The Biggest GOTY Contenders of 2025

2025’s already been a stacked year for gaming and we’re not even halfway through yet. But speculation on this year’s Game of the Year (GOTY) is well underway and there are still quite a few titles that have yet to release but will definitely be in the running.

We’ll be checking out each console’s exclusive lineup and checking out GOTY-worthy titles to see which console reigns supreme in 2025.

What Makes a Game GOTY-Worthy?

Graphics isn’t everything even if you were playing on a 120Hz gaming monitor, and often times, top-notch storytelling or simply being a good ‘game’ that is unique, refined, or brings new mechanics is enough of a determiner to win a GOTY title.

Let’s take a look at the past winners of The Game Awards’ picks and see what makes them standout.

GOTY 2022 Winner – Elden Ring

2022’s GOTY winner is Elden Ring which took the gaming world by storm for its dark, gritty story telling and applying that signature brutal and unforgiving ‘Darks Souls’ formula into an open-world game was bound to be a success.

GOTY 2023 Winner – Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 is an unparalleled turn-based RPG that takes role-playing to new heights. Strategic & responsive battle mechanics, in-depth storytelling, diverse cast of characters, intricate progression systems, and choices that ‘matter’ made into a genre-defining RPG.

GOTY 2024 Winner – Astro Bot

Astro Bot, finally got its own game and was touted as one of the most engaging platforming games to date. What made it special was how it integrated the PS5’s controller’s features, bringing a level of immersion that other titles sorely miss out on.

Each of these games had something ‘special’ about them, but this also shows that not just one genre or console have ‘dominated’ the GOTY awards.

Top GOTY Contenders by Console

✅ PS5 Exclusives

Ghost of Yotei 

Ghost of Yotei is the highly anticipated ‘sequel’ to 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, taking place a few hundred years after the original. It’s more of a ‘spiritual successor’ that takes the game’s mechanics and story telling with a new female warrior protagonist, Atsu.

For now, we don’t have any ideas ‘if’ Atsu is related to Jin Sakai from GoT, but we do know she’s out for vengeance, armed with a list of names and dual katanas.

With such a legacy, we’re confident that Ghost of Yotei will accurately replicate GoT’s deadly & satisfying combat, immersive stealth, packaged with an artistic flair while traversing the lawless & jaw-dropping landscape of Hokkaido.

Safe to say, this is Sony’s biggest release for the year and a front runner for GOTY considering Ghost of Tsushima was snubbed for The Last of Us Part II in 2020.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach 

Up next, we have another sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Hideo Kojima’s latest entry to the whacky & convoluted Death Stranding universe.

We won’t get into specifics of Death Stranding’s complex storytelling, but what is important is that the sequel is highly anticipated. In the trailers, Sam’s armed with new weapons and gadgets to help him explore the environments more freely, making gameplay feel more dynamic.

Speaking of environments, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a beautiful game, with detailed and immersive in-game environments that’ll look perfect on a 144Hz gaming monitor. 

The views are simply breathtaking, and trekking through the expansive and astonishing sights plus the intricate storytelling is why it’ll be a major contender for GOTY 2025.

Lost Soul Aside

The last PlayStation title in the running for GOTY is Lost Soul Aside, an action RPG that’s a new IP and seems to take heavy inspiration from the aesthetics and stylings of Final Fantasy 15.

The game is centered around ‘Kaser’, who’s on a journey to save his sister after her soul was snatched away by interdimensional beings, the ‘Voidrax’. The story seems to be the typical ‘hero’s journey’ that’ll take Kaser through some tough battles against behemoth monsters and ‘humans’ alike.

What caught our eye is the sheer variety of worlds, smooth traversal mechanics, and sleek combat, slightly reminiscent of a sci-fi Elden ring. It remains to be seen if Lost Soul Aside can live up to the hype, but if it pulls off its stellar image, it’s got a shot at 2025’s GOTY, similar to last year’s Black Myth Wukong.

✅ Xbox Series X/S Exclusives

And those are all of Sony’s heavy hitters for the year, but Xbox isn’t backing down. Here are some of Microsoft’s biggest exclusives with the Xbox Series X|S this year contending for the GOTY.

Avowed 

Avowed is the latest RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, one of the OGs of the genre with Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity under its belt. Continuing in the Pillars of Eternity world of Eora, Avowed moves away from PoE’s CRPG roots to an action-oriented first/third-person RPG.

A majority of its gameplay feels similar to Skyrim, except with a more fluid combat system and larger choice of weaponry. Avowed isn’t your standard fantasy setting and gives you both magic and guns, as well as a variety of melee weapons.

Much of the game has you running around handling side-quests, killing strange creatures & powerful bosses, and aligning with the right factions.

The world is vibrant, the RPG systems are streamlined, and in particular, we enjoyed the flexible ability tree and attribute system allowing you to create unique ‘classes’ like Rangers that can beat down enemies up close, or a gunslinging mage.

As a whole, it rivals the like of all-time great RPGs like Skyrim and Dragon Age, giving it a solid shot at this year’s GOTY.

The Outer Worlds 2  

The Outer Worlds 2 is the next installment in the ‘Outer Worlds’ franchise, by Obsidian Entertainment. While the original Outer Worlds was a bit of a hit or miss, the space faring adventures and RPG goodness were solid.

