2025 is almost coming to an end, which means it's time to mentally compile our list of the best games of the year and get angry at the objectively wrong GOTY picks of online outsiders. And now we can all have an opinion about Todd Howard's opinion because Bethesda Game Studio boss recently crowned his own GOTY.
Talking to eurogamer about his favorite games of the year, Fallout and Elder Scrolls 6, a celebrated steward of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and also paid homage to Death Stranding 2 and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. He's an RPG enthusiast, after all.
“Expedition 33 is truly unique and amazing,” Howard enthused. “I think Expedition 33 is a truly unique piece of art in many ways.”
Howard's choice is hardly a surprise. In fact, it's in line with the general consensus right now, as Sandfall Interactive's RPG is arguably the frontrunner of awards season. Claire Obscurus: Expedition 33 cleaned house entirely at The Golden Joysticks 2025and it collected a whopping 12 nominations at The Game Awards, more than any other game in the show's history.
The Bethesda boss isn't the only industry veteran who's loving Expedition 33. Final Fantasy's Naoki Hamaguchi also said that it was probably his game of the year.and not just because it has a JRPG-inspired combat system: “What makes this game so good is that it gets all the elements right and they're all balanced to such a high level of quality.”
'The real reward in our heart is the emotional response': While 'Claire Obscurus: Expedition 33' continues to dominate GOTY, the developers and cast are still reeling from its success
