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Game Awards 2025 Set New Record, Delivering Whopping 171 Million Livestreams Worldwide

The Game Awards keeps getting bigger each year. When the annual kudofest recognizing the best of the video-game industry kicked off in 2014, it registered 1.9 million livestreams. It has exploded exponentially since then: The 2025 Game Awards show on Dec. 11 broke viewership records with an estimated 171 million global livestreams of the full […]

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Cast Joins Cox In Mo-Cap Recognition, “Nobody Knows About Them”

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Cast Joins Cox In Mo-Cap Recognition, "Nobody Knows About Them"

After actor Charlie Cox spoke out in support of motion capture performances following his Game Awards nomination, the rest of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33‘s cast have joined in, acknowledging their co-stars.

Last month, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 voice actor Charlie Cox drew a crowd when he spoke out in support of mocap actor Maxence Cazorla, who helped bring the Expedition 33 character Gustave to life. Cox insisted the real credit for his Game Awards nomination in the Best Performance category should go to Cazorla, stating, “Any nomination or any credit I get, I really have to give to him.” The voice of Gustave has been adamant about the acting prowess of his ‘co-star’ since June 2025, often heaping praise on the motion-capture actor when he himself received acknowledgement for his role in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Since his statements, the motion capture actor Cazorla has responded on X with a heartfelt post thanking Cox for his kind words, saying, “Bringing Gustave to life was a team effort, and I’m honoured to have played my part in it.” The full post can be seen below, bringing the acknowledgement moment between the two actors full circle.

https://twitter.com/maxence_cazorla/status/1993339680608465405

Today, the rest of the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 cast has also spoken out in support of motion-capture performers, particularly how they’re often overlooked in an interview with VGC. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 cast members, Jennifer English, Shayla Nyx, Devora Wilde and Aliona Baranova, have called on The Game Awards to introduce more performance categories, namely, a motion capture category. All of the actors agree that motion capture should get its own category at The Game Awards, and the actors figure the reason it hasn’t happened yet is that game development secrets can remain hidden.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Cast Joins Cox In Mo-Cap Recognition, "Nobody Knows About Them"

Aliona Baranova (who also served as motion capture director on Baldur’s Gate 3) said, “The audience doesn’t know enough about this because there’s not enough attention on it,” adding, “If we had an award category for mocap specifically, then studios would be encouraged to release that behind-the-scenes footage because people are desperate for it. Studios keep that a bit quiet because it gives away details on how they made the game.”

While there is clearly demand for a motion capture category at The Game Awards, it remains to be seen if one will be implemented in later showcases. The Game Awards kicks off on Thursday, December 11, at 8:00 p.m. EST, and it can be watched on the official Game Awards YouTube Channel.

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Highly Anticipated Ubisoft Game Will Not Be at The Game Awards 2025

Ahead of The Game Awards 2025, it has been revealed that the anticipated remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will not be at the event. This news is disappointing to fans, as reports have suggested theremake could be released by the end of January 2026. While the game could still hit this release window, players will have to look somewhere besides The Game Awards to learn more information about the project.

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Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the best game of the year – Reader’s Feature

Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot of a samurai and ninja
Assassin’s Creed Shadows – you definitely get your money’s worth (Ubisoft)

As publishers continue to make less and less single-player games, a reader recommends Assassin’s Creed Shadows as one of the most enjoyable solo adventures of 2025.

I noticed that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is out on Nintendo Switch 2 next week and I’m honestly half tempted to buy it. I already have it on PlayStation 5, but I’ve enjoyed it so much I would honestly pay to experience it all again with the novelty of it being portable. I’m already resigned to it not winning any major awards but for me it is definitely my game of the year.

At the end of the day, game of the year just means what you’ve enjoyed the best and for me that is definitely Shadows. I tried Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 but while I could see the craft I just don’t really like that kind of role-player and in the end I regretted even getting it. I didn’t like the original Hades or Hollow Knight and while Donkey Kong Bananza was good, I feel it’s miss that extra spark to make it something special.

I’m sure lots of people would say the same about Assassin’s Creed Shadows but for me it worked. I’d say it’s easily the best Assassin’s Creed game and one of the best open world games I’ve ever played.