And with what we’ve seen so far, The Outer Worlds 2 looks to build on these existing systems, refining them to ‘perfect’ the formula. This means new weapons, new skills, and lot more buttkicking.

Based on the trailers and ‘tone’, it seems The Outer Worlds 2 is an amalgamation of Fallout’s familiar RPG system, a glitzier Starfield run by megacorps, and Borderlands patented humor all in one.

Not to mention they’ve claimed that The Outer Worlds 2 is ‘2 times bigger’ than the original so we’re expecting this to do some numbers and if they manage to build off the success of the original, getting into the running for GOTY.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl  

The last Xbox exclusive on the list is none other than the sequel to the cult classic, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

Stalker 2 was a long time coming after the original’s release in 2007 but it didn’t stray far from the path and kept much of what players loved about the original.

Stalker 2 drops you back into the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone where you need to survive the horrors of grotesque & dangerous mutants, enigmatic and deadly anomalies, and cunning human S.T.A.L.K.E.Rs alike.

It’s not a prosperous world since bullets, food, medicine, and water are hard to come, making inventory management critical. Stalker 2 does a lot of things right and excels as a first-person survival sim/RPG.

For its intricate survival mechanics, heart-pounding combat, and post-apocalyptic dark science fiction setting makes it a solid contender for GOTY.

✅ Nintendo Switch (or Switch 2?)

That’s all for Xbox’s exclusives of 2025, and now we move onto the Nintendo Switch’s impressive lineup for this year.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond 

On of the most anticipated Nintendo Switch titles, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is finally releasing this year. After going through ‘development hell’, with the project restarting development in 2019, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond’s popularity makes it a well-deserved contender for 2025’s GOTY.

The Metroid Prime series is famous for reimagining the beloved ‘Metroidvania’ genre into a well-designed 3D environment alongside the phenomenal sound design and music, mixed in with FPS mechanics, intricate platforming, and that satisfying non-linear progression.

And since Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will also get a Nintendo Switch 2 version with upgraded visuals and performance, notably up to 4K and 120FPS, it’s a clear contender for 2025’s GOTY.

Mario Kart World 

Along with the Nintendo Switch 2’s announcement, we also got details about the latest Mario Kart entry, Mario Kart World. This takes things to a whole new level, in what Nintendo claims is an ‘open-world’ kart game the likes we’ve never seen before.

Mario Kart World features an inter-connected and expansive open world with detailed tracks, impressive & stunning cartoony visuals, with an expanded roster of characters to choose from.

With the ‘inter-connectedness’ of the game, you’re not just racing in one stadium; you’re racing from one area to another through highways, which gives a sense of ‘openness’ that feels kind of like Forza Horzion, but in that signature Mario Kart style.

Mario Kart World’s core gameplay loop, larger 24-player races, free roam aspects, hidden collectibles, and the seamless kart racing that feels different and unique compared to previous entries make it a solid contender for this year’s GOTY.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A 

The last of Nintendo Switch’s lineup for 2025’s GOTY is Pokémon Legends Z-A, the latest Pokémon game which brings players back to Lumiose City from the 3DS’s mainline titles, Pokémon X and Pokémon Y.

But things are a little different this time around; Pokémon Legends Z-A builds off the mechanics from Pokémon Legends: Arceus with an immersive ‘real-time’ Pokémon battle and catching system.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A places you into the extravagant and bustling Lumiose City, where you’ll run around looking for Pokémon during the day, but at night, take part in the ‘Z-A Royale’ where you need to take on highly-skilled trainers to reach the ‘top’.

The Pokémon Legends formula straying away from the usual style was popular enough with Arceus, but Pokémon Legends: Z-A seems to take things to another level cinching it a spot as another 2025 GOTY contender.

Final Predictions – Which Game Will Win?

We’ve gone through a solid selection of games that all have a hat in the race for 2025’s GOTY.

For now, we think PlayStation’s Ghost of Yotei, Xbox’s Avowed, and Nintendo’s Mario Kart World are the best each platform has to offer.

But realistically speaking, PlayStation probably has the strongest list of GOTY contenders with Ghost of Yotei, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and Lost Soul Aside.

Though there is one more game that could possibly overturn the race and come out as this year’s champ, and that is none other than the highly-anticipated blockbuster, GTA VI also scheduled to release in 2025.

If all goes to plan and there are no additional delays, GTA VI has the best shot at winning 2025’s GOTY.

I mean, it’s GTA VI; we’ve waited long enough and we’re eager to see how they translate that kooky & addictive GTA formula to a new era of modern gaming with realistic visuals that would look great on an IPS desktop monitor, updated physics, new and deadly weapons, and most of all, a new GTA Online mode to take over the gaming sphere.

Conclusion

But that’s what we think considering the lineup of games we’ve got for 2025.

Though, there are still plenty of games that are aiming for the title like Monster Hunter: Wilds, Kingdom Come II: Deliverance, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows so it’s still a toss-up with such a strong showing this year across the industry.

We want to know your thoughts, any titles we missed? Any personal GOTY candidates that’ve caught your eye this year? Let us know in the comments!