Expedition 33’ breaks report with 9 wins

MANILA, Philippines – Sandfall Interactive and Kepler Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has made historical past at The Sport Awards 2025, sweeping 9 trophies — probably the most any title has ever received on the present. It surpasses the earlier report of seven wins, set by The Final of Us Half II in 2020.

The debut recreation from the Paris-based studio took dwelling Sport of the Yr, Finest Sport Path, Finest Narrative, Finest Artwork Path, Finest Rating and Music, Finest Efficiency, Finest Unbiased Sport, Finest Debut Indie Sport, and Finest RPG, establishing an unprecedented degree of dominance for a first-time launch.

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Within the recreation, every year, an entity referred to as the Paintress wakes and paints a brand new quantity upon her monolith, indicating an age. Anybody that age will disintegrate and disappear. And yearly, the world sends an expedition to go after the Paintress and save the world.

A star-powered ceremony

Broadcast stay from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, the ceremony featured presenters from throughout leisure: Rockstar Video games co-founder Dan Houser, Stranger Issues 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 stay efficiency of “Afterlife” from Netflix’s Satan Could Cry collection, whereas the solid of Paramount’s upcoming Road Fighter film — together with Andrew Koji, Jason Momoa, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and extra — offered the Finest Ongoing Sport award.

BAFTA- and Emmy-nominated composer Lorne Balfe as soon as once more carried out the Sport Awards Orchestra, performing suites from all Sport of the Yr nominees.

New reveals and first seems to be

As is custom, the ceremony debuted a number of main trailers and bulletins, together with 007 First Mild, 4:LOOP, Invincible VS, Out of Phrases, Resident Evil: Requiem, Star Wars: Destiny of the Previous Republic, The Tremendous Mario Galaxy Film, Tomb Raider: Catalyst, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, and WARLOCK: Dungeons & Dragons.

HBO and PlayStation Productions’ The Final of Us: Season 2 received Finest Adaptation, persevering with the franchise’s sturdy exhibiting on the awards.

A record-setting sweep

Solely a handful of video games previously have managed 5 or extra wins, together with God of Warfare: Ragnarök (5, 2022), Baldur’s Gate 3 (5, 2023), Astro Bot (4, 2024), and Overwatch (4, 2016). However Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 now units a brand new bar with 9, signaling each the title’s crucial resonance and the increasing energy of high-ambition unbiased studios.

Making the win extra spectacular is that it’s the debut title for Sandfall Interactive studio.

For the studio, the victory is a defining second — the sort that transforms a debut studio into an business drive in a single day. For the awards themselves, it marks a brand new period the place boundary-pushing indie releases cannot solely stand alongside AAA productions but in addition overcome them in historic trend.

With 9 wins, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 units a brand new benchmark, one future Sport Awards contenders will now should chase.

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Full checklist 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 Darkish Ages (id Software program/Bethesda Softworks)

GAMES FOR IMPACT
South of Midnight (Compulsion Video games/Xbox Sport Studios)

BEST ONGOING
No Man’s Sky (Whats up Video 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: Fairly Derby (Cygames Inc.)

BEST VR/AR
The Midnight Stroll (MoonHood/Quick Journey Video games)

BEST ACTION
Hades II (Supergiant Video games)

BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE
Hole Knight: Silksong (Crew Cherry)

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

BEST FIGHTING
Deadly Fury: Metropolis of the Wolves (SNK Company)

BEST FAMILY
Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

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

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

BEST MULTIPLAYER
Arc Raiders (Embark Studios)

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

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Video 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
Crew Vitality – Counter-Strike 2

PLAYERS’ VOICE
Wuthering Waves (Kuro Video games)

– Rappler.com

Rappler is a jury on the 2025 Sport Awards.