A raid announced? With 12 nominations, a record, French video game “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” takes the lead before the American Game Awards ceremony, which will take place on December 11 in Los Angeles, organizers announced on Monday.
A surprise success in 2025, the title competed in the main “game of the year” category at the twelfth edition of the ceremony, presented as the video game counterpart to the Oscars.
Guillaume Broche, creative director and co-founder of the studio Sandfall Interactive, which is behind the game, told AFP he “can’t wait to go to Los Angeles next month to celebrate this special moment with our colleagues, developers and artists.”
Better than Donkey Kong
The title will face blockbusters such as “Death Stranding 2” and “Donkey Kong Bananza”, the knight life simulation “Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2” but also hits from the independent scene such as “Hades 2” and “Hollow Knight: Silksong”. No French production has ever won the top prize.
The Montpellier studio’s first work, “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” has sold more than 5 million copies since its release in April. Set in a post-apocalyptic universe, the film tells the tragic adventures of a group of characters who set out to challenge a supernatural entity that threatens Lumière, a city inspired by Paris.
“Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” is also nominated in the categories “best independent game,” “best first game,” “best original soundtrack,” “best artistic direction,” and “best role-playing game.” British actors Ben Starr, Charlie Cox and Jennifer English, who voice characters in the game, were also nominated in the “best performance” category.
Soccer game “Rematch,” from French studio Sloclap, is also nominated in the “best sports game” category, while French musician Woodkid is nominated in the “best soundtrack” category for his work on “Death Stranding 2.”
Ubisoft also named it
French giant Ubisoft received two nominations in the categories “best adaptation” for its animated series “Splinter Cell: Deathwatch” and “best accessibility innovation” for its blockbuster “Assassin’s Creed Shadows”. French Don’t Nod received a nomination for “Lost Records: Bloom and Rage” in the “Impact Games” category, which awards the most involved games.
Hosted by Canadian presenter Geoff Keighley, the Game Awards ceremony honors the best video game productions each year. The games were selected by a jury of around one hundred specialist media representatives as well as through public voting.
Last year, the director of Japanese studio Team Asobi, Frenchman Nicolas Doucet, took the stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles to accept the game of the year award for “Astro Bot,” a game paying tribute to Sony’s console flagship hero.
