(Image courtesy of Forbes.) “Elden Ring’s DLC, ‘Shadow of the Erdtree’ has been nominated for Game of the Year 2024.”
Jesse Nguyen
Connector Editor
The Game Awards, held annually to celebrate and honor achievements in the gaming industry, has sparked debate amongst players and critics alike for its 2024 run. The Game Awards have announced its nominees for Game of the Year (GOTY) in a livestream on Nov. 18, 2024. These nominees are: “Astro Bot,” “Balatro,” “Black Myth: Wukong,” “Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree,” “Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth” and “Metaphor: ReFantazio.” “Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree” (SOTE) is a standout in this list because unlike the other nominees, it is actually a DLC.
DLC stands for “downloadable content” and is additional digital content that can be added to a video game after its initial release. The base game of “Elden Ring” was released on Feb. 25, 2022, and “Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree” released on June 20, 2024. Within these two years, many patches, balancing changes and content have been altered in “Elden Ring,” providing a strong contrast to its initial release. Although DLC eligibility is not a new rule for The Game Awards, with “The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine” winning Best Role Playing Game in 2016, “SOTE” is the first DLC to ever be considered for Game of the Year, and discussions of what constitutes as a “full game” question its legitimacy to receive that award.
The Game Awards have officially stated their stance on DLC eligibility in light of “SOTE”’s nomination, saying on their website “The Game Awards aims to recognize the best creative and technical work each year, irrespective of the format of that content’s release. Expansion packs, new game seasons, DLCs, remakes and remasters are eligible in all categories, if the jury deems the new creative and technical work to be worthy of a nomination. Factors such as the newness of the content and its price/value should be taken into consideration.”
While it’s great TGA is celebrating creative work regardless of whether it’s a DLC or not, “SOTE” is ultimately not a standalone release like “Black Myth: Wukong,” which is an entirely new IP that swept the gaming industry with its high-quality original story and concept. The GOTY prize is often given to games that present original, innovative, groundbreaking experiences that revolutionize the gaming industry. “SOTE” is no doubt a good addition to “Elden Ring,” but the experience it offers is based on a pre-established title which already won GOTY in 2022.
Even if a DLC isn’t pushing the gaming industry in a notable way, it is worth noting that many DLCs in recent years have had more than just 20 hours of content, with some offering extensive, near sequel level experiences to their respective games. “Monster Hunter World: Iceborne” and “Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers” being noteworthy examples. From this lens, it is rather hard to differentiate a “game” from a DLC.
But the fact that DLCs build off preexisting experiences can give it an upper hand over new game releases. “Cyberpunk 2077,” released Dec. 10, 2020, was a vastly different game than it was when “Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty” was released on Sept. 25, 2023. During its initial release, “Cyberpunk 2077” was riddled with bugs, glitches and poor optimization, leaving players dissatisfied. Over the course of 3 years, CD Projekt RED has made an impressive effort to address and fix these issues, making “Cyberpunk 2077” one of the best modern gaming experiences. But this raises the question, should “Phantom Liberty” be eligible for the (theoretical) GOTY award if it’s relying on a game that had time to improve? This same concept can be applied to “Elden Ring,” though not as severely since “Elden Ring” had a well-received initial release.
A common and popular solution for this controversy is to simply add a separate “Best DLC” category for future game awards. DLCs do deserve recognition, some of them elevate and revive games providing extraordinary value. It’s just tricky justifying them as GOTY contenders, since DLC’s and expansion packs aren’t full games but are being judged alongside full, completely new games. Having this separate category would ensure high quality DLCs and new games get the recognition they deserve without robbing each other of the spotlight.
