The end of the year is usually a joyous occasion for many, being able to spend time with loved ones, having extra free time to indulge in hobbies and interests away from adult responsibilities. It is, one might say, the most wonderful time of the year for gamers!
With the holiday season in full swing, we took to Game Rant's poll to ask our valued readers which games they'd be cranking up on their gaming systems. The choices were a plethora of highly-rated titles from this year, and the results came with a unique surprise!
These are the 10 highest-rated games of 2025, and 6 aren't even nominated for GOTY
The 10 highest-rated games of 2025 include six titles that were nominated for Game of the Year at the Game Awards 2025.
Clair Obscur was the most popular holiday game, but did not win the poll!
The dust has certainly not settled Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's success and, well, not so positive news of late, and the folks at Sandfall are well and truly enjoying the fruits of their labor during the game's GOTY second wind. It was, however, not the number one choice when it came to our latest poll here at Game Rant.
Which top-rated 2025 game will you play the most over the holidays?
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Other (one 2025 game not in this poll) — 40% / 322 votes.
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – 20% / 160 votes,
- ARC Raiders – 18% / 146 votes.
- Battlefield 6 – 10% / 81 votes.
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None (no time to play games this year) — 5% / 42 votes.
- Hades 2 — 5% / 39 votes.
- Blue Prince — 3% / 22 votes
Taking the top spot this week was, in fact, none of the games listed! This isn't necessarily shocking, as 2025 was a really stacked year for games, and top picks like Ghost of Yotei, Death Stranding 2, Kingdom Come: Redemption 2, and a surprise smash-hit Dispatch All will fall under the “other” banner. Despite its success and acclaim, like a giant Clair Obscur Can't compete with a team like this!
Of the named options, it comes as no surprise that TGA Game of the Year takes the top spot, but what's a little unexpected is how close the competition was with this breakout shooter. ARC Raiders. Another surprise hit for this year continues to hold its playerbase, and will certainly benefit from recent updates to keep players engaged.
While a good portion of our readers unfortunately couldn't make time for games this year, there was a good spread of genres to round out our results. Most of the remaining three games were crowded Battlefield 6Best Selling Game of the Year, followed by Best Action Game of the Year, Hades 2. Last, but certainly not least, is Blue Princewhich was recently crowned the King of the Indie Game Awards.
With 2025 almost in our rearview mirror, we look to the future and what the next year holds for gamers. There's already a fully stacked cast of titles on the horizon, so we want to know: Which 2026 release are you most excited for?
