By now, you have heard that Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is officially eligible to be game of the year despite it not being a standalone original game. Recently, The Game Awards changed its ruling to allow expansion packs, new game seasons, DLCs, remakes, and remasters to be “eligible in all categories.” This comes with the stipulation that “the jury deems the new creative and technical work to be worthy of a nomination.” This came as a surprise to many, but if you have been watching the last handful of years, it was also something that we could see coming.
How we could have seen SotE GOTY nomination coming?
Shadow of the Erdtree, the fantastic DLC for Elden Ring being nominated for Game of the Year is something that has been building its way up based on the events of past Game Awards. Let’s take a trip back to 2015; The Witcher 3, winner of that year’s GOTY, was on everyone’s mind as it won Best RPG. The following year, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine expansion also won Best RPG despite being a DLC.
Fast-forward to 2019; Monster Hunter World: Iceborne was nominated for best RPG. It didn’t win, but the nomination sparked a debate on the matter. Next up, we have Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker. This massive DLC allowed the game to grab the best ongoing game award. Finally, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty got recognition in 2023 when it was nominated for Best Community Support and won Best Ongoing Game.
These DLCs did a lot of legwork to pave the way for a DLC/expansion to take center stage at The Game Awards and be nominated for Game of the Year. Because of these accomplishments, it should come as no surprise that Shadow of the Erdtree, considering the size of the content it added and the game/company it is attached to, has the potential to be GOTY. Of course, this has also stirred controversy and the statement released by The Game Awards shows that the award show needs a bit of a rework. I believe this could create a slippery slope that ultimately changes what “Game of the Year” truly is.
Is Shadow of the Erdtree deserving of Game of the Year?
Elden Ring is one of the highest-reviewed games to be released within the last five years. It broke records for Souls games and introduced many to a series that they never thought they’d give a chance to. This, plus the fantastic level design, allowed it to snag the Game of the Year and Best RPG awards in 2022.
Shadow of the Erdtree, while not a standalone title, behaves as one with its massive scale and deep well of content. Despite being a DLC, it has more quality content than many games that have been released this year. If you were to compare it to some games like Star Wars: Outlaws, you can see why SotE is more deserving of the coveted award. Many who reviewed Shadow of the Erdtree gave it a 9 or a 10 because of the amount of content, beautiful map design, and the way it added more build diversity to the base game.
Unfortunately, while it is great, there are arguments as to why it should not be in the running with the most obvious being that it is not a standalone title. It is not a game that can stand on its own and many may have their judgment clouded by the number of poor gaming experiences that have had before the launch of the DLC. By the definition of DLC requiring the base game, Shadow of the Erdtree should allow Elden Ring to win the Best Ongoing award and not Game of the Year. There is even an argument to be made about adding a new category.
Another major issue we have is that Shadow of the Erdtree being nominated means that Elden Ring could technically win the title of Game of the Year twice. Why should a singular title be allowed to win the most coveted award twice? It feels more like it is taking a spot away from another candidate such as Dragon’s Dogma 2, Space Marine 2, or Stellar Blade – all games that got high remarks this year.
What changes could be made to The Game Awards for DLC?
The Game Awards needs a bit of a change, especially if it will allow “expansion packs, new game seasons, DLCs, remakes, and remasters” to be eligible for the highest award. My first suggestion for this is to lump DLCs into an ongoing experience. This would allow a game to win additional awards but not take away from other titles. My second suggestion is to add a best add-on content award and lump seasons, expansion packs, and DLCs together in the same category. After all, this is all add-on content that enhances the base game. It might also incentivize developers to do more with the add-on content packs they release for their games.
My last suggestion is to allow DLCs to be in the running for Game of the Year but have them meet certain requirements. These requirements should be based on popularity and how meaningful the content added to the game is. For Shadow of the Erdtree, the content added was massive and changed the game. For a game like Forspoken, the DLC was a two-hour snoozefest. This isn’t to say that two hours can’t be game-changing but the content added should be engaging to the player and something that they consider worth winning the award.
Where it sits currently, there is no reason why we should not have seen this change to The Game Awards coming. After all, multiple DLCs and expansions have been showcased before, and, going forward, they will get bigger and better. It is only natural that gamers will start considering these expansion games. It is ultimately up to The Game Awards committee members to put a limit on what can and cannot be considered eligible for Game of the Year. We can just do our best to coax them into creating a new category to better represent expansions, season passes, and more.
