Valve has officially announced the list of Steam Awards 2025 winners. This award event is unique in that the results are determined entirely by community votes, not by professional judges. This list gives a real sense of the titles game what were the most played and loved by PC users around the world over the past year.
This series of events has actually started since the end of November, when users nominated game their favorites for 11 different categories. The final voting phase then took place from December 19 to January 4.
To top it off, on January 4, Valve officially unveiled the list of winners that were purely chosen based on the most votes from nominations submitted by the community, covering categories based on platform and other unique categories.
Hollow Knight: Silksong Dominates Game of the Year Competition
After a very long and anticipated wait, Hollow Knight: Silksong finally proved its quality. The sequel to Team Cherry not only met the high expectations of the fans, but also won the most prestigious title, Game of the Year. This victory was achieved after beating other strong competitors such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
The players gave a very positive response to the design of the expanded world, mechanics combat and a shift in perspective to Hornet's character. It doesn't stop there, the challenging difficulty level also brings in new Silksong won the “Best Game You Suck At” category. This proves that even though gameplay-While the experience is difficult, it is still very fulfilling for the community.
On the other hand, even though it was released in 2023, Baldur's Gate 3 is still showing its fangs in 2025. The RPG made by Larian Studios won the “Labor of Love” award, beating other nominees such as Helldivers 2 and No Man's Sky. This confirms that consistent content updates and developer dedication are key to maintaining relevance. game over a long period of time.
Full List of Steam Awards 2025 Winners
Here is the full list of winners for each category that have been voted for by millions of Steam users:
- Game of the Year: Hollow Knight: Silksong
- VR Game of the Year: The Midnight Walk
- Labor of Love Award: Baldur's Gate 3
- Best Game on Steam Deck Award: Hades II
- Better with Friends Award: PEAK
- Outstanding Visual Style Award: Silent Hill f
- Most Innovative Gameplay Award: ARC Raiders
- Best Game You Suck At Award: Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Best Soundtrack Award: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Outstanding Story-Rich Game Award: Dispatch
- Sit Back and Relax Award: RV There Yet?
Game Industry Trends
This year's list of winners provides interesting insights into the preferences of gamers at the moment. Victory ARC Raiders in the “Most Innovative Gameplay” category shows the high interest in unique cooperative structures. Project This game from Embark Studios manages to maintain an average of 400,000 active players by combining surface combat and underground social interaction.
The visual category also highlights the appreciation of bold artistic styles. Silent Hill f stole the show and won “Outstanding Visual Style” thanks to its unique 1960s Japanese setting. The combination of Ryukishi07's story and Akira Yamaoka's music created a horror atmosphere that was different from previous entries but still gripping.
The dominance of indie and mid-scale titles is also evident. Hades II from Supergiant Games was named “Best Game on Steam Deck” with a positive rating of 96%, while The Midnight Walk won the VR category thanks to visuals clay and stop-motion which is typical. Other titles such as PEAK and RV There Yet? also proves that game Multiplayer games that are fun to play with friends remain popular.
Winner Prizes and Hope for the Future
So, what do the winners of this prestigious event get? Winning developers will receive a physical Steam Awards trophy to send to their office. In addition, they also get a virtual trophy that will be displayed forever on the store page game as a sign of eternal victory.
In an official statement, Valve congratulated all the nominees and winners, and expressed gratitude to everyone who voted. Valve also gave great appreciation to all those who made Steam a great community this year, from players to developers, while hoping that 2026 will be filled with discoveries. game new favorites as well as nostalgic moments with old titles.
You can see all the other finalists at official Steam Awards page.