Assassin’s Creed has always been like comfort food to me. I know that could be seen as a negative but there is nothing I enjoy more than coming home from work and putting a couple of hours into a well design open world. and I don’t think I’m alone. In fact, I’m prepared to say that’s probably the secret of the franchise’s success.

I’m not trying to run the game down though. It has really good combat, two very different characters, and decent stealth. The story isn’t necessarily the best, but you always know what’s going on and it keeps everything ticking along.

The game is big and, like all Assassin’s Creed games, a little bloated but not so bad, in my opinion. There’s plenty of variety in missions and the graphics are fantastic. I feel the game overall is underrated but the graphics in particular are so good and with zero performance problems, despite the open world.

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There’s a lot of talk nowadays about how big publishers don’t want to make single-player games anymore, even though that’s what everyone still prefers, and I feel a game like Shadows is exactly what most people are looking for. It’s literally the opposite of being clowned on in a game of Call Of Duty by a 12-year-old.

Shadows is a game where you’re in control of everything and you decide how and when you play it, not some young tyke in another country. Everything in Shadows is dedicated to entertaining me, and only me, and I don’t feel that’s the case with multiplayer games.

It might not be high art, even by the standard of other video games, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, and I feel sad at the idea that games like this may become more and more rare in the feature. To put my money where my mouth is though I’m going to pick up Star Wars Outlaws in the Black Friday sales and give that a go as well.

To split the difference I’ll get it on Switch 2, as I heard it’s a good port, and see how this sort of thing works on the go. I know fashions change over the years, but I never would’ve thought we’d be in a position where single-player games were becoming rare and you had to force yourself to support them or they might go away.

If that’s the reality of the situation though I can’t recommend Assassin’s Creed Shadows enough. But if it doesn’t seem like your sort of thing, because of the setting or the Ubisoft-ness or whatever, please just support whatever single-player game does take your interest, or otherwise they might become a thing of the past.

By reader Hackle

Star Wars Outlaws Kay Vess kneeling down with Nix on her shoulder
Star Wars Outlaws is pretty good too (Ubisoft)

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email.

ArrowMORE: Older gamers have a duty to educate younger fans about gaming - Reader's Feature

ArrowMORE: Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 proves Xbox has a reverse Midas touch – Reader’s Feature

ArrowMORE: The PS5 is both the best and the worst console I’ve ever owned - Reader's Feature

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The Game Awards 2025 leaks begin: what will and won’t be shown

Key art showing protagonist Jesse Faden from Control using her telekinetic powers
Jesse’s return might be imminent (Remedy)

Leaks have started for the most important night in gaming, with Control 2 and Silent Hill 1 remake amongst the rumoured line-up.

The Game Awards might be pitched as an Oscars style awards ceremony, but the vast majority tune in to catch the big game reveals and trailers.

This year’s event takes place in Los Angeles on December 11 (or very early Friday, December 12 in the UK), with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 going up against the likes of Donkey Kong Bananza and Hollow Knight: Silksong for the big Game Of The Year prize.

While we’re still two weeks away, there’s already rumours (and in one case, confirmation) of what games to expect at the event. To keep all the leaks under control, we’ve directed them into one big bucket below.

What is confirmed for The Game Awards 2025?

At the time of writing, the only confirmed title is sci-fi role-player Exodus. This was originally revealed at The Game Awards in 2023, by none other than Interstellar’s Matthew McConaughey, who voices a character in the game.

While the screenshots look generic, the main reason to be optimistic is the talent involved, with developer Archetype Entertainment run by BioWare veterans James Ohlen, Chad Robertson, and Drew Karpyshyn. A spiritual successor to Mass Effect? We hope so.

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This is your call to rise. A new EXODUS trailer premieres live at @TheGameAwards. December 11. Don’t miss it. Synchronize your timepiece: https://t.co/Jo4AdUqX1y pic.twitter.com/d6DWwAMjrL

— EXODUS (@EXODUSGame) November 25, 2025

What games are rumoured for The Game Awards 2025?

There are several titles rumoured to make an appearance. Based on Ubisoft’s release slate, the Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time remake looks like a shoe-in, since it’s expected to launch in January. Similarly, the rumoured remake of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is said to be slated for March, so a long overdue announcement could happen at the show.

