Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 stars had lots to say at Golden Joysticks - and rightfully so

Seven nominations, seven wins, joining Baldur's Gate 3 as the biggest winner at a single Golden Joystick Awards in history.

It was undoubtedly Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's night at The Golden Joystick Awards 2025 and what really stood out was that every single win of theirs received raucous support.

After winning its first two awards for Best Storytelling and Best Visual Design early on in the ceremony, there was a sense that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 would clean house at the biggest public-voted gaming awards.

And so it proved.

As well as winning the coveted Ultimate Game of the Year award, it won Best Soundtrack too with Sandfall Interactive claiming Studio of the year.

But undoubtedly, the biggest cheers of the night came when Jennifer English and Ben Starr gave their winning speeches after scooping their respective gongs, highlighting some very important topics too.

Ben Starr won Best Supporting Performer at The Golden Joystick Awards 2025 / Phillip Faraone, Getty Images for Digital Extremes

Starr won Best Supporting Performer for his role as Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and took the chance to use his victory speech to comment on the state of the industry.

He poignantly said: "This industry is hard. We are celebrating today, astonishing video games, but there are many people who should be here who aren't because they are laid off from the industry."

Speaking to indy100 afterwards, Starr added: "We are so fortunate in 2025, there are remarkable performances in any game. The fact that actors are being celebrated and appreciated for their work is very cool and I've had the great fortune to work alongside people who have massively inspired me that are not up for awards.

"I want to give a shoutout to Judy Alice Lee in Hades II, I think her work is astonishing, she holds that game together - Amelia Tyler as Hecate as well, that game is incredible, I'm drawn in by it.

"I get to work with Jennifer English, I get to work with Andy Serkis, Troy Baker has been astonishing this year and his output has been unbelievable. We're so lucky to have performers who are working at the top of their game.

"It's amazing to see how far we've come to see what we are producing as an industry now and it's amazing to be a part of it."

Jennifer English won Best Lead Performer at The Golden Joystick Awards 2025 / Roy Rochlin, Getty Images for ReedPop

Straight after that, English won Best Lead Performer for her role as Maelle and gave a speech herself that provoked a strong positive reaction from the audience and online, saying the character she portrayed had parallels to herself.

She said: "Maelle embarks on this crazy journey, she chooses to leave a life that wasn't serving her and I did that a few years ago. I chose instead a life that was authentic, a life that was gay. I chose queer joy and as a result of that queer joy, I felt safe enough to pour my grief, pain, joy and love into this incredibly, beautifully written character."

Speaking to indy100 about winning the award, English said: "I've been so nervous all day, very overstimulated so I've only just started to breathe again, but I'm just so honoured and so thankful and on the verge of tears right now.

"It's insane, just getting the nomination was enough and I was floored by it and I can't believe it, I'm alongside generational talents, let's be honest, so... I mean, what the hell?!"

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is also up for a record 12 awards at The Game Awards next month.

Elsewhere from indy100:

• The Golden Joystick Awards 2025 LIVE: All the winners and reaction
• The Game Awards 2025: Expedition 33 devs have the most wholesome reaction to record nominations

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