
Consume Me
Despelote
Dispatch

Mobile Game of the Year
Persona5 The Phantom X Winner
Umamusume Pretty Derby
WHAT THE CLASH
Where Winds Meet

Online Game of the Year
ARC Raiders Winner
Battlefield 6
Mario Kart World
Marvel Rivals
Split Fiction

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
ARC Raiders
Blue Prince Winner
Hades II
Kingdom Come Deliverance II
Öoo

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
Blue Prince
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Winner
Ghost of Yōtei
Hades II
Kingdom Come Deliverance II

Game of the Year
ARC Raiders
Blue Prince
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Winner
Dispatch
Ghost of Yōtei

Do you think Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is going to complete another major sweep at the GDC Awards, or will 1 of Blue Prince, Ghost of Yōtei, Hollow Knight Silksong, Donkey Kong Bananza, or Split Fiction finally take a Game of the Year spotlight away?