Baldur's Gate 3 boss says Game Awards 2025 nominees like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 are "proof" the industry still recognizes "passion," regardless of the "budget or who is making it"

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"Brings things back to the core"

Baldur's Gate 3 mind flayer with pale purple skin and facial tentacles stares ahead with glowing yellow eyes
(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur's Gate 3 director and Larian Studios lead Swen Vincke has reacted to nominations for The Game Awards 2025, specifically those leading what arguably stands as the most competitive category of all: Game of the Year.

The nominations went up yesterday, with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 smashing it in various categories from Game of the Year to Best Game Direction and many more. It's not the only GOTY contender, of course, with other gems to come from this past year making the list, like Death Stranding 2 and Hollow Knight: Silksong. They span all aesthetics, developers, genres, and themes – and that's what Vincke loves about this year's nominees.

Sharing his thoughts in an online post made in direct response to the new Game of the Year nominees, the RPG mastermind writes, "I like that there is such diversity among the developers nominated, each representing a different approach to making games. It's proof that our industry still recognizes games that entertain and are made with passion, regardless of the budget or who is making it. Brings things back to the core."

Vincke then admits, "I only played 4 out of the 6, but those 4 certainly merit their place and I understand why the other 2 are there too." It's safe to say that Clair Obscur: expedition 33, at least, is likely to be one of those four – judging by the Baldur's Gate 3 director's past threads, anyway. The same can be said for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which he also previously posted about.

That's not all Vincke has to say about this year's Game Awards, however. In a separate reply to the nominees for Best Community Support – a category that Baldur's Gate 3 team Larian Studios has been present within for three years now – he expresses his excitement: "Team's going to be so happy!!! That's three times in a row now. Thank you for the nomination!!!" As a hardened fan of the studio's Dungeons & Dragons RPG myself, I'd say it's deserved.

The Game Awards 2025 go live in a few weeks, right before the holiday season on December 11, and we'll get to see then who takes the coveted trophy of Game of the Year – and every other category, Best Community Support included – home.

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Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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