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Before I talk about what just transpired with the recent TGA nominations, let me say that I love Elden Ring and, by extension, Shadow of the Erdtree. Was it one of the best expansions/DLCs of this year? Undoubtedly. Does it deserve to win GOTY? Not at all. What The Game Awards has done to this coveted category is not looking great. Even if a new piece of content for a previously released game looks great, it doesn’t deserve a spot in the most important category of the night. It is just taking away the credibility and even undermining some of the games that were made from scratch.
Shadow of the Erdtree Is Now an Official Contender for GOTY 2024
If you missed the bittersweet nominees reveal, Shadow of the Erdtree is now officially on the GOTY 2024 race. As expected, most people are not happy about it, myself included. Ever since the announcement of DLCs being eligible for the Game of the Year awards, many were already rolling their eyes. Unsurprisingly, we all knew this decision was made to include Elden Ring‘s latest DLC because it now seems like The Game Awards needs to justify placing a piece of The Lands Between in the event. Lo and behold, it happened.
While no one is denying the masterpiece Shadow of the Erdtree, it is clear that it isn’t a full game. When Elden Ring won, it deserved it. It earned all the praise it’s been getting since its launch and even more. But that GOTY ship has sailed. It is time to let others get a crack at this award, and boy, 2024 had great contestants.
Now, I know everything is subjective, but you’re telling me games such as Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth or Silent Hill 2 Remake were not GOTY-worthy? The former had a full-blown Animal Crossing-like feature on top of the mini-games and superb combat system, and the latter was one of the best remakes of the year, which, let me remind you, remakes are made from scratch and are seen as new games, contrary to a DLC. So then, why did they not get a nomination?
This New DLC Being Eligible for GOTY Rule Opens the Door for Other Controversies
According to the official announcement, “expansion packs, new game seasons, DLCs remakes, and remasters are eligible in all categories.” Yes, the conundrum right now is Shadow of the Erdtree competing for GOTY 2024, but that just opens a Pandora’s Box that will bring less-than-ideal consequences.
Take a live service game, for example. Some are quite great and even bring interesting stories with each major update. However, the new seasons, updates, patches, or however we want to call them, aren’t the same as launching a new game. The development time isn’t as long, and the resources are usually not that hefty. So then, does this mean that the new season of Fortnite could be considered GOTY-worthy over the third installment of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy? I’m not saying one is better than the other; I’m just throwing them out there as an example.
Let’s go back to Elden Ring again and assume it now launches a yearly DLC. Yes, that would be great, and we’d all love that (even if we know it won’t happen). Does that mean it could win GOTY every single year, eclipsing those games that were made from scratch? It would look bad for the industry.
Creating a ‘Best DLC’ Category Would Fix Everything
Again, I’m not raining over Shadow of the Erdtree‘s parade. I think it is a superb DLC to an already terrific base game. But that’s it; it is a DLC. Why is it not in a category exclusive to DLCs? That would be even better and make much more sense. Heck, this year was packed with other amazing expansions. Remnant 2, for example, had some amazing post-launch content, and was it even mentioned? No. In a way, it just seems like the jury just wanted to shine the spotlight on Elden Ring once more, and that’s totally fine, but not in the same categories as other games that launched in 2024.
Furthermore, Shadow of the Erdtree took many nominee spots, not only the GOTY 2024 one. For instance, Best Art Direction. Yes, The Realm of Shadow is gorgeous, and its creatures are as vicious as they are memorable. But creating a “Best Art Direction in a DLC” category would’ve been also great, wouldn’t it? That way, new games can take their well-deserved spot while having expansions take another category where they rightfully belong.
Ultimately, this doesn’t look good for The Game Awards, which haven’t been that great in recent years. We’ve already talked about recent ceremonies focused more on celebrities than the gaming industry itself. Some famous presenters even had more screen time than Larian Studios, which won GOTY with Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s sad, really, because many of us are actually looking forward to seeing our favorite games up there winning an award. But with these new “considerations,” the excitement and credibility will just keep waning.
