The 2025 Game Awards nominees have officially been announced, and despite how well it has done in such a short amount of time, ARC Raiders was almost nowhere to be found. Once all was said and done, the hit extraction-shooter phenomenon received only one solitary nomination: Best Multiplayer Game. Now going toe-to-toe with the likes of Battlefield 6, Elden Ring Nightreign, Peak, and Split Fiction, there’s a chance ARC Raiders could walk away with the only award it was nominated for, but considering how well almost every other game in the category has performed this year, that might be tough.
Having only received one nomination, it’s safe to say that ARC Raiders got snubbed big time. Not only has it been the game on the minds of many players over the last few weeks, but it has proven to be an excellent game in just about every way, according to critics. To be fair, though, ARC Raiders doesn’t fit into many Game Awards categories, so it might have been understandable if it had received only a few nominations. However, apart from Best Multiplayer Game, there’s one nomination it absolutely should have received, though its competition in that arena is still just as stout.
ARC Raiders Just Got Snubbed for Best Audio Design in the 2025 Game Award Nominations
Here are the nominees for Best Audio Design in the 2025 Game Awards:
- Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios/EA)
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Ghost of Yotei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Silent Hill f (NeoBards Entertainment/KONAMI)
Considering how well each of the category’s nominees has done with audio design, choosing only five must have been a difficult task. Battlefield 6, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Ghost of Yotei, and Silent Hill f all have noteworthy sound design, and each of them arguably deserves the nomination.
However, while Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 certainly has an excellent score (which it was also nominated for), it could be argued that its audio design in general doesn’t compare to the other nominees, for one thing, but especially ARC Raiders. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has music playing in the background throughout the majority of its gameplay, and while a game’s score does contribute to its audio design, it’s much harder to discern its overall quality when little can be heard apart from the music.
Battlefield 6, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Ghost of Yotei, and Silent Hill f all have frequent music-less moments where the full extent of their audio design can be acknowledged. ARC Raiders is very much the same, with a minimal score that plays during gameplay, and dozens of layers of audio that contribute to the overall experience. From the sounds of ARC moving and explosions occurring in the distance, to players shuffling through containers to find the loot they need, to its environmental ambience, ARC Raiders‘ audio design offers one of the best soundscapes in gaming, and yet it wasn’t nominated for the category.
ARC Raiders‘ incredible audio design is also a sentiment echoed by the game’s community, with players taking to online forums like its Steam Community and Reddit pages to express their appreciation. One post by user Blake the drunk on ResetEra’s forums titled “If Arc Raiders won’t win game of the year, should at least win best audio design” sparked a conversation between players about how well ARC Raiders‘ audio design holds up. Another post on Reddit by user FullmetalGin titled “This is some of the best audio design I have heard ever!!” expresses the same passion.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t even nominated for that category. While ARC Raiders could pull off a Best Multiplayer Game win at 2025’s Game Awards, it’s a shame it didn’t even get recognized for its audio design. Hopefully, it will continue to thrive and at least get nominated for Best Ongoing Game in next year’s Game Awards.
- Released
-
October 30, 2025
- ESRB
-
Teen / Violence, Blood
