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Game of the YearPATCH 2026.08.10

Every The Game Awards Game of the Year Winner in Chronological Order (2014–2025)

By VGSources Team 7 min read

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the latest winner of The Game Awards’ official Game of the Year category, taking the award at the 2025 ceremony. The complete chronological list runs from Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014 through Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in 2025.

Scope: “Game of the Year” can mean different awards from different organizations. This list covers only the official Game of the Year category at The Game Awards, beginning with its first ceremony in 2014. The latest completed ceremony is 2025; the 2026 ceremony is scheduled for December 10, 2026, so no 2026 winner exists yet.

The Game Awards Game of the Year winners: 2014–2025

Award year Winner Credit shown by The Game Awards Official record
2014 Dragon Age: Inquisition BioWare 2014 Rewind
2015 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt CD Projekt Red / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment 2015 Rewind
2016 Overwatch Blizzard 2016 Rewind
2017 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Nintendo EPD / Nintendo 2017 Rewind
2018 God of War Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment 2018 Rewind
2019 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Activision / FromSoftware 2019 Rewind
2020 The Last of Us Part II Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment 2020 Rewind
2021 It Takes Two Hazelight / Electronic Arts 2021 Rewind
2022 Elden Ring From Software / Bandai Namco 2022 Rewind
2023 Baldur’s Gate 3 Larian Studios 2023 Rewind
2024 Astro Bot Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment 2024 Rewind
2025 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive 2025 winners

The developer and publisher credits are reproduced as displayed by The Game Awards. They describe the ceremony’s crediting and may not reflect later changes in corporate ownership, publishing, or distribution arrangements.

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Year-by-year winner record

2014 — Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon Age: Inquisition was the first winner in The Game Awards’ Game of the Year category. The 2014 archive credits BioWare.

2015 — The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The 2015 winner was The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, credited by the archive to CD Projekt Red / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

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2016 — Overwatch

Overwatch won the 2016 award, with Blizzard listed in The Game Awards’ credit.

2017 — The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

The 2017 Game of the Year was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The archive displays Nintendo EPD / Nintendo as the credited developer and publisher pairing.

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2018 — God of War

God of War won in 2018, with The Game Awards crediting Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment.

2019 — Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

The 2019 winner was Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Its archive entry displays Activision / FromSoftware.

2020 — The Last of Us Part II

The Last of Us Part II took the 2020 award. The Game Awards lists Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment.

2021 — It Takes Two

The 2021 winner was It Takes Two, credited to Hazelight / Electronic Arts.

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2022 — Elden Ring

Elden Ring won Game of the Year in 2022. The archive displays From Software / Bandai Namco.

2023 — Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 was the 2023 winner, with Larian Studios listed by The Game Awards.

2024 — Astro Bot

The 2024 award went to Astro Bot. The official credit is Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment.

2025 — Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the latest completed winner. The 2025 winners page credits Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive.

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What does Game of the Year mean in this list?

Here, it means the winner of The Game Awards’ official Game of the Year category. It does not mean that these games won every award called Game of the Year, or that The Game Awards is a universal authority over the term.

Several other organizations use their own top awards, judging systems, and naming conventions. Examples include:

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  • The D.I.C.E. Awards, which has its own Game of the Year category; see the D.I.C.E. winners archive.
  • The Game Developers Choice Awards, which also presents a Game of the Year award; see its 2026 winners announcement.
  • The Golden Joystick Awards, whose comparable top prize is called Ultimate Game of the Year.
  • The BAFTA Games Awards, whose equivalent top category is called Best Game. BAFTA’s award database uses that name.
  • The Steam Awards, which have their own Game of the Year category.
  • Editorial and reader-voted awards from individual websites, magazines, and publications.

A list combining all of those would be a different reference project. It would need to define which organizations count as major, how differently named categories are mapped, how award cycles are aligned, and whether jury, editorial, and fan awards receive equal weight. There is no universal cutoff or neutral method for creating that combined list.

Why does the list start in 2014?

The Game Awards was founded in 2014, and its 2014 show was the first ceremony. That is why the chronology begins there.

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The earlier Spike Video Game Awards and VGX ceremonies, which ran from 2003 through 2013, were a separate award program. Geoff Keighley was associated with both eras, but their winners should not be silently merged into The Game Awards’ record. If those awards are included in a broader history, they should appear under a separate heading such as Earlier predecessor awards: Spike Video Game Awards/VGX, 2003–2013.

