Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Team Vitality, CS2, GTA VI... : here are the winners of the Game Awards

The Game Awards ceremony is the highlight of the end of the year. Hosted and organized by Geoff Keighley, it allows us to look back on the past year to reward video games and actors in the video game world. Of course, as every year, everyone is waiting to find out which title will receive the ultimate award, namely the Game of the Year, the famous "GOTY." But we must not overlook all the other awards distributed, from best artistic direction to the most anticipated game, including the best e-sports team or the best athlete. Here are all the results. 

France in the spotlight with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

In 2020, in Montpellier, Guillaume Broche, Tom Guillermin (two former Ubisoft employees), and François Meurisse formed a brand new studio called Sandfall Interactive. This studio is working on a brand new RPG that takes players back to the Belle Époque. The setting is quickly established, the island city of Lumière does not hide its inspirations. Paris, the capital of France, is the main source. Nothing surprising coming from a French studio that enjoys echoing its origins. To add a certain charm to the universe, the development team adds a layer of fantasy and a few touches of steampunk. Without revealing too much about the plot, let's specify that an expedition composed of several people is tasked with breaking a curse. In this case, it's Expedition 33, composed of Gustave, Esquie, Lune, Maelle, Monoco, Sciel, and Verso, who are in charge of stopping the "Peintresse", a formidable mysterious entity. 

In addition to its captivating universe, the game boasts gameplay that refreshes the turn-based RPG. Sandfall Interactive has indeed integrated elements from real-time games to bring a certain dynamism to encounters. Some QTEs (Quick Time Events) are even part of it. Between its stunning artistic direction, impactful gameplay, and enchanting soundtrack signed by Lorien Testard (with the voices of Victor Borba and Alice Duport-Percier), Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has managed to captivate the press and the public. This is not to mention the quality visual rendering ensured by the use of Unreal Engine 5. Thanks to external support and a caring publisher, namely Kepler Interactive, the project was able to come to fruition and present itself as a great among the greats. The irrefutable proof of this success is that the game received a record number of 12 nominations for the Game Awards ceremony. Even if it did not manage to win each of them, it still won 9 awards, including Best RPG, Best Narrative, Best Artistic Direction, Best Independent Game, and Best Performance awarded to Jennifer English... And that's not all since it also obtained the ultimate reward: it's the Game of the Year 2025!

Needless to say, the emotion is great. The development studio wanted to thank everyone for the warm welcome given to its production. As a result, the team released a trailer specially designed for the occasion and deployed a free update for all those who own the game. Attention, it's heavy. To start, fans can discover a new environment accompanied by a story related to the young Verso. Of course, the studio also added new bosses at the level of the Eternal Tower, with the necessary additional rewards. The Photo mode makes its appearance to allow everyone to take stylish snapshots and share them. Finally, besides several improvements General or technical, all music lovers can now enjoy new musical tracks. 

The Hexagon also shines thanks to Team Vitality

Once neglected, e-sports have managed to establish themselves. Players have been able to prove that playing video games at a high level represents a constant investment. Over the past few years, the practice has gained recognition and has allowed several teams from all backgrounds to emerge. Several games are at the heart of the competitions, including League of Legends, Counter Strike, Rocket League, EA FC, Fortnite, Rainbow Six, Street Fighter, and PUBG, to name a few. This year, the team that was voted the best e-sports team is Team Vitality, which excels in Counter Strike 2. A well-deserved reward, especially after their victory at the IEM Katowice 2025 against Team Spirit and their win at the IEM Melbourne against Team Falcons. The uniqueness of this team is that it comes from a French organization. Moreover, the team's coach, Rémy "XTQZZZ" Quoniam, is French, as well as his assistant Mathieu "MaT" Leber and players Dan "apEX" Madesclaire and Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut. Of course, we must not overlook the qualities of their teammates, namely Shahar "flameZ" Shushan, William "mezii" Merriman, and the new recruit Robin "ropz" Kool, who was recruited on January 10th. 

The other winners

Even though Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 managed to stand out in several categories, it also had to concede to other productions. This is notably the case against Battlefield 6, which snatched the award for best audio design, or against Wuthering Waves, which won the hearts of the voting public. In other categories, we note that Chovy (Jeong Ji-hoon), the South Korean player of League of Legends, was voted best e-sports athlete. Arc Raiders won the award for best multiplayer game, while Mario Kart World received the award for best sports/racing game, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves for best fighting game, Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles for best strategy game, Hades II for best action game, and Donkey Kong Bananza for best family game. Among the other notable winners, we can highlight Counter Strike 2, which was voted best e-sports game, and season 2 of The Last of Us, recognized as the best video game adaptation. Finally, unsurprisingly, everyone can now see that the most anticipated title of 2026 is none other than the juggernaut Grand Theft Auto VI. 

Cover image: Sandfall Interactive®