2025 Steam Awards Announced: “Hollow Knight: Silksong” Takes Home Game of the Year and Another Major Prize

The results of the 2025 Steam Awards have been officially revealed. The highly anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong emerged as the biggest winner of this year’s awards, securing both the prestigious “Game of the Year” and the “Soul of Vitriol” (Even If You’re All Thumbs) awards. The equally highly anticipated Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 did not receive an award this time.

A Triumph for Independent Games
Hollow Knight: Silksong, developed by the independent studio Team Cherry, is the sequel to the classic original Hollow Knight. Upon its release, the game sparked tremendous excitement, briefly overwhelming Steam servers on its launch day and reaching a peak concurrent player count of over 535,000 within the first half-day. Although it initially faced some criticism for localization and translation issues, ongoing optimizations by the development team have significantly boosted its recent positive review rate.

The game has won widespread acclaim from players worldwide for its distinctive art style, meticulously designed “Metroidvania” levels, and challenging, hardcore gameplay. The “Soul of Vitriol” award aptly captures its core appeal—despite its high difficulty, the game continuously rewards players with a sense of growth and exploratory joy, even through repeated failures.

Award Results Spark Heated Discussion Among Players
Following the announcement of the awards, lively discussions quickly erupted within the gaming community. Topics such as “Silksong Wins Game of the Year” trended on related gaming forums and social media platforms, with many players praising the win as “well-deserved” and viewing it as a significant victory for high-quality independent games.

At the same time, some fans of games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Expedition 33 expressed disappointment over their favorites not winning. Some pointed out that the Steam Awards, based entirely on player votes, reflect the preferences of the vast gaming community, with Silksong’s immense popularity being a key factor in its victory.

Other Major Award Winners

Other major winners of this year’s Steam Awards include:

VR Game of the Year: Midnight Stroll

Labor of Love: Baldur’s Gate 3

Best Game on Steam Deck: Hades 2

Outstanding Visual Style: Silent Hill f

Most Innovative Gameplay: ARC Raiders

Best Soundtrack: Light & Shadow: Expedition 33

Outstanding Story-Rich Game: Superhero Dispatch Center

Sit Back and Relax: Are We There Yet?

Better with Friends: PEAK

The Steam Awards, organized by Valve, are entirely determined by votes from the Steam community, making them a significant barometer of player preferences and market trends for the year.