Does the award year equal the game’s release year?

Not necessarily. The years in the table are the award-cycle years shown in The Game Awards’ archive. Eligibility is governed by The Game Awards’ rules and may not perfectly correspond to a game’s initial release date.

The current rules allow older games to remain eligible when they receive substantial new content, improvements, or service updates. Expansions and downloadable content can also be eligible, as can remakes and remasters, when the jury considers the new creative and technical work significant enough. A DLC release is therefore not automatically disqualified, and an award year should not be treated as a simple release-year index.

How are The Game Awards winners selected?

The current published rules describe a process involving an international jury of more than 100 media and influencer outlets. The games appearing on the most nomination ballots become nominees: normally five games, with six or more possible when there is a tie.

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The current final vote is weighted 90% jury voting and 10% public fan voting. That describes the current process and should not automatically be projected backward as though every ceremony from 2014 onward used exactly the same voting formula.

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Is Players’ Voice the same as Game of the Year?

No. Players’ Voice is a separate category from the jury-selected Game of the Year award. The official Game Awards categories page lists them separately. A game winning Players’ Voice should not be substituted for the Game of the Year winner in this chronology.

Why are the nominees not listed?

This is a winner-only reference list. The Game Awards’ process identifies nominees through ballot totals, but the official result does not necessarily establish a public finishing order among the nonwinning nominees. For that reason, they are described as other nominees, not runners-up.

Calling every nonwinning nominee a runner-up can imply that the ceremony officially ranked second, third, and subsequent places when the primary archive does not document such a ranking.

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Common mistakes when using a GOTY list

  • Calling The Game Awards universal: It is one prominent award body, not the sole owner of the Game of the Year label.
  • Leaving the award body out of the headline: “Every GOTY winner” is broader than a list containing only The Game Awards winners.
  • Adding a 2026 winner: As of August 9, 2026, the 2026 ceremony has not taken place. It is scheduled for December 10, 2026.
  • Confusing nominees with runners-up: Use nominee unless an official source documents a ranked result.
  • Assuming DLC, expansions, remakes, or remasters cannot qualify: The current rules allow them when the new work is considered substantial enough.
  • Using a Game of the Year Edition as evidence: “GOTY Edition” is a product or marketing label. It is not proof that the game won The Game Awards’ Game of the Year.
  • Combining the Spike VGA/VGX record with The Game Awards: Those are predecessor awards and should be labeled separately.
  • Updating credits without checking the archive: The table preserves the credits shown by The Game Awards rather than silently replacing them with later ownership information.

Last checked: August 9, 2026. The list should be updated after The Game Awards ceremony scheduled for December 10, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the first Game of the Year winner at The Game Awards?

Dragon Age: Inquisition won the first Game of the Year award at The Game Awards in 2014. The official archive credits BioWare.

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What is the latest Game of the Year winner?

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won The Game Awards’ Game of the Year for 2025. As of August 9, 2026, it is the latest completed winner.

Is there only one official Game of the Year award?

No. The Game Awards, D.I.C.E. Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards, Golden Joystick Awards, Steam Awards, BAFTA Games Awards, and individual publications can all select different winners. This article is limited to The Game Awards’ category.

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Are Players’ Voice and Game of the Year the same award?

No. Players’ Voice is a separate Game Awards category and should not be confused with the main Game of the Year award.

Can DLC or an expansion win Game of the Year at The Game Awards?

Under the current rules, expansions and DLC may be eligible when the jury considers their new creative and technical work significant enough. Remakes, remasters, substantial updates, and service improvements may also qualify under the applicable rules.

Why is there no 2026 winner in the list?

The 2026 ceremony is scheduled for December 10, 2026. As of August 9, 2026, that ceremony has not occurred, so there is no 2026 winner to include.

Are Spike Video Game Awards and VGX winners included?

No. Spike Video Game Awards and VGX were a separate predecessor award program that ran from 2003 through 2013. Their winners should be listed separately rather than presented as The Game Awards winners.

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Does a Game of the Year Edition prove that a game won GOTY?

No. Game of the Year Edition is a product or marketing label. It should not be used as evidence that a game won The Game Awards’ official Game of the Year category.

The Bottom Line

The definitive chronology for this article’s scope is The Game Awards’ own Game of the Year archive: Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014, followed by winners through Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in 2025. Other organizations may—and often do—choose different Game of the Year winners.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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