The dark fantasy RPG was honored with five of the night’s awards, including Best Debut, Best Visual Art, Best Narrative and Best Audio. Produced and hosted annually by GDC Festival of Gaming, the GDCAs are the premier, globally recognized accolades for peer recognition in the video game industry, honoring and celebrating the greatest games created in the last year and the developers behind them.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a loving ode to, and evolution of, the classic JRPG genre with real-time action elements and a distinctly French-inspired narrative and aesthetic. With a dramatic story filled with dread and hope, the game’s artfully crafted world has drawn significant praise, further solidified by tonight’s commanding performance.

The unique puzzle adventure Blue Prince, from developer Dogubomb and publisher Raw Fury, is the other multiple-award recipient of the night, taking home the honors for Innovation as well as Best Design. Other winners of the night include Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment) for Best Technology; Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia) for Social Impact; and and Roger (TearyHand Studio / Kodansha), recipient of the Audience Award.

Two influential industry figures were also honored at tonight’s ceremony. The Lifetime Achievement Award was bestowed upon Emmy® Award-winning game designer Don Daglow. Daglow is a towering pioneer with an expansive list of industry firsts across his 55-year, 100+ game career, including the first baseball game (BASBAL, 1971), the first RTS or sim game (Utopia, 1981) and the first MMORPG to use graphics instead of text (Neverwinter Nights, 1991-1997, AOL, Emmy Award). Rebecca Ann Heineman (1963–2025), the posthumous recipient of this year’s Ambassador Award, was a trailblazing figure in the games industry, celebrated as one of the first professional video game players and a pioneering developer. In 1980, she made history by winning the first National Space Invaders Championship, becoming the inaugural U.S. video game tournament champion. This victory launched a 45-year career during which she contributed to more than 250 games, including classics such as The Bard's Tale III, Dragon Wars, Wolfenstein 3D, and Doom (3DO).

The winners of the 26th annual Game Developers Choice Awards are:

Best Debut

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive)

Best Design

• Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury)

Best Technology

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Visual Art

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive)

Innovation Award

• Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury)

Best Narrative

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive)

Audience Award

• and Roger (TearyHand Studio / Kodansha)

Best Audio

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive)

Social Impact

• Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia)

Game of the Year

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive)

Lifetime Achievement Award

• Don Daglow

Ambassador Award

• Rebecca Ann Heineman

All GDC Festival of Gaming passholders were invited to attend in person at the Moscone Center, and the ceremony was streamed live and is archived on both the GDC Twitch channel and GDC YouTube channel for a global audience.