Shroud demands Arc Raiders win Game of the Year over Expedition 33

After just one week with Arc Raiders, shroud is demanding everyone vote for it to win Game of the Year at The Game Awards, urging fans to “not let” Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 take the glory.

Playing the Arc Raiders Open Beta back in June, 2025, shroud made his prediction clear for the rest of the year: “It’s probably going to win Game of the Year,” he said at the time. “I’m addicted. I genuinely think this is going to be the best game this year.”

Now, mere days after the full release on October 30, 2025, he’s remaining adamant that it’s the very best launch this year. So confident in his pick, he’s even urging all of his viewers to ensure its victory at Geoff Keighley’s 2025 Game Awards show.

In a year stacked full of legitimate contenders, the former Counter-Strike pro identified one other game as a possible rival: Clair: Obscur: Expedition 33.

Shroud urges Arc Raiders players to vote for GOTY over Expedition 33

“We’ve got to make sure this game wins Game of the Year,” shroud said to his legion of fans on stream. “Do not let that Expedition game win. Absolutely do not.

“We all have to band together to make this game win. Us multiplayer gamers are the minority, but I believe we can win. I’ve never voted for anything ever, but I think I’m going to vote this year for this game.”

Based on data from SullyGnome, shroud streamed just over 71 hours of Arc Raiders in the six days since its launch. Clearly, he’s hooked on the third-person extraction shooter and is labelling it the year’s best game as a result.

As for the competition, 2025 has been a bit of an anomaly with a wider-than-usual range of GOTY-caliber releases. Hades 2, Blue Prince, Split Fiction, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Donkey Kong Bananza, Death Stranding 2, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Ghost of Yotei, Silent Hill f, and that’s all without mentioning the odds-on favorite, Expedition 33.

Recognizing the competition, shroud was quick to backtrack and argue that community votes ‘won’t matter’ in the grand scheme. “When have you ever seen an award that’s actually legit?”