Based on a recent trademark filing, the sequel to Control could debut as well. As spotted by MP1st, a trademark with the name ‘Control Resonant’ was filed on Thursday (November 27), under the Nordia Attorneys At Law representative associated with Remedy.

It’s unclear if this trademark specifically relates to Control 2, which was announced back in 2022 but still hasn’t been revealed, or some kind of extended universe shenanigans like new DLC, a TV adaptation, or a book. However, considering Control 2 went into full production in February this year, a reveal doesn’t feel out of the question.

Another rumour claims the remake of Silent Hill 1 could get some kind of trailer too. This comes from Peruvian outlet MasGamers, citing a Japanese insider. Details are scarce, so we’d take it with a pinch of salt, and considering developer Bloober Team only announced its existence in June, we doubt it’ll be anything more than a pre-rendered teaser.

A more likely candidate is the announcement of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach on PC. A post on the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) outed the existence of a PC port earlier this week, before it was swiftly taken down. The architect behind The Game Awards, Geoff Keighley, is famously pally with Hideo Kojima, and with the original Death Stranding being available on PC, this seems inevitable.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach ESRB rated for PC pic.twitter.com/8MAxRnmTAN

— Wario64 (@Wario64) November 26, 2025

What definitely won’t be at The Game Awards 2025?

The only game which has been ruled out is The Witcher 4. CD Projekt co-CEO Michał Nowakowski shared a post on X stating so, in response to their nomination for Most Anticipated Game.

‘I’m very happy to see The Witcher 4 nominated in the Most Anticipated Game category at The Game Awards,’ he wrote. ‘Thanks to everyone who has already voted – your support means a lot to us. We won’t be bringing any new content to TGA [The Game Awards] this year, but we’re, as always, excited to watch the show and celebrate this amazing industry’s great night alongside all of you.’

While it hasn’t been explicitly ruled out, reputable insiders have claimed Naughty Dog’s next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, will also not be shown. A trailer for the sci-fi adventure game, starring Tati Gabrielle, debuted at The Game Awards last year.

Ciri with a hood over her head in The Witcher 4
Don’t expect The Witcher 4 (CD Projekt)

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For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

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God of War and Half-Life fans huff the hopium side-by-side as Geoff Keighley shares cryptic tease

Gordon Freeman being injected with a dose of hope.

The entire gaming industry is merely a farce: a place where people gather not to play games but to hope for new ones. It's the ultimate assembly of tinfoil hatters, who predict, decrypt, and huff and puff the hopium. And this time, it's the HL and GoW fans doing it together.

After Geoff Keighley, the host of The Game Awards, shared two cryptic images portraying some sort of demonic portal and a desert in the middle of nowhere, fans were quick to conjure up hype. For what? No one seems to know, but some think it's a new God of War game that is to be announced at the upcoming TGA.

There's a lot to back this up: the portal has various fantasy creatures that are reminiscent of the last two games, and a chest plate on it is strikingly similar to one Kratos wears in God of War: Ragnarok. The portal is in more ways than one borne out of the fantasy genre, which is hard to connect with Half-Life. But that hasn't stopped its eager fans.

https://twitter.com/thegameawards/status/1994816833464217796

Jumping on the second image shared by Geoff, the one showing just a desert in California (that curiously contains the name of the road running through it, Yucca Mesa Road) Half-Life fans are convinced this is red hot desert proof that HLX is going to be announced at The Game Awards. I mean, Half-Life starts in a desert and a facility called Black Mesa, so this is as clear cut as it gets? Right? Maybe. Probably not, though.

Geoff Keighley is known for sharing images that are oddly similar to various games, usually done to generate hype and excitement for annual events like the Summer Games Fest or The Game Awards. Sometimes these are actual teases of what is to come, but usually end up being something completely different to what fans imagined.

HL fans are extra eager to believe anything and grasp at any straws they can reach for, given how much hype was generated for Half-Life 3 in previous weeks. This hypothetical final game in the 27-year-old series hasn't been talked about more ever since HL2 Episode 2 came out, so I can understand the fans who are desperate to get closure on one of the biggest cliffhangers in the industry's history.

The Game Awards is going to give us a ton of good announcements, that much is sure, as it does every year. Whether or not that'll end up being a new God of War or Half-Life (or even both) is anyone's guess. But I think it's safe to say that no, Geoff did not just reveal these two games to us.

