Shroud Urges Fans to Vote Arc Raiders for Game of the Year
▼ Summary
– Shroud is urging his large online following to vote for Arc Raiders as Game of the Year 2025 over Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, claiming multiplayer gamers are a minority.
– He is a prominent streamer with 6.8 million YouTube subscribers and 11.3 million Twitch followers, giving his call to action significant influence.
– Research indicates that while younger gamers prefer multiplayer games, older players tend to favor single-player games due to scheduling challenges.
– Despite Shroud’s minority claim, multiplayer games like Fortnite and Counter-Strike dominate popularity metrics and top player charts on platforms like Steam.
– Shroud also expressed skepticism about The Game Awards’ legitimacy, calling them rigged, though the event uses a mix of jury and public voting.
Popular gaming personality Shroud is rallying his massive online community to support Arc Raiders for the 2025 Game of the Year award, setting up a direct challenge to the single-player favorite, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The well-known streamer passionately argued that multiplayer gamers must unite to secure the win for the Embark Studios title.
During a recent broadcast, Michael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek made a direct appeal to his audience. “We need to make sure this game wins game of the year,” he stated emphatically. “Do not let that Expedition game win. Absolutely do not. We all have to band together to make this game win. Us multiplayer gamers are the minority, but I believe we can win. I’ve never voted for anything ever, but I think I’m going to vote this year for this game.”
With his platform of 6.8 million YouTube subscribers and 11.3 million Twitch followers, the former professional Counter-Strike player’s endorsement carries considerable influence. His call to action comes as the gaming community begins to consider frontrunners for the year’s top honors. While Sandfall’s single-player RPG, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, has generated significant buzz, Arc Raiders is gaining momentum as a formidable competitor. Other notable games in the conversation include Hades 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Blue Prince, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
Shroud’s characterization of multiplayer gamers as a “minority” touches on an ongoing discussion within the industry. Research from the previous year indicated that a majority of gamers overall prefer single-player experiences. However, this preference shows a dramatic split by age. Studies from Midia Research found that players under 25 tend to favor multiplayer games, valuing the social interaction they provide. As gamers grow older and coordinating schedules with friends becomes more difficult, their preferences often shift toward single-player titles.
Rhys Elliott of Midia Research commented on this dynamic, noting, “Younger players show a strong preference for PVP games, which capture a large portion of consumer attention across all age groups. A significant challenge for new titles is convincing established players, and their friends, to migrate from their current live-service games, which function as digital homes for highly engaged communities.”
Despite the statistical data on player preferences, the most popular games by player count are overwhelmingly multiplayer experiences. Titles like Fortnite, Counter-Strike, Dota 2, PUBG, and Apex Legends consistently dominate Steam’s most-played lists. Games like Roblox, with its viral hits such as Grow a Garden and Steal a Brainrot, thrive on community engagement, even when they aren’t traditional competitive shooters. Massive free-to-play multiplayer titles typically lead the industry in monthly active users, though critically acclaimed single-player games certainly command a powerful presence.
In a contradictory turn, Shroud later dismissed the importance of award shows altogether during his stream. “All the awards are rigged anyway, who cares?” he questioned. “When have you ever seen an award that’s actually legit?”
The Game Awards, orchestrated by Geoff Keighley, employs a hybrid voting system. A jury comprising games media and influencers combines its votes with those from the public to determine winners. Keighley has previously expressed interest in moving to a fully public vote but voiced concerns about potential “social engineering” affecting the results. It is noteworthy that the ceremony does include a Players’ Voice category decided entirely by fan votes. The official nominees for The Game Awards 2025 are anticipated to be announced in the middle of November.
(Source: IGN)
