Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC might win 2024’s Game of the Year award and people are already mad about it.
The Game Awards has never been short on controversy. Sometimes it’s relatively trivial things that get blown out of proportion, like Call of Duty developers freaking out on social media over a presenter saying Modern Warfare 3’s three-hour campaign was “short.” Other times it’s a bigger deal, like when developers were rushed off-stage mid-speech so Starfield could pay its way into declaring itself game of the year.
A bigger controversy is manifesting for 2024, though; specifically that the definition of “game” is now up for debate. That’s because The Game Awards opened the door for, effectively, any major video game release to be eligible for Game of the Year honors; including DLCs, expansion packs, and remasters.
All DLC, remakes, and new content are eligible for The Game Awards
The Game Awards’ website states that expansion packs, DLC, remakes, and remasters are all eligible for awards. This includes the Game of the Year award.
“The Game Awards aims to recognize the best creative and technical work each year, irrespective of the format of that content’s release. Expansion packs, new game seasons, DLCs, remakes, and remasters are all eligible in all categories, if the jury deems the new creative and technical work to be worthy of a nomination,” The Game Awards’ FAQ reads.
This statement was poorly received on social media. Some stated this was perceived FromSoftware favoritism and a means of warning fans that Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree would win The Game Awards’ 2024 Game of the Year honors. However, this rule has been in place and seen in action for some time.
Just in the 2016 RPG of the Year category alone was the enhanced port Xenoblade Chronicles X, the expansion pack World of Warcraft: Legion, and The Witcher 3’s Blood and Wine DLC. The lattermost release took the award, despite facing steep competition from FromSoftware’s Dark Souls 3.
Should Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree win 2024 Game of the Year?
Elden Ring’s DLC is the highest-rated video game release of 2024 according to multiple review aggregators, which should make it a top contender for Game of the Year awards.
That said, it’s far from a shoo-in, regardless of its DLC status.
Though the second half of 2023 was a non-stop churn of major releases, gamers have been eating well in 2024. In terms of splashy AAA releases, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and Tekken 8 all wowed fans. There were a variety of so-called “AA” releases as well, including Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and AstroBot. There were also numerous out-of-nowhere surprise hits such as Palworld, Black Myth: Wukong, and Balatro.
While many honed in on Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree as the center of the statement regarding The Game Awards eligibility, that’s not necessarily the case. The remakes of Silent Hill 2 and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, as well as the enhanced port Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance stand among the top-rated games of 2024.
All this said, the favorite is likely to be Metaphor: ReFantazio. The JRPG launched in October to overwhelming acclaim, and has review averages that are comparable to the Elden Ring DLC. Recency bias, and the pushback against a DLC being in Game of the Year running, could see it seal victory.