Or maybe he did?

The post God of War and Half-Life fans huff the hopium side-by-side as Geoff Keighley shares cryptic tease appeared first on Destructoid.

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The Game Awards 2025 countdown: Exact start date and time

The Game Awards 2025 Logo

Over a week is left for The Game Awards 2025 to go live, and there's plenty of exciting reveals to catch, along with rewards to be handed out.

The Game Awards 2025 will be streamcast live on Twitch and YouTube for gamers and fans to catch all the action from the comfort of their homes. This guide will help you stay on track with when the event goes live so that you don't miss out on any of the major announcements.

The Game Awards 2025 countdown

The dates for The Game Awards 2025 were announced previously, along with the nominations. The countdown below will expire once this year's award ceremony begins. It will be taking place on Dec. 11 (Dec. 12 in certain regions).

[hurrytimer id="1150524"]

The countdown is based on the following timings.

  • 4:30pm PST
  • 6:30pm CST
  • 7:30pm EST
  • 00:30am (Dec. 12) BST
  • 1:30am (Dec. 12) CEST

The first 30 minutes are expected to be an extension of the main show. We can expect premieres and reveals in the first 30 minutes as well, but the awards will be announced only after the main show begins.

The number of categories for this year's awards remains the same. Games like Clair Obscur Expedition 33 and Death Stranding 2 have received multiple nominations, while a few other popular names like ARC Raiders haven't received as many.

It will be interesting to find out who ends up as the winner come Dec. 11. More importantly, all eyes will be on the prestigious GOTY award. While Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is undoubtedly the favorite to win that title, there can always be last-minute surprises.

In the meantime, you can go through all the nominations to find out if your favorite games have made the cut this year. The voting is also on as of writing, so make sure to cast your vote and help your favorite game win.

The post The Game Awards 2025 countdown: Exact start date and time appeared first on Destructoid.

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The Game Awards Nominations 2025: ‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’ Becomes Most-Nominated Game Ever With 12 Nods

UPDATED: The Game Awards have removed the game “MegaBonk” from the Best Debut Indie nominee category. In a statement sent to its jury members Tuesday, along with the final voting ballot, TGA said: “While many of you voted for ‘MegaBonk’ for Best Debut Indie Game, the developer contacted us to share that he is in […]

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Full List of The Game Awards Nominees For December 11, 2025

This year’s Game Awards will take play on December 11. While it’s a somewhat divisive event, it’s still usually worth tuning in, even if its just to check out what new games get announced. But if you are interested in seeing this year’s categories and nominations ahead of the show, then we’ve got the entire […]

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Game Quicky – Balatro (PC – Steam) ~ Running Poker Multipliers

Steam storeOfficial websiteWikipedia page

Sometimes, it’s the simple games that entertain me for hours. Who thought that a new spin on playing Poker could be so refreshing? It even wins several awards at the game awards 2024. Now, my good streaming buddy Klamath bought me this game for my birthday. I decided to give it a go, and I was surprised. In this article, I want to share my honest first impression. I will also discuss what I like about this game. Additionally, I will mention what I don’t like about the game. I have played Balatro on my PC. But, if this game looks interesting to you, feel free to discover it on other platforms like mobile and consoles. Before I dive into this card game, please leave a comment with your thoughts. Share your opinions on this game or the content of this article.

The good

The visual presentation and style of this game is something that blew me away. Visually, this game looks amazing. The subtle animations of the cards, the way the UI hints pop up, the little hints on the planet cards…

The UI offers something nice during boss fights. It gives you hints when a hand isn’t going to score. But there are other little things in this game that are just fun. Like, you can click and drag the bind chip while you are thinking of a next move.

The gist of this game is quite simple. You have to play poker hands from the cards that you are given. You don’t always have to play 5 cards, in case you want to keep a certain card. Each ante has 3 rounds. A small and big blind and a boss fight. Each time, the goal of chips you need to earn raises. In between each blind, you earn money. This money, you can use to buy from a shop where a few joker or other special cards are offered.

These cards add multipliers to certain hands. This is a list of examples:

  • The chip’s multiplier doubles. This only happens if you have spades and clubs left in your hand.
  • The gained points for a played and scored ace doubles.
  • Gain 2 extra chips per card left in your deck after playing each hand.

