The biggest night in games is almost here, and once again Geoff Keighley is polishing his autocue for a three-hour extravaganza of awards, orchestral crescendos and enough “world premiere” stingers to pierce the atmosphere.
The Game Awards 2025 land on 11 December, promising the usual cocktail of celebration and spectacle: think emotional dev speeches cut between trailers, celebrity walk-ons, and the inevitable moment someone whispers “wait… is that actually happening?” at 3am.
Game of the Year will dominate headlines the next morning, but the electricity of the event always lives in the unknown. The reveals. The shocks. The games you didn’t know existed at 12:31am that suddenly become your next obsession.
Here’s everything UK viewers need to know ahead of the show.
Where to watch
British night owls, your annual ritual awaits. The Game Awards 2025 begin at 12:30am GMT on 12 December, streaming free on YouTube, Twitch, X, Facebook Live and Steam, plus, for the first time, Amazon Prime Video.
Prime members can tune in directly, which means far fewer frantic tab-switches if your internet starts doing its best impression of a PS2 boot screen.
If you're elsewhere, the show kicks off at 4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET / 1:30am CET, with Asia-Pacific viewers catching it over breakfast.
Wherever you are, you can watch Geoff summon trailers like some sort of gaming druid.
What to expect
The build-up to this year’s ceremony has been pure Keighley theatre. Last week, he shared a mysterious demon-covered monolith plonked in the Mojave Desert with the caption: “Regal. Inspiring. Thickness.” Naturally, the internet ignited — is it Diablo? God of War? Elder Scrolls VI? After a wave of debunkings, the truth remains up in the air, but the guessing is half the fun.
What we do know is that some heavy hitters are already locked in. Invincible VS will unveil a brand-new playable character, a welcome update for the cult-favourite fighter riding the wave of Invincible fandom. Exodus, the sci-fi RPG from ex-BioWare staffers at Archetype Studios, will also take the stage, promising another glimpse at a world steeped in Mass Effect DNA. And after its 25th anniversary, Total War is officially ready to reveal its next instalment.
There’s also a fresh release date and a new trailer incoming for Phantom Blade Zero, the ultra-sharp, ultra-punishing action game from S-Game. And in peak “only at The Game Awards” fashion, Evanescence will perform “Afterlife” from Netflix’s Devil May Cry.
What might be announced
Beyond the confirmed appearances lies the real adrenaline: the possibilities. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has smashed the show’s all-time nomination record, and the smart money is on some kind of update, maybe even the new dungeon tease, or a shadow-drop of the upcoming free expansion.
Hades II, still only on PC and Switch, feels primed for a long-overdue console announcement. And with Fallout Season 2 landing on Amazon Prime Video just days after the ceremony, it would be extremely on-brand for Geoff to summon Ella Purnell or Walton Goggins on stage for a sneak peek.
Big-screen energy is also gathering around 007 First Light, IO Interactive’s stylish Bond prequel. With a March 2026 release window, we might finally learn who’s voicing or playing the villain, or even hear its theme live on stage. Marvel’s presence should also be felt; Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is deep into development, making a full gameplay blowout feel increasingly likely, while Marvel’s Wolverine, still set for late 2026, could easily make a reappearance.
PlayStation’s lineup also has some clear candidates. Housemarque’s Saros, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and the long-rumoured original project from God of War director Cory Barlog are all circling the reveal zone.
Meanwhile, Xbox fans will be watching closely for Fable, Gears of War: E-Day, and the Tokyo-set Forza Horizon 6, which has been teased but only in the vaguest possible manner.
Then there’s Kojima. It wouldn’t be a Game Awards without spooling at least one strand of the Hideo Kojima Extended Universe. We know Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be present, but could OD: Knock or even his espionage project Physint resurface? With Kojima, chaos is always part of the deal.
FromSoftware are also heavily tipped. Maybe The Duskbloods. Maybe a brand-new soulslike. Maybe something no one has even theorised yet, with a 40-minute lore breakdown already being storyboarded by YouTube channels. As for Larian, a hint at their post-BG3 future feels possible, even if that future is a decade away.
