The Game Awards 2025 is right around the corner, with the Geoff Keighley-hosted show set to take place on Thursday, December 11. The Game Awards will crown the Game of the Year for 2025 among other awards, plus it will be stuffed-full of exciting "world premiere" reveals and announcements.
The Game Awards 2025 GOTY nominee list is one of the most-stacked in the history of the show, with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hades 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 all battling it out for the top prize. Bethesda's Todd Howard, known for his work on landmark franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, recently commented on this year's crop of GOTY nominees, and had praise to share for all of them.
I'm Glad Grand Theft Auto 6 Didn't Release This Year, Because 2025 Was An Amazing Year for Games
Remember when Grand Theft Auto 6 was originally supposed to release this year? Good thing it didn't because 2025 was stacked with amazing games.
Todd Howard on the 2025 GOTY Nominations
In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Todd Howard was asked his thoughts on the games nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025. Howard listed the games nominated for the big prize, like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and said, "They're all great." Howard then threw praise at Expedition 33, calling it "amazing" and saying, "I think Expedition 33 is a really unique piece of art in so many ways." Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is currently the favorite to win Game of the Year at the big show on December 11, having broken the record for most nominations at a single Game Awards event with 12.
Howard also complimented Donkey Kong Bananza, calling it a "great game" and saying that Nintendo "did a fabulous job." Donkey Kong Bananza is the highest-rated Switch 2 exclusive released so far and is also nominated for Best Family Game, but in no other categories.
Bethesda has no games nominated for Game of the Year at this year's show, but Bethesda-published Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is up for two awards. Troy Baker has been nominated for Best Performance based on his portrayal of Indiana Jones, and the game also earned a Best Action/Adventure Game nod.
Fallout 4 and Starfield are the two major games released by Bethesda Game Studios since The Game Awards started in 2014. Fallout 4 was nominated for Game of the Year and a couple of other awards, while Starfield was nominated for Best Role Playing Game. Neither game won any awards in the years they were nominated, but it will be interesting to see if the studio's luck changes.
Bethesda won Game of the Year at the Spike VGAs (the predecessor to The Game Awards as we know them today) in 2006 for Oblivion and in 2011 for Skyrim.
Right now, Bethesda is busy working on The Elder Scrolls 6. There have been rumors that Elder Scrolls 6 might make an appearance at The Game Awards this year, but fans shouldn't hold their breath. There is still more Starfield content on the way, after all, and it's also believed that the sci-fi RPG is going to be making the jump to the PS5 as well. Chances are Elder Scrolls 6 won't hit store shelves until 2027 or even 2028, but whenever it does drop, one has to imagine that it will be a favorite for award season.
Bethesda has also confirmed that Fallout 5 will be its next game after The Elder Scrolls 6. Fallout 5 probably won't release until some time in the 2030s, so franchise fans should brace themselves for a significant wait. Here's hoping Fallout 5 follows in Fallout 4's footsteps and finds itself nominated for Game of the Year whenever it does release, and in the meantime, fans can look forward to Fallout Season 2 hitting Amazon Prime on December 17 to help tide them over.