The Game Awards 2025 has revealed nominees in a variety of categories, from the most anticipated game of 2026 to the best esports team of the year. But while each category will receive a lot of attention, as always, the main focus will be on Game of the Year.
It's a diverse GOTY selection for 2025, and honestly, it feels like every game nominated is worthy of an award. There is a clear frontrunner Claire Obsker: Expedition 33But all five games received enough praise to justify the wins. However, despite the positive trends and records within the category, 2025 continues to be unfortunate.
Xbox Game Studios has never been nominated for Game of the Year.
Since The Game Awards began in 2014, Xbox has yet to have a first-party title nominated for Game of the Year. no star fieldno Gears 5no forza horizon. It's surprising that in more than a decade since the show began, Xbox has yet to be recognized, let alone win Game of the Year.
There were plenty of Xbox titles that could have been nominated, but it seemed pretty likely that the streak would be broken this year. That is, before Indy's giant caravan came along and grabbed all the attention.
In lighter years, you can see games like this: The Outer Worlds 2 or declared It was nominated for Game of the Year, but 2025 was stacked. Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hades 2, Death Stranding 2, Expedition 33and Kingdom Come Salvation II It was a strong list of candidates, and there were a number of alternates who we felt would have been qualified.
Xbox won Game of the Year, but with an asterisk.
Coincidentally, Xbox received two nominations and won two Game of the Year awards at The Game Awards.However, this is the case with games that were added to the library after the fact through acquisitions. overwatch It won Game of the Year in 2016, but that was seven years before Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard King. and Sekiro: Shadow Die Twiceis another title published by Activision that won in 2019.
outside world 1 was nominated for Game of the Year in 2019, but the first title was released by Private Division despite being released after Microsoft acquired developer Obsidian Entertainment in 2018. This is arguably the closest Microsoft and Xbox have ever come to a nomination/win, and in some circles it may be significant since they technically owned Obsidian when they won. Other achievements include Doom being nominated for Game of the Year 2016; Doom Eternal In 2020, and death loop In 2021.
Both Sony and Nintendo received numerous nominations and each won.
For comparison, Xbox's two main rivals are Nintendo and Sony have been nominated almost every year since 2014. Nintendo was nominated for Game of the Year in 2016, 2018, and last year. Meanwhile, Sony just missed out on winning the GOTY category in 2016.
Both studios have at least one win. Sony won three Game of the Year awards. God of War (2018), the last part of us 2, and Astrobot last year. Nintendo gets one win at GOTY. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Xbox is recognized at The Game Awards.
That said, Microsoft and Xbox aren't completely out of the picture when it comes to being nominated for or winning The Game Awards. This year, Microsoft received the third-most nominations with 10 (tied with Electronic Arts) and has also been recognized at previous The Game Awards.
Microsoft wins The Game Awards.
In 2025, Microsoft and Xbox Game Studios have several opportunities to win awards. south of midnight In the accessibility category, impactful games or innovations can win, but competition is fierce in both categories. There are two nominated games. declared and The Outer Worlds 2 Expectations for the best RPG Claire Obsker I'll select that category. Troy Baker's performance could have won him the title. indiana jones But again, Claire Obsker Three separate candidates stand in the way. Received 13 nominations, the most ever Claire Obsker: Expedition 33 It's going to be a tough competition, not just for Xbox, but for everyone.
Why Xbox Could Be Nominated for Game of the Year 2026
I know there will be discussions about bias and favoritism with Xbox's current winning streak, but that feels more like a conspiracy theory than anything else. But it's surprising that Xbox wasn't even nominated.
But as far as breaking the streak goes, Microsoft and Xbox Game Studios will have to wait until next year for their next opportunity to be nominated for the Game of the Year award. 2026 has both fable and Gears of War E-Day It's coming, and if one of the two isn't TGA hardware, it could be a strong candidate. We'll have to wait and see if they can help break Microsoft's streak.
