Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Garners Controversy Amidst GotY Nomination

The end of 2024 is upon us and the Game Awards is fast approaching. Many games have received fairly early nominations while some others have missed the window of opportunity to make it to the top ranks. This year’s nomination line-up has already got gamers making a stir, with FromSoftware’s latest DLC taking the spotlight. Here’s my take on the current GotY situation.

FromSoftware Favoritism

While it can’t be denied that FromSoftware consistently puts out the highest quality games in the industry, Shadow of the Erdtree getting nominated for Game of the Year seems too unfair to other games that have managed to carve out their own niche. As Twitter user @RinoTheBouncer pointed out “The Game Awards appears to have bent the rules this year to include Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree in the Game of the Year category nominees, when last year, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty was snubbed, despite being superior in every way, and transformative to the main game.”

Even with DLCs like Phantom Liberty getting snubbed for GotY, there’s also the fact that some quality games have managed to be released like Metaphor: ReFantazio and Black Myth: Wukong. Both of these have gained widespread appeal on their own merit without needing to use an already critically acclaimed game to prop it up. Even an indie title like Balatro deserves an opportunity to be given the GotY title for its unique and transformative take on poker.

Many gamers have called out the Game Awards for being a bit too biased towards FromSoftware, though to be fair, many of their games have not won GotY despite being considered cultural touchstones by the time they were released.

Lack of Fairness

Elden Ring has already won Game of the Year in 2022 and having Shadow of the Erdtree win it again as its own game leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. This is not to say that the DLC is bad, far from it. As a FromSoftware fan (especially when it comes to Armored Core), SoTE has been a transformative experience for me and many Elden Ring players no doubt, but the DLC is already part of the main experience.

It would have been better for the Game Awards to create a separate category for game expansions and DLCs, as this would maintain the event’s objectivity while giving other games a well-deserved spot as GotY. FromSoftware has long cemented itself as one of the cornerstones of quality games, so it’s only fair to give other studios a chance to distinguish themselves for making games with a passion.

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