LogIn"It's called GAME of the year."
The Game Awards 2024 nominees have finally been announced, and unsurprisingly, the picks immediately sparked controversy as soon as they were revealed, getting questioned and lambasted all over social media. This year, the ceremony's most noteworthy category, Game of the Year, faced particular backlash over the showrunners' decision to include Shadow of the Erdtree, a DLC for 2022 GOTY Elden Ring, to the list of potential winners despite it being an expansion and not a standalone title.
Shortly before the nominees were unveiled, The Game Awards' FAQ section was updated to include a new rule stating that expansions, DLCs, remakes, remasters, and even new game seasons are eligible in all categories, expanding the definition of "game" in "The Game Awards". The jury wasted no time putting the new rule to use, nominating Shadow of the Erdtree for the only category many people care about over all the other 2024 games that some argue were far more deserving of the honor.
Over on Twitter, the inclusion of the DLC came under massive criticism, with the gaming community largely sharing the opinion that parts of games should not be judged alongside fully-fledged titles:
The same sentiment was shared over on Reddit:
Besides calling out Shadow of the Erdtree's questionable nomination, the community also criticized The Game Awards' process for selecting the Game of the Year winner. As it stands, the system gives 90% of the voting power to a selected jury and only 10% to public voting, leaving the audience with minimal influence over the final outcome.
The caveat is that the jury consists of representatives of big-league video game websites, as well as publications not directly tied to gaming, such as The Atlantic, The Guardian, NPR, Variety, Discussing Film, and others – a fact many took issue with because of how often the media's views on games and gaming matters as a whole differ from those of everyday gamers.
Best Game Direction
- Astro Bot
- Balatro
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Narrative
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
- Silent Hill 2
Best Art Direction
- Astro Bot
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Neva
Best Score and Music
- Astro Bot
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Silent Hill 2
- Stellar Blade
Best Audio Design
- Astro Bot
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
- Silent Hill 2
Best Performance
- Briana White as Aerith Gainsborough – Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Hannah Telle as Max Caulfield – Life Is Strange: Double Exposure
- Humberly González as Kay Vess – Star Wars Outlaws
- Luke Roberts as James Sunderland – Silent Hill 2
- Melina Juergens as Senua – Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
Games for Impact
- Closer the Distance
- Indika
- Neva
- Life Is Strange: Double Exposure
- Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
- Tales of Kenzera: Zau
Best Independent Game
- Animal Well
- Balatro
- Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
- Neva
- UFO 50
Best Debut Indie Game
- Animal Well
- Balatro
- Manor Lords
- Pacific Drive
- The Plucky Squire
Best Ongoing Game
- Destiny 2: The Final Shape
- Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred
- Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
- Fortnite
- Helldivers II
Best Community Support
- Baldur's Gate 3
- Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
- Fortnite
- Helldivers II
- No Man's Sky
Best Mobile Game
- AFK Journey
- Balatro
- Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket
- Wuthering Waves
- Zenless Zone Zero
Best VR/AR Game
- Arizona Sunshine Remake
- Asgard's Wrath 2
- Batman: Arkham Shadow
- Metal: Hellsinger VR
- Metro Awakening
Best Action Game
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Helldivers II
- Stellar Blade
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Astro Bot
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
- Silent Hill 2
- Star Wars Outlaws
Best Role Playing Game
- Dragon's Dogma 2
- Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Fighting Game
- Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
- Granblue Fantasy Versus
- Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
- MultiVersus
- Tekken 8
Best Family Game
- Astro Bot
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- The Plucky Squire
- Princess Peach: Showtime!
- Super Mario Party Jamboree
Best Sim / Strategy Game
- Age of Mythology: Retold
- Frostpunk 2
- Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
- Manor Lords
- Unicorn Overlord
Best Sports / Racing Game
- F1 24
- EA Sports FC 25
- NBA 2K25
- TopSpin 2K25
- WWE 2K24
Best Multiplayer
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Helldivers II
- Super Mario Party Jamboree
- Tekken 8
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Innovation in Accessibility
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
- Star Wars Outlaws
Best Adaptation
- Arcane (animated series)
- Fallout (television series)
- Knuckles (television series)
- Like a Dragon: Yakuza (television series)
- Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (animated series)
Most Anticipated Game
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Grand Theft Auto VI
- Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
- Monster Hunter Wilds
Best Esports Game
- Counter-Strike 2
- Dota 2
- League of Legends
- Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
- Valorant
Best Esports Athlete
- Neta "33" Shapira
- Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen
- Jung "Chovy" Ji-hoon
- Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok
- Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut
- Zheng "ZmjjKK" Yongkang
Best Esports Team
- Bilibili Gaming (League of Legends)
- Gen.G (League of Legends)
- Natus Vincere (Counter-Strike 2)
- T1 (League of Legends)
- Team Liquid (Dota 2)
Content Creator of the Year
- CaseOh
- IlloJuan
- Techno Gamerz
- Typical Gamer
- Usada Pekora
So, what do you think about SotE getting nominated for Game of the Year? What fully-fledged games could've taken its place? Who do you think will come out victorious in the end? Tell us in the comments!
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