The Best Game Of The Year Has Already Lost 2024's GOTY Award (& That's Not Fair)

Summary Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, a standout 2024 experience, will be largely out of Game of the Year consideration.

Due to its categorization as DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree may not compete for primary GOTY awards.

2024 GOTY awards may feel arbitrary without Shadow of the Erdtree in the running, even with other strong contenders.

2024 Game of the Year awards should be as interesting as always, but the fact that Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree won't be in the running throws things off from the start. As the newest experience from acclaimed developer FromSoftware, Shadow of the Erdtree takes Elden Ring players to the Land of Shadow, a new area connected to the world of the Lands Between. Although it's quickly acquired some infamy thanks to an intense difficulty spike compared to the base game, the impressive heights of its design have also garnered plenty of acclaim.

It's still too early to make most real calls for Game of the Year 2024 front-runners, as plenty of exciting releases still await in the back half of the year. From huge titles like Star Wars: Outlaws to interesting indie prospects like Hyper Light Breaker, no one should have much trouble finding an upcoming game to enjoy. Among the titles that have been dropped in 2024 to date, however, Shadow of the Erdtree is one of the obvious standouts, and it will doubtless end up being the favorite of the year for many.

Related 10 Best Video Games Of 2024 (So Far) 2024 has already given us some great games, and the second half of the year will have to deliver some serious hits to beat what has already come out.

Shadow Of The Erdtree Being DLC Knocks It Out Of GOTY

The Huge Expansion Still Doesn't Count As A Game

Shadow of the Erdtree is a massive, game-sized expansion for Elden Ring, but it's still fundamentally categorized as DLC rather than a game. Although it's not impossible that some awards or outlets will be willing to hand it a Game of the Year award, this generally knocks it out of the running for most competitions. The best precedent for a Shadow of the Erdtree win lies in the Best RPG win at the 2016 Game Awards for The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion, but that still didn't make it into the list for the primary GOTY award.

2024 GOTY Awards Will Have An Obvious Hole

One Of The Strongest Contenders Can't Contend

Close

It makes sense for DLC to generally be kept out of GOTY awards, but Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree does show just how blurred the lines can get. Plenty of standalone sequels are less ambitious and complete experiences than Shadow of the Erdtree is, with the primary difference lying more in the release model than anything else. Most other major releases of the year so far present more significant shortcomings than Shadow of the Erdtree's flaws, and if the award ends up going to something less impressive, the somewhat arbitrary nature of the distinction will feel especially silly.

Related Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Review - FromSoft's Greatest Hits Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is a victory lap for FromSoftware, bringing in elements from past games without losing what made it special.

There are definitely other legitimate contenders for 2024 GOTY awards, especially when it comes to some smaller titles like Animal Well and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. All the same, Shadow of the Erdtree is unquestionably in the discussion as a definite highlight of 2024, and it's going to be weird to see awards have to awkwardly dodge it because of its status as DLC. Elden Ring already had its time in the GOTY spotlight in 2022, but Shadow of the Erdtree may never quite get the honors that it deserves as its own experience.