What Were The GOTY 2025 Nominees?

"My dragon chose her before I even looked at her. But that doesn't mean I’m keeping her." As the Dark Prince of the empire, everyone fears me. At the sound of my name, the crowds fall silent; at my glance, heroes fall to their knees. My soul is just as black as the dragon with whom I share my thoughts. I don't need anyone. Especially not a foul-mouthed thief dragged off the streets. The girl, Eira... she is chaos incarnate. With her snow-white hair and lethal green eyes, she looks like an angel, but she fights like a demon. At the Selection, she did not bow to me. Instead, she looked me in the eye, and I saw the same fire in her that consumes me. I chose her. Not to save her from misery, but to break her. To forge her into a warrior for the coming war. But there is something I didn't count on. My dragon has become obsessed with her. And as our angry arguments grow hotter and the boundaries of physical training begin to blur, I must realize a terrible truth: The girl is not afraid of the darkness. She is the flame itself, capable of incinerating my world. Two scarred souls. A single chance for survival. Will we kill each other before the enemy reaches the gates?

Gwyneth Windsor spent her entire life trying to "function normally," but this hard-won, delicate pattern is instantly shattered when she is mysteriously pulled into an infinitely complex interstellar empire. She must suddenly learn new common sense in a world where near-immortal shifters view anyone under 100 as a minor. To her confusion, Gwyneth, despite her adult body, becomes the empire's most coveted 'BABY.' Luckily, she finds a doting family that spoils her utterly, even securing her the lordship of a small, 12-planet galaxy. Yet, Gwyneth's arrival is no accident. While Gwyneth navigates the absurdity of being a pampered 'minor' in an adult body, the universe itself is in peril. Emperor Alaric Lykos, the last of the powerful Royal Fenrir Clan, is the sole anchor of the universe. An ancient prophecy warns that if his line falls, all will collapse. Though pressured to marry, the Fenrir Clan's unique bloodline will only settle for its destined bond, a soulmate whose identity has remained a ghost in the cosmic radar... Until now.

After my family and I are dragged into a roguelike horror simulation, they favor my cousin, Julian Clark, over me. In a lobby of blood-soaked players, he always manages to stay spotless, earning their praise as someone who has "kept his humanity". He's unlike me, the brute who willingly throws himself into melee combat and hacks down monsters just to keep everyone else alive. During one dungeon run, a terrifying entity targets my younger sister, Millie Larsson. I draw my blade and move in for the kill, but Julian stops me with a sorrowful smile. "Every creature has a soul. Gabriel, if you kill it, you'll only enrage it and burden Millie with the sin of bloodshed." Millie believes all the nonsense he says and begins resenting me for interfering. Later, when a veteran player steals Julian's life-saving loot drop, I nearly die reclaiming it for him. Instead of thanking me, he takes pity on the woman robbing him and hands the item back to her. He condemns me for being too ruthless, claiming I know nothing about showing mercy to women. Then comes the advanced raid. Cornered by the final boss, I beg Julian to activate the high-tier talisman I've given him, buying me just one second to escape. He recoils from my bloodstained hand in disgust and turns to my parents instead. "Gabriel provoked the boss himself. He's too violent. I can't risk wiping the whole party just to save him." In the end, I die in the boss' jaws. Julian steps over my shattered bones and blood to clear the raid, eventually becoming the server's most celebrated player for being the Untainted Saint. But fate grants me a second chance. I awaken once more in the game's central lobby, right before everything begins. This time, I want to see how long their precious humanity lasts in a world overrun by horrors when the blood-soaked blade that always carries their party is no longer there to protect them.

When the Supreme God of Heavens disappeared, the gods of the Greeks, Norse, Mayans, Egyptians, Chinese, and many more sent their young mortal champions to a magical world in order to participate in the Game of Heavens and Earth on their behalf to win the divine throne. However, the young mortals used their powers, weapons, and tools that were bestowed upon them to form themselves into guilds and create a paradise for everyone. To any kid from Earth, an exciting adventure and new beginning await them, and Sam Roche is one of those lucky chosen ones — or is he still unlucky? Since everything is in peace, Sam tries to build a new life in the City of New Beginning while hiding his dark secrets from his new friends about the sins he committed back on Earth. Eventually, Sam and his friends discover that the strongest guilds have long controlled the paradise, and their rivalry might spark a war that will engulf the land. Wanting to get away as much as possible, they decide that they form their own guild and leave the city. However, a powerful guild is threatening the fragile peace of the magical world in order to win the Game of Heavens and Earth. Sam must either run away to save himself or become a hero to save not only his friends but both worlds.

Tasoshi Saya, the Supreme God of Zeronity. He was the strongest god to ever live. A mountain of strength that could never be crossed. On the day of his match against his opponent, the Breakers—he was suddenly transported into another world. A world filled with swords and magic. Power? Glory? All that was lost as he entered into the new world. Yet, despite his helplessness, the 'Supreme' God of Zeronity was excited. Challenges that will arise from the weak, opponents whom would stand against him toe to toe—the journey begins.

Maeve Thalorien spent five years in a cell for a crime she doesn't remember committing. They called her parents traitors. Said they betrayed the kingdom. And then they erased them. On the day she turns twenty, Maeve is released-not as a free woman, but as a weapon. Sent straight into Aetherion Academy, where bonded beasts choose their riders and the kingdom's deadliest heirs are forged. Some bond with phoenixes. Some with wolves. Some with creatures powerful enough to burn cities to ash. But the most dangerous bonds were the ones that vanished after the war. Maeve was taught they turned on humanity. That they were lost. Uncontrollable. Evil. She was taught a lot of things. And the sky has a habit of remembering what people try to forget. The moment Maeve steps into the academy, the lies begin to crack. Whispers follow her name. The Viremont heir watches her like a problem he can't solve. And something ancient stirs beneath the world-something that should not exist anymore. Because when the bonding ceremony begins... the sky remembers her. And so does what it was never meant to give back. Some bonds are chosen. Some are forced. And some were never supposed to return at all.