Todd Howard's 2025 Game of the Year Pick SHOCKS Fans! You Won't Believe It!

So, Bethesda's Todd Howard, the guy who basically *is* The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, has dropped a bombshell. Or, well, maybe not a bombshell exactly, more like a carefully placed RPG-shaped endorsement. He's named his personal Game of the Year for 2025, and it's…Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Todd Howard's 2025 Game of the Year Pick SHOCKS Fa...

Yep, Expedition 33. It's not *entirely* unexpected, but still, it's interesting to see where the heads of these major studios are at. "Expedition 33 is really unique and amazing," Howard told Eurogamer's Mat Jones. He did throw some love to Death Stranding 2 and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 – solid choices, I gotta say – but he kept circling back to Expedition 33. "I think Expedition 33 is a really unique piece of art in so many ways," he added. You can practically hear the emphasis.

Here’s where it gets a little spicy, or at least mildly interesting from a business perspective. Remember earlier this year when Bethesda shadow-dropped The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, like, two days before Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launched? And both ended up on Xbox Game Pass? Talk about potential sibling rivalry. You could practically feel the tension in the digital air.

But apparently, it didn't hurt Expedition 33 at all. According to Kepler's Matt Handrahan, the two games represent fundamentally different approaches to the RPG genre – Western vs. Japanese. It's a fair point. Oblivion is classic Bethesda, wide-open world, dragons, and all that jazz. Expedition 33 is... well, it's its own thing, and clearly, it's resonated with a lot of people.

And by "a lot of people," I mean over 5 million copies sold worldwide. Plus, it's dominating The Game Awards next week with a staggering 12 nominations. Twelve! That's gotta sting a little for anyone who *didn't* make the list. Oh, and it's also the most popular third-party game on Xbox Game Pass this year. So yeah, it's doing alright.

Of course, Howard's not just sitting around playing games all day (though, wouldn't that be a dream?). He's knee-deep in The Elder Scrolls 6, calling it his "everyday thing." Don't get your hopes up too high though, folks. He cautioned that it's "still a long way off." So, while we wait for the next chapter in Tamriel's saga, maybe we should all give Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a try. Todd Howard seems to think it's worth our time, and the man knows his RPGs.