The Steam Awards 2025 delivered one of the biggest surprises of the year, as the Game of the Year title did not go to the long-time favorites. Instead, players crowned Hollow Knight: Silksong, with the full winners list revealing several unexpected outcomes.
The Steam Game of the Year award was among the last major honors to be announced, and it immediately stood out as one of the most surprising results. Entirely decided by user votes on Valve’s platform, the award ultimately set aside months of debate surrounding Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. The community chose Hollow Knight: Silksong as the best game of 2025.
This recognition marks a major milestone for Team Cherry. Despite appearing at several major awards ceremonies, the studio had largely walked away without significant wins until now. The Steam Awards changed that narrative, delivering the team its first truly major, player-voted Game of the Year victory.
Looking at the numbers, the outcome becomes less surprising. Hollow Knight: Silksong reached a peak of 587,150 concurrent players at launch on Steam, far surpassing the figures achieved by the other nominees. In community-driven awards, popularity plays a decisive role, but that does not diminish the game’s quality or the legitimacy of its win.
Alongside Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, the game also outperformed Arc Raiders and Dispatch. The biggest loser of the lineup was Warhorse Studios’ medieval RPG, which continued an unfortunate trend by becoming the only GOTY finalist to leave empty-handed. Part of the reason lies in its difficulty fitting into secondary award categories.
The full list of Steam Awards 2025 winners includes:
• Sit Back and Relax Award – RV There Yet
• Outstanding Game with a Good Plot – Dispatch
• Best Soundtrack – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Best Hard Game – Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Most Innovative Gameplay – Arc Raiders
• Outstanding Visual Style – Silent Hill f
• Best with Friends – PEAK
• Best Game on Steam Deck – Hades 2
• With Love and Dedication – Baldur’s Gate 3
• VR Game of the Year – The Midnight Walk
• Game of the Year – Hollow Knight: Silksong
For fans of Hollow Knight: Silksong, this is likely only the beginning. New downloadable content has already been announced, will be released for free, and promises a long lifespan for the game. After years of waiting, it seems the patience has paid off.
Source: 3djuegos
