So, the news is out – Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is up for Game of the Year at The Game Awards, two years after its base game, Elden Ring, won the very same award. Few would argue that Shadow of the Erdtree is not good enough to be on the podium. The objection to its nomination comes to the principle of the thing. It’s not really a ‘game‘ per se, but an extension of one. In this case, one that has already won GOTY. The solution, some would tell you, is to give DLC its own category. But that’s no solution at all.
We all love choice based video games, right? Ones where our decisions really matter. You gain one thing and sacrifice another. You ally with one faction, and alienate another. One city burns to the ground, the other is saved by your defence. RPGs, we love ’em. We don’t seem so hot on it in real life. We want to save both cities. Either Shadow of the Erdtree (and DLC in general), is worthy of GOTY, or it’s not. We don’t need to disqualify it and also make sure it gets a trophy.
There Aren’t Enough DLC For A Legitimate Category
The case for DLC getting its own category is obvious. The implication is that it would disqualify expansion packs from the overall GOTY, ensuring an extra game gets on the podium (I would suggest Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth was its closest challenger this year), while still honouring Shadow of the Erdtree itself. But for that to happen, it would mean the first ever restriction placed on a TGA nominee. There are no parameters for what an indie game is, or which games fit each genre (Action/Adventure has one true action/adventure this year, and it’s the worst game there in Star Wars: Outlaws). It’s just as likely Best DLC would be an extra award, not an alternative one.
Then there’s the question of why Shadow of the Erdtree needs to be honoured in this way at all. It’s great, sure, but me saying that (or more accurately, the collective gaming audience saying that) is the prize. Elden Ring already won GOTY, it’s not like Phantom Liberty where its wins seemed to be as much for Cyberpunk 2077 hauling itself off the scrap heap than it was for Phantom Liberty itself. It doesn’t need a TGA statuette to codify that greatness. And if it does, why shouldn’t that simply be Game of the Year?
For the record, I am against Shadow of the Erdtree’s nomination in Game of the Year, but would prefer its presence here than an additional category being made in an already crowded show just to make sure everybody gets a trophy.
And besides, this ‘case’ for a DLC category is really just a case for Shadow of the Erdtree in particular. This is not an idea that has been gradually gaining momentum because of the numerous DLC packs that deserved recognition in years gone by. DLC is pretty rare these days, as studios either go ‘one and done’ or extend a game through patches or live-service trappings. What other four DLC packs would even make the cut? For a category to belong, it needs to have a crowded field of competitors, not just a single game we don’t want to win an award elsewhere.
Things like Dawntrail and The Final Shape wouldn’t be present here, as they are represented by Best Ongoing Game. You’re looking at two different DLC from Alan Wake 2, already making up the numbers with a double nomination from packs not nominated anywhere else, possibly Prince of Persia (whose base game mostly overlooked elsewhere), and generously calling Astro Bot’s five speedruns award-worthy DLC. If you merge Alan Wake 2, you’re probably left with arguing The Last of Us Part 2: No Return counts, and that’s a field full of caveats.
Remakes And Remasters Are Not Part Of This Argument
The DLC category would feel a little like the Adaptation category at the moment. Won by The Last of Us in 2023 and a two-horse race between Arcane and Fallout this year, that sentence makes it seem like a solid part of the ceremony. Then you look and see Gran Turismo made the cut, in similar fashion to Like a Dragon: Yakuza this year, and you realise the crop is just too thin.
The solution, some tell you, is to have remakes and remasters thrown in the category as well. After all, when Keighley clarified DLC were allowed (which has always been the rule), he included remakes and remasters in the FAQ. But these are common amongst GOTY nominees, and rarely controversial. This is the second time a Final Fantasy 7 remake has been up there, and stands a better chance than its predecessor. Resident Evil 4 was nominated last year, and Resident Evil 2 before it. Across the other categories, remakes and remasters have been commonplace.
As we see a rise in remakes and remasters, we will see more of them at The Game Awards in years to come. That is an issue all of its own making, with the industry eating its tail by remastering even live-service games as it runs out of things to sell back to us. Until Dawn might be the most egregious example of the futility of the practice yet. But no one seems to care about remakes being nominated – in fact, while I think Like a Dragon was seventh for GOTY, many people point to Silent Hill 2 as being the man that would be king if not for Shadow of the Erdtree.
But if the whole point of this imagined category is to stop DLC running for GOTY (which it would not specifically do anyway), wouldn’t it also stop remakes and remasters from running? If so, would that rule them out of other categories too? The separate category is a decent idea if you want Shadow of the Erdtree removed from GOTY but still able to win a trophy, but it doesn’t hold up to much logic outside of that bubble. We either accept that DLC is eligible for The Game Awards, or we don’t. That’s the only choice there is.
