Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is up for more Game Awards nominations than any game in history, and it’s essentially a shoe-in for this year’s official Game of the Year award. 

Inspired by turn-based JRPGs like Mistwalker’s Lost Odyssey and Square Enix’s Final Fantasy, the game has performers arguing over best endings, and Charlie Cox living in a constant state of anxiety as fans dish out endless praise for his fantastic performance as Gustave. 

Alongside the constant fan praise for Sandfall’s debut game, Bethesda Game Studios boss Todd Howard has joined the conversation. Speaking to Eurogamer ahead of the release of Fallout Season 2, Howard confirmed that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is his personal Game of the Year as well. 

“Expedition 33 is really unique and amazing,” the Elder Scrolls and Fallout boss explained. “I think Expedition 33 is a really unique piece of art in so many ways.”

Alongside Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Howard explained that he was also weighing up both Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding 2 and Warhorse Games’ Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 as possible game of the year picks. 

Right now, Howard is not only busy with the press cycle for Fallout Season 2, but also with the active development of Bethesda’s long-awaited Elder Scrolls 6. 

While the game was revealed way back in 2017, active development on the project only started in 2023 following the completion of Starfield, a project that had its development massively extended by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

At the time of writing, very little is known about the upcoming Elder Scrolls game, although Howard has confirmed the game will not be released before Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto 6. So, with that in mind, keep 2027 and 2028 open for a possible release. 

As for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Sandfall’s debut project has already won a tonne of Golden Joysticks awards. When it comes to this year’s annual Game Awards (or Geoff Awards), you can expect a lot of wins for the studio.