The Game Awards 2024 ceremony named Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as Game of the Year. The French-developed role-playing game (RPG) secured nine awards across ten nominated categories, including Best Narrative, Best Music, and Best Performance.
Award Wins for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 received the top prize over nominees such as Death Stranding 2, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hades 2, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. The game is set in a world where a supernatural entity, The Paintress, limits population age, and follows adventurers aiming to destroy this being. It was developed by Sandfall Interactive, a studio formed by former Ubisoft employees. Guillaume Broche, the director, acknowledged his team and others in the industry during his acceptance speech.
Composer Lorien Testard won Best Score and Music for his debut project, discovered through his SoundCloud account. Clair Obscur also won Best Role-Playing Game, Best Independent Game, and Best Debut Indie Game. Actress Jennifer English won Best Performance for her role as Maelle, surpassing co-stars Charlie Cox and Ben Starr. She dedicated her award to neurodivergent individuals.
Clair Obscur did not win two awards for which it was nominated. Battlefield 6 received Best Audio Design, and Wuthering Waves won the fan-voted Player's Voice category.
Other Award Recipients
Other winners at the ceremony included:
- Donkey Kong Bananza for Family Game.
- Arc Raiders for Best Multiplayer.
- Hollow Knight: Silksong for Best Action-Adventure.
- Umamusume: Pretty Derby for Best Mobile Game.
New Game Announcements and Industry Previews
The Game Awards event included previews of upcoming titles. Announcements featured two new Tomb Raider games, a sequel titled Control Resonant, and a new Star Wars role-playing game. Larian Studios, known for Baldur's Gate 3, revealed a new Divinity RPG. Further footage was shown for Resident Evil 9, confirming the appearance of Leon Kennedy, and the PS5 title Saros. The cast of a new Street Fighter movie adaptation, excluding rapper 50 Cent, introduced its first trailer.
Event Structure and Industry Criticisms
The Game Awards, hosted by founder Geoff Keighley, integrates award presentations with trailer showcases. The 2024 ceremony addressed some previous criticisms regarding the prioritization of advertising over award speeches. However, developers have continued to advocate for the event to acknowledge industry challenges, such as recent job losses.
The Future Class scheme, an initiative established in 2020 to recognize "rising stars" in video games, was not continued in 2024. This followed an open letter from former members in 2023 urging the awards to address the Israel-Gaza conflict. Alumni of the scheme subsequently described it as tokenistic and insufficient in facilitating professional connections. In 2023, Amir Satvat received a "game changer" award for assisting laid-off developers in finding employment. Organizers of The Game Awards have been approached for comment regarding these criticisms.