At The Game Awards last week, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 became the 12th title to win Game of the Year. Since the awards’ inception in 2014, the top prize has rarely gone to an independent studio. But that doesn’t mean that the biggest publishers always win either.
To date, the publisher with the most Game of the Year Awards is Sony, which emerged victorious last year with Astro Bot, The Last of Us Part 2 in 2020, and God of War in 2018.
Surprisingly, Nintendo has only won the award once, for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in 2017. Microsoft has yet to win any, although it now owns Activision, which took home the award in 2019 for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Although the onslaught of trailers tends to overshadow The Game Awards themselves, receiving that honor can be a game-changer. CD Projekt’s 2015 win for The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt cemented its status as one of the top independent publishers in the industry. That title has also become one of the best-selling games in history.
While there have been winners across multiple game types, RPGs have taken six out of the 12 Game of the Year Awards, and Expedition 33’s win is the latest victory for that genre.
The complete list of every Game of the Year Award winner from The Game Awards is reproduced below.
Game of the Year 2014 — Dragon Age: Inquisition
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Runners-up:
- Bayonetta 2
- Dark Souls II
- Hearthstone
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Game of the Year 2015 — The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Developer: CD Projekt Red
Publisher: CD Projekt
Runners-up:
- Bloodborne
- Fallout 4
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
- Super Mario Maker
Game of the Year 2016 — Overwatch
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Runners-up:
- Doom
- Inside
- Titanfall 2
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Game of the Year 2017 — The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Developer: Nintendo EPD
Publisher: Nintendo
Runners-up:
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Persona 5
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- Super Mario Odyssey
Game of the Year 2018 — God of War
Developer: Santa Monica Studio
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Runners-up:
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
- Celeste
- Marvel’s Spider-Man
- Monster Hunter: World
- Red Dead Redemption 2
Game of the Year 2019 — Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Developer: From Software
Publisher: Activision
Runners-up:
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Resident Evil 2
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- The Outer Worlds
Game of the Year 2020 — The Last of Us Part 2
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Runners-up:
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Doom Eternal
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Hades
Game of the Year 2021 — It Takes Two
Developer: Hazelight Studios
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Runners-up:
- Deathloop
- Metroid Dread
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
Game of the Year 2022 — Elden Ring
Developer: From Software
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Runners-up:
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- God of War Ragnarök
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Stray
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Game of the Year 2023 — Baldur’s Gate 3
Developer: Larian Studios
Publisher: Larian Studios
Runners-up:
- Alan Wake 2
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Resident Evil 4
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Game of the Year 2024 — Astro Bot
Developer: Team Asobi
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Runners-up:
- Balatro
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
Game of the Year 2025 — Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Developer: Sandfall Interactive
Publisher: Kepler Interactive
Runners-up:
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