Some of these Joker cards can be a lifesaver. Especially the free chips ones. Others, force you into a certain playstyle. Each time you hit the shop, it’s a difficult decision. Should I continue with this set of Jokers, or should I replace one? You only have 5 slots. Changing one out might increase your points just enough to survive another round.

This game is the perfect blend of strategy and luck. You need to get lucky with the cards and not use up all your discards quickly. Since, you don’t get them back easily. The rougelite elements in this game give the usual poker game should a fresh spin. How far do you get with all the jokers and how high will you score? Since, it doesn’t matter if you survive a round just barely. Survival is survival, and maybe then you can buy a new joker card that elevates your run.

You restart with zero points and new hand and full deck each round anyway. Or you can gamble it all and skip a round for an interesting bonus. And if you loose, you reset to the start of the game for a whole clean run. Once this game clicked, it became the perfect “one more run” game. Betting with myself how far I would get this time.

This game is quite responsive. In terms of controls, this game is quite easy to control. The UI is perfect as well. I’m also glad that there are various accessibility options in the game. Things like reduced motion and high contrast cards are important. The more people can play the game, the better.

The save system is easy to use. You can just exit the game and restart from where you left off with ease. Also, there are three player profiles. You can also name the profiles, so you easily know which profile is which. Not to mention, you can unlock everything, but then you won’t be able to go for those sweet Steam achievements.

The bad

If you are unfamiliar with the rules of poker, you might be in trouble. Thankfully, the valid poker hands don’t take a long time to learn. You also have the “run info” button to help you. In game, you don’t get too many lessons on making valid poker hands, so keep that in mind.

Now, this is a difficult one to write. While the music in this game is amazing, the track variety is something of a mixed bag. Some of the tracks use the same sound font and melody. Sometimes, I don’t recognize that the pitch and instruments had changed. Don’t get me wrong, the soundtrack in this game is pretty good, but more variety would have been welcome. A few more ambient tracks would do the trick. Now, this is a major nitpick. To be honest, it only bothered me when I started to pay attention to it.

The small tutorial at the start of your first game is extremely helpful at explaining things. Yet, some information will be only told once in that tutorial. So, if you put the game down for a while and don’t remember everything… You have no real way to re-read the rules. Thankfully, most (if not all) concepts in this game aren’t hard to grasp. But a small refresher like having the option to replay the tutorial wouldn’t hurt.

If I may give an extreme nitpick, I think it will be this. In this game, you can modify the picture cards with references to different games. Now, this is per suit and each suit has a different set of games. I wish this was a fleshed out a bit further. Like, I love the art for Cult of the Lamb and Slay the Princess. But only having those face cards in one suit be changed, it didn’t scratch the itch enough for me. Maybe using smaller images on the number cards of the suit would make it even more enjoyable. Then again, how could you do this? It would require massive development time and designing a whole card deck per reference. So, I can totally see why the developers made this choice.

The conclusion

In the end, Balatro is a fantastic blend of strategy. It has elements of luck and engaging roguelite mechanics. These features keep me coming back for “just one more run.” Its polished visuals, clever gameplay twists, and thoughtful accessibility options make it a standout experience. The game has a few minor drawbacks. These include the limited tutorial recall, the music’s slight repetitiveness, and the poker learning curve. Despite these, the issues don’t overshadow the sheer enjoyment this game offers. If you want a new take on poker, try Balatro. It challenges your planning skills and keeps the stakes high.

I’m happy that Klamath gave me this game for my birthday. It took me quite the while to actually give this game a shot, but I’m happy that I did. I can easily play this game during short downtimes. It’s easy to pick up and play. I also think that this game might be even more fun on a tablet or on the go. During long play times, it can become repetitive. However, this is oh, so fun in short bursts. It’s also exciting if you are able to string together a long combo or run.

I want to congratulate the team behind this game. LocalThunk and Playstack, you made an awesome card game. It has a unique spin that makes me come back for more. The praise and awards are totally deserved. I am eager to delve deeper into the game. I am excited to discover what else some jokers I haven’t discovered yet may have in store for me.

And with that, I want to thank you all for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to welcome you in a future article. Until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

Score: 95/100

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