The dreamers, of course, will be whispering: Half-Life 3. Rumours have swirled for weeks. Logic says no. History says no. Valve says no. But every awards season, hope wins out until the moment it doesn’t.
The nominees
Here are the full Game Awards 2025 nominees:
- Game of the Year
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Donkey Kong Bananza
Hades II
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 - Best Game Direction
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Ghost of Yōtei
Hades II
Split Fiction - Best Narrative
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Ghost of Yōtei
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Silent Hill f - Best Art Direction
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Ghost of Yōtei
Hades II
Hollow Knight: Silksong - Best Score & Music
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Hades II
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Ghost of Yōtei
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach - Best Audio Design
Battlefield 6
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Ghost of Yōtei
Silent Hill f - Best Performance
Ben Starr – Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Charlie Cox – Gustave in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Erika Ishii – Atsu in Ghost of Yōtei
Jennifer English – Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Konatsu Kato – Hinako Shimizu in Silent Hill f
Troy Baker – Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - Innovation in Accessibility
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Atomfall
Doom: The Dark Ages
EA Sports FC 26
South of Midnight - Games for Impact
Consume Me
Despelote
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
South of Midnight
Wanderstop - Best Ongoing
Final Fantasy XIV
Fortnite
Helldivers 2
Marvel Rivals
No Man's Sky - Best Community Support
Baldur's Gate 3
Final Fantasy XIV
Fortnite
Helldivers 2
No Man's Sky - Best Independent Game
Absolum
Ball x Pit
Blue Prince
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Hades II
Hollow Knight: Silksong - Best Debut Indie Game
Blue Prince
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Despelote
Dispatch
Megabonk - Best Mobile Game
Destiny: Rising
Persona 5: The Phantom X
Sonic Rumble
Umamusume: Pretty Derby
Wuthering Waves - Best VR/AR Game
Alien
Arken age
Ghost Town
Deadpool VR
Midnight Walk - Best Action Game
Battlefield 6
Doom: The Dark Ages
Hades II
Ninja Gaiden 4
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance - Best Action/Adventure Game
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Ghost of Yōtei
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Split Fiction - Best Role-Playing Game
Avowed
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Monster Hunter Wilds
The Outer Worlds 2 - Best Fighting Game
2XKO
Capcom Fighting Collection 2
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage - Best Family Game
Donkey Kong Bananza
LEGO Party!
LEGO Voyagers
Mario Kart World
Sonic Racing: Crossworlds
Split Fiction - Best Sim/Strategy Game
The Alters
Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles
Jurassic World Evolution 3
Sid Meier's Civilization 7
Tempest Rising
Two Point Museum - Best Sports/Racing Game
EA Sports FC 26
F1 25
Mario Kart World
Rematch
Sonic Racing: Crossworlds - Best Multiplayer Game
Arc Raiders
Battlefield 6
Elden Ring Nightreign
Peak
Split Fiction - Best Adaptation
A Minecraft Movie
Devil May Cry
Splinter Cell: Deathwatch
The Last of Us: Season 2
Until Dawn - Most Anticipated Game
007 First Light
Grand Theft Auto 6
Marvel's Wolverine
Resident Evil Requiem
The Witcher 4 - Content Creator of the Year
Caedrel
Kai Cenat
MoistCr1TiKaL
Sakura Miko
The Burnt Peanut - Best Esports Game
Counter-Strike 2
DOTA 2
League of Legends
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Valorant - Best Esports Athlete
Brawk – Valorant
Chovy – League of Legends
Forsaken – Valorant
Kakeru – Street Fighter
MenaRD – Street Fighter
Zywoo – Counter-Strike 2 - Best Esports Team
G – League of Legends
NRG – Valorant
Team Falcons – DOTA 2
Liquid PH – Mobile Legends
Vitality – Counter-Strike 2
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