3 min read
The Game Awards (TGA) continues its massive growth. The 2025 ceremony, held on December 11 at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, just set a staggering new viewership record. The broadcast delivered an estimated 171 million global livestreams. This marks an 11% increase over the 154 million streams recorded in 2024.
Notably, this total only includes streams of the full broadcast. It does not count individual clips or trailers. Furthermore, the 171 million figure excludes viewership from Amazon’s Prime Video, which carried the show for the first time this year.
Dominating the Digital Landscape
The show reached audiences across a vast network of platforms. These included YouTube, Twitch, Steam, TikTok Live, X, Kick, Facebook, and Instagram Live. The event also saw massive distribution in China and India. On Western platforms, peak concurrent viewership hit 4.4 million, showing a 9% rise from last year.
YouTube specifically saw significant gains. The 4K feed jumped 8% in peak concurrent streams to 1.4 million. Across all YouTube channels, the show peaked at over 2.4 million concurrent viewers. Additionally, a record-breaking 8,600 channels co-streamed the event on the platform.
Twitch performance was equally impressive. Peak concurrent users surpassed 1.8 million. Total unique viewers and hours watched both increased by 5%. Most importantly, co-streaming on Twitch exploded. Over 16,500 creators shared the show with their audiences, representing a 50% jump from the previous year.
Expedition 33 Dominates The Game Awards
In terms of accolades, one title dominated the night. Sandfall Interactive and Kepler Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took home the prestigious Game of the Year award. The title did not stop there. It also won awards for Game Direction, Narrative, Art Direction, Score and Music, and Performance. Furthermore, it secured wins for Best RPG, Best Independent Game, and Best Debut Indie Game.
Other notable winners included No Man’s Sky by Hello Games, which won Best Ongoing Game. Public engagement also reached new heights. Authenticated viewer voting, including the Players’ Voice award, increased by over 10% to more than 123 million votes.
Major Reveals & Star-Studded Appearances
The 2025 show served as a massive launchpad for future projects. Viewers got their first look at several highly anticipated titles and films, including:
- Resident Evil: Requiem (Capcom)
- The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (Universal Pictures)
- 007 First Light (IO Interactive)
- Tomb Raider: Catalyst & Legacy of Atlantis (Amazon Games)
- Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic (Arcanaut Studios)
- Invincible VS (Skybound Entertainment)
The event featured a high-profile lineup of presenters. Industry icons and Hollywood stars like Dan Houser, J.J. Abrams, David Harbour, and Milla Jovovich took the stage. Additionally, Evanescence delivered a live musical performance of “Afterlife” from the Netflix series Devil May Cry.
The Game Awards has come a long way since its 2014 debut of 1.9 million streams. By 2025, it has cemented itself as a global cultural phenomenon.
