A Quiet Indie RPG Just Steamrolled The Game Awards
A French “JRPG-inspired” indie game with no big IP behind it just walked into The Game Awards 2025 and rewrote the record books.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from Montpellier-based studio
Sandfall Interactive won a staggering
nine awards, including
Game of the Year, after leading the show with a record
12 nominations. In the process, it toppled the previous record held by
The Last of Us Part II, which had seven wins back in 2020.
And yes, the rest of the industry absolutely noticed.
What Exactly Did Expedition 33 Win?
Let’s start with the numbers, because they’re wild.
According to Game Rant and Engadget,
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was nominated in 12 categories and won
nine of them, including nearly every top-tier prize.
Here’s a breakdown of its Game Awards 2025 performance:
| Category | Result | Notes |
|------------------------------|--------|-----------------------------------------|
|
Game of the Year | Won | Headline win, announced at show close |
|
Best Game Direction | Won | Confirmed on-stage at TGA 2025 |
|
Best Narrative | Won | Praised for twists and emotional impact |
|
Best Art Direction | Won | Recognized for its striking painterly style |
|
Best Score and Music | Won | Honored for its standout soundtrack |
| Best Audio Design | Nominated | Did not win |
|
Best Performance (Jennifer English as Maelle) | Won | Only one of three cast nominees could take it |
| Best Performance (Charlie Cox as Gustave) | Nominated | Lost to English |
| Best Performance (Ben Starr as Verso) | Nominated | Also nominated |
|
Best Independent Game | Won | First award of the night for the team |
|
Best Debut Indie Game | Won | Huge feat for a first-time studio |
|
Best RPG | Won | Beat out major franchise competitors |
The official Game Awards channel posted separate videos for its
Game of the Year and
Best Game Direction wins, underscoring how central Expedition 33 was to the show’s narrative this year.
Why This Sweep Is Such A Big Deal
A debut indie just took the industry’s crown
This isn’t a seasoned AAA juggernaut.
Sandfall Interactive is a relatively new French studio, and
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is its breakout debut.
Game Rant describes it as a “bona fide indie success story,” noting that the game not only scored some of the best reviews of 2025, but also *
launched near a remaster of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
and still dominated sales and headlines. That alone would be impressive; adding a historic Game Awards run on top makes this one of those “we’ll talk about this for years” moments.
The nine trophies also set an all-time record for a single game at The Game Awards, crossing a threshold that even prestige franchises hadn’t reached.
Story, style, and systems all hit at once
Why did voters rally behind it so hard? Coverage points to a few pillars:
- Visual identity: A “visually stunning” art direction that leans into painterly, surreal imagery.
- Combat design: Turn-based battles that even self-described turn-based skeptics have warmed to because of how tight and inventive they feel.
- Narrative punch: A story described as both moving
and shocking
, with twists that are “as unpredictable as they are thought-provoking.”
- Performances: Three lead performances were strong enough to all get nominated, with Jennifer English ultimately winning Best Performance for her role as Maelle.
The sweep across direction, narrative, art, music, RPG, indie, and debut categories suggests this isn’t just a “great story game” or a “beautiful RPG”—it’s being recognized as the total package.
How The Industry Reacted: Jokes, Salt, And Respect
“Blame the French!” – Kingdom Come devs take the L
Not everyone went home with hardware, and one studio decided to laugh through the pain.
PC Gamer reports that the team behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 jokingly tweeted “Blame the French!” after losing every category in which they went up against Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
. The tone was lighthearted, and the article notes that the teams partied together after the show, making it clear there was no real bad blood—just a sense that they’d run into an unstoppable freight train this year.
It’s a neat snapshot of how fast Expedition 33 has become the
game to beat.
Streamer drama turned curiosity
On the content creator side, Clair Obscur
also brushed against some pre-awards drama.
GamesRadar highlights comments from former FPS pro and streamer Shroud, who had previously asked fans to “not let Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 win Game of the Year”
while backing another title, Arc Raiders. After the RPG’s Game Awards sweep, though, Shroud pivoted and said he now plans to play the game, effectively acknowledging he can’t ignore it anymore.
In other words: when your skepticism turns into “OK, I have to see what the fuss is about,” that’s a sign of a cultural moment.
Not everyone agreed with every trophy
Of course, a sweep this big will always spark debate.
Windows Central ran an opinion piece arguing that Expedition 33 “absolutely robbed” another nominee in at least one category, claiming it “didn’t deserve this award.” The article frames this less as an attack on the game’s quality and more as a conversation about whether one title should dominate that many different categories.
This mirrors a wider, recurring Game Awards debate: when a standout game exists, should it clean up across the board, or should trophies be more evenly spread to recognize different kinds of excellence?
The Big Update Drop: Riding The Game Awards High
Sandfall didn’t just take statues home—they used the stage as a springboard.
Engadget reports that during the Game of the Year acceptance, Sandfall CEO and creative director Guillaume Broche announced a free update for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
, then rolled it out right after the show.
While details vary by outlet, the core picture is clear:
- The update arrived immediately following the Game Awards.
- It was framed as a thank-you to fans and a way to keep momentum going.
- It capitalized on the inevitable spike in interest after a GOTY win.
This is a savvy move: Game Awards exposure often sends games back up the charts, and pairing that with fresh content can turn curiosity into long-term engagement.
Why This Matters Beyond One Night
A new blueprint for indie ambition
For small and mid-sized studios, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33* just became a case study.
It shows that:
-
A debut studio can realistically compete—and win—against massive franchises if the vision is sharp and execution is consistent.
-
Distinct identity (French-developed, JRPG-inspired, painterly, narrative-heavy) can be a strength, not a niche limiter.
- Strong
writing and performances can elevate an RPG into mainstream awards territory, not just “RPG of the year” lanes.
In an era where development budgets are ballooning, seeing a new studio break through this hard will likely embolden other teams to swing bigger with their first projects.
The awards meta is shifting
The Game Awards have long leaned toward blockbuster franchises, but the last few years have cracked that pattern. Expedition 33’s sweep—especially across
direction, narrative, and performance—reinforces a trend:
ambitious, auteur-like projects can dominate the mainstream stage.
It also intensifies the conversation around:
- Category overlap (should one game be eligible for so many major awards?)
- How much awards buzz influences sales and streaming behavior
- The balance between AAA and indie recognition on a global stage
Expect more studios to design with “award visibility” in mind—focusing on standout art direction, memorable performances, and strong narrative hooks.
What To Watch Next
If you’re tracking the game or the studio, here are the key things to keep an eye on:
-
Player reception to the new update: Does it deepen the story, add systems, or simply polish? Early impressions will shape how long the post-awards wave lasts.
-
Sources
1. Every Award Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Won At The ... - Game Rant
2. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 devs dropped a big update after ...
3. Expedition 33 Wins Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025
4. Expedition 33 Wins Best Game Direction at The Game Awards 2025
5. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 devs tweet 'Blame the French!' after losing every Game Awards category to Clair Obscur, but it was in good fun: They partied together after
6. After begging people to "not let" Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 win Game of the Year, Arc Raiders advocate and ex-FPS pro Shroud finally plans to play the RPG after its Game Awards sweep
7. Expedition 33 absolutely robbed this The Game Awards nominee of a win — it didn’t deserve this award
