Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the most-nominated video game for this year’s annual Game Developer Choice Awards celebrations.
In the running for Game of the Year alongside Hollow Knight: Silksong, Blue Prince, Donkey Kong Bananza, Split Fiction, and Ghost of Yotei, the turn-based RPG has been nominated for eight awards across nine categories.
Set for March 12, 2026, the 26th annual GDCA ceremony has nominated Sandfall Interactive’s debut release for the following categories:
- Game of the Year
- Best Debut
- Best Narrative
- Best Design
- Best Visual Art
- Best Audio
- Best Technology
- Innovation Award
The only nomination the turn-based RPG hasn’t grabbed from the ceremony is the Social Impact Award. The nominations for this category are: And Roger, Consume Me, Despelote, and Dispatch. This award is for games that advance “equality, justice, intersectionality, and/or sustainability, and works to positively impact the lives of its players in a meaningful way”.
The annual Game Developer Choice Awards are not decided by journalists or fans, but instead by aa selection of leading game developer peers. This year’s Special Awards Jury is made up of over 30 industry veterans including PlayStation’s Mark Cerney, Assassin’s Creed Hexe director Clint Hocking, Halo producer Kiki Wolfkill, Tommy Tallarico, and more.
Alongside its huge nomination count for GDCA, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won nine awards at the Geoff Keighley’s annual The Game Awards. Additionally, the turn-based RPG won seven awards at the 2025 Golden Joystick Awards. (They’re gonna need to get another shelf!)
While development on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is finished—or just “fini” for the French—Sandfall Interactive already has ideas for its next game. The team has not confirmed what it’s next title will be, but they have teased that it may not be another RPG.
“We don’t want to be constrained by story, art style or gameplay in whatever we want to make next, so nothing to say,” game director Guillaume Broche said when asked about his next game. “We just want it to feel authentic, and made with love.”
