After a year of notable AAA flops, indies were some of the biggest winners at The Game Awards, reflecting a shift in appetite away from blockbusters and towards the intricate storytelling and gameplay innovation of smaller games. Smash-hit supernatural role-playing indie game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, launched in April 2025, won Game of the Year, while indie action titles proved heart-thumping thrills can be delivered within complex storytelling.

The Game Awards has become a major showcase for the ever expanding world of transmedia entertainment, specifically adaptations of games into TV shows and movies, or vice versa. This year, a long awaited adaptation of a beloved franchise revealed its trailer, an adaptation considered the gold standard cemented its status, and a comic-to-TV-to-game release announcement demonstrated how to move popular intellectual property (IP) into interactive territory.

As outlined in Internet Trends 101: Esports, the competitive arm of the gaming world is set to reach new heights in 2026, and the Game Awards categories dedicated to the sector signalled some of the rising stars of the scene. 

Last year, the Game Awards broke viewership records, reaching 154 million livestreams, up 31% on 2023. With the 2025 show expected to attract even more viewers, canny brands including Spotify and Amazon launched initiatives backing the major impact of the gaming scene, from music to merch.