Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wins Best Game at Develop:Star Awards 2026

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 had a strong night at the Develop:Star Awards 2026, walking away with three major wins: Best Game, Best Narrative, and Best Audio. For teams shipping story-heavy or presentation-driven games, that combination is a useful reminder that cohesive direction still lands hardest when writing, sound, and overall design all support the same creative goal.

Other notable winners point to where the industry is currently rewarding execution. Frontier Developments was named Best Studio after launching Jurassic World Evolution 3, while Landfall and Aggro Crab split both Best Small Studio and Best Original IP for Peak. Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Yōtei won Best Visual Art, and Blue Prince took Best Game Design, showing that the awards spread recognition across craft disciplines rather than just headline releases.

The event also introduced a new category, Best Ongoing Game, which went to No Man’s Sky. That matters for live-service and long-tail teams because it reflects how much value the industry now places on sustained updates, technical resilience, and community trust over multiple years. PowerWash Simulator won Best Mobile Game, Crimson Desert took Best Technical Innovation, and Doom: The Dark Ages earned Best In-Game Accessibility.

Ustwo Games received this year’s Develop:Star Award, and the ceremony will return on July 14, 2027 during Develop:Brighton 2027. For developers, the broader takeaway is that the awards are increasingly rewarding polished cross-discipline collaboration, not just scale or marketing reach.