Late last year, Japanese outlet Famitsu asked 191 developers and celebrities from the country to vote for their favorite game of the year. Those polled, including Naoki Hamaguchi and Yoshi-P (Final Fantasy), Katsuhiro Harada (Tekken), and Akifumi Nakanishi (Resident Evil Requiem), landed on, unsurprisingly, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as the winner. This helped the game on its way to becoming the most-awarded ever.
At the same time, Famitsu has been running its official Game Awards for 2025, voted for by the Japanese public. This time, despite the outpouring of love from developers, Clair Obscur has faced a relative snub, picking up only two nominations, neither of which is in the top category.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Picks Up Just Two Nominations In Famitsu’s Yearly Awards
Famitsu’s Game of the Year award is run in collaboration with Dengeki, another Japanese video game and manga outlet. It’s the country’s “largest user-voted game awards program,” designed for fans to honor “outstanding games, individuals, production studios, that are highly supported by users and are recognized as having made a significant contribution to the development of the game industry in 2025.”
This year, there are 16 nomination categories, including genre-specific awards, graphics, music, story, character design, and, of course, Game of the Year.
Voting has been running since late last year, and Famitsu has now revealed the final nominations for fans to vote on. You can check out select categories out below:
Game of the Year
- Elden Ring Nightreign
- Pokemon Legends: Z-A
- Silent Hill f
- Donkey Kong Bananza
Best Developer/Studio
- Silent Hill f development team
- Donkey Kong Bananza development team
- Graveyard Library
- Tookyo Games
- Game Freak
Scenario Category
- Urban Myth Dissolution Center
- Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
- Silent Hill f
Graphics Category
- Death Stranding 2
- Ghost of Yotei
- Silent Hill f
Music Division
- Shine Post Be Your Idol
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Mario Kart World
Actor Category
- Konatsu Kato – Silent Hill f
- Kimura Taihi – Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
- Fairouz Ai – Ghost of Yotei
Character Category
- Wataru Mawariya – Urban Myth Dissolution Center
- Hinako Fukami – Silent Hill f
- Corbeau – Pokemon Legends: Z-A
RPG Section
- Dragon Country Rune Factory
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Pokemon Legends: Z-A
Rookie Division
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Urban Myth Dissolution Center
- Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
Most Anticipated
- The Duskbloods
- Grand Theft Auto 6
- Fire Emblem: Fortunes Weave
The clear winner in the eyes of the Japanese public, at least as far as nominations go, was Silent Hill f. Konami’s title was nominated in seven of the 16 categories available. Urban Myth Dissolution Center came second in the nomination charts with five.
Now, of course, there is no god-given right for Clair Obscur to pick up Game of the Year nominations and awards. However, given just how popular the game has been with both critics and the public around the world, it’s a surprise to see it only get two nods.
- Released
-
April 24, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
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Sandfall Interactive
- Publisher(s)
-
Kepler Interactive
