If you paid attention to 2025, the game of the year race was possibly at its most predictable, with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 being a shoo-in to sweep all the major awards (even Baldur's Gate 3 had Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Alan Wake 2 to contend with). Shockingly, there is one game of the year award that Expedition 33 didn't take home in 2025, that being the highest rated game on Steam.
Looking at Steam250 which tracks the top-reviewed Steam games of a given year, Expedition 33 came in at fourth place. Ahead of it were superhero management sim Dispatch in third, co-op horror game R.E.P.O. in second, and the number one slot was taken by drug-dealing sim Schedule 1. While Dispatch is in a very similar situation to Expedition 33 – that being former Telltale devs teaming up to make a passion project – the top two are early access indies with small dev teams.
When it comes to the Game of the Year nominees at The Game Awards, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 still leads, while Hades 2 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 took the number nine and 10 spots respectively. In last place is Hollow Knight: Silksong, which sits at number 19. Obviously, Donkey Kong Bananza and Death Stranding 2 aren't on Steam and thus aren't counted, (although Donkey Kong would obviously be number one, if you ask me).
Still, it's interesting to see that even with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leading the conversation throughout 2025, quietly, drug dealing was the real sweetheart of Steam players. Funnily enough, Schedule 1 isn't the only one in the top 50, with, ahem, "BRAZILIAN DRUG DEALER 3: I OPENED A PORTAL TO HELL IN THE FAVELA TRYING TO REVIVE MIT AIA I NEED TO CLOSE IT" taking the number 45 slot, beating out the likes of Where Winds Meet and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.
