Bethesda’s Todd Howard, boss of the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, has named his game of the year – it’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
“Expedition 33 is really unique and amazing,” Howard told Eurogamer’s social producer Mat Jones when asked for his game of the year choice, before name-checking Death Stranding 2 and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 as well.
“I think Expedition 33 is a really unique piece of art in so many ways,” he added, doubling down on his choice.
It’s certainly a great choice, but also rounds off a rivalry from earlier this year. Bethesda shadow-dropped The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered two days before Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, with both also available on Xbox Game Pass.
But that didn’t scupper the release of Expedition 33, as publisher Kepler’s senior portfolio director Matt Handrahan said “proximity to Oblivion didn’t seem to harm us at all”. After all, both games represent opposing Western and Japanese ends of the RPG spectrum.
Expedition 33 has sold over 5m copies worldwide across all formats and is the frontrunner at next week’s The Game Awards with a record-breaking 12 nominations. So it’s not just Howard’s favour the game has won.
The game has also been a success for Xbox Game Pass as the subscription service’s biggest third-party release of the year.
Howard currently has The Elder Scrolls 6 as his “everyday thing”, but noted recently it’s “still a long way off”. In the same interview with Eurogamer, he defended the use of AI but aims to “protect artistry” in his games.