The Game Awards Should Have A Separate Category For DLCs And Expansions

The Game Awards has long been revered as the premier video game event in the industry for as long as one can remember, but as of late, controversy has started to brew among the masses. It all took flight mostly when Geoff Keighly — the TGA showrunner — announced Game of the Year nominees for 2024, enlisting the likes of Astro Bot, Black Myth: Wukong, and … here it comes … Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. 

But, wait. Elden Ring already won Game of the Year in 2022. What’s it doing back in the title race? That’s my point exactly, along with the debate that many are raging on with at the moment. 

The time is nigh for when the community calls for a change and asks for DLCs such as Shadow of the Erdtree to be analyzed with a different lens—no matter how good the expansion is. 

Where’s Silent Hill 2 And Stellar Blade For The GOTY Race Instead? 

So The Game Awards thought it fit not to create a separate category for remakes, DLCs, and expansions, but it also just went ahead and omitted Stellar Blade and Silent Hill 2 right out of the Game of the Year nominations. 

How unfair is that to the masterful work of both Bloober Team and ShiftUp who have unequivocally poured their heart and soul into their titles? I really don’t get it. 

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. To take a good, hard look at Silent Hill 2, it’s amazing to me how this game couldn’t even get nominated for Game of the Year, let alone get a chance to win it. I mean, sure. There are some things that the survival horror could’ve done better, but to weigh the pros against the cons, Silent Hill 2 comes out on top as an exceptionally high-tier remake with a lot less left to be desired.

Related Content to Check Out: 

• Bloober Team Admits Its Made Some “Shitty Games” In The Past, But Is Now Out For Redemption
• Bloober Team CEO Is “Dreaming That Gamers Will Trust” Them With Silent Hill 2 Remake
• Bloober Team Has To Give Its Due Competition To Capcom Now With More Silent Hill Remakes

And then there’s the Korea-made Stellar Blade, a marvelous effort at crafting a unique Soulslike that blends beauty with gore and Lovecraftian flair. It’s bigger and better than most action-adventures competing against it, but this does not seemingly reflect over at the Game of the Year show sadly. 

A Repeat Entry In The Art Direction Category? 

At this point, many are of the opinion that FromSoftware is TGA’s favorite and to keep the mega-hit developer content, the ceremony keeps doling out nominations for the studio here and there. Just some heated opinions, I know, but it really irks me to observe Shadow of the Erdtree receiving a nomination for Best Art Direction, especially when Elden Ring — the base game — has already won Game of the Year. 

More importantly, why isn’t Silent Hill 2 on here, again? This is a game that has practically reworked the classic from 2001, bringing forth a terrific gameplay experience in its own right that’s right up there on the level of Capcom as far as remakes are concerned.

Why Isn’t There A Separate Category For DLCs Yet? 

The Game Awards should seriously look into working up a different category for DLCs and expansions. That would render the entire debate here pointless, and rightfully so. Titles such as Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree are in a league of their own, but they’re still successors to already established IPs that have spent their fair share of time in the spotlight. 

As time goes by, the industry receives more and more top-tier work in the name of DLCs and expansions. Recent iterations are proof. They need to be grouped together in a manner that only sees them going toe-to-toe with each other, and not create contests with titles that are otherwise fighting for Game of the Year. 

It bothers me too much. I know Shadow of the Erdtree is an extremely well-done, massive expansion to the original, but it’s still just more of what was already GOTY a couple of years ago. To compare to acting/Oscars/Emmys, it’s more of a supporting role than a main one. Or in books, this would be a companion or short story, not considered the same prestige as the novel it’s based on. In music, this would be the deluxe edition with bonus tracks, not what’s submitted for the Grammy run,” says one u/CapNCookM8.