The Game Awards 2024 just announced the nominees for its Game of the Year section and includes a variety of high-profile titles that were recently released.
The biggest inclusion of the official announcement of nominees includes FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. This does not come as a surprise to the majority of gamers as it has long been described as Game of the Year worthy shortly after it launched.
The Game Awards 2024
The only surprising thing about this is that the nomination is for the game's expansion that requires the base Elden Ring game to play. This is an unprecedented decision that forced The Game Awards organization to clarify its stance on the matter in a FAQ.
It noted that it aims to recognize the best creative and technical work for every single year. This is irrespective of the format of that particular content's release.
This would include expansion packs, new game seasons, DLCs, remakes, and remasters, according to WCCFTech.
The new system makes it a fair competition for all franchises, even those that were released years ago but recently got new DLC or expansions with a lot of content.
FromSoftware's soulslike is up against the likes of Game Science's Black Myth: Wukong and Atlus' Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Other games that are nominated for Game of the Year include Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Team Asobi's adorable Astro Bot, and PlayStack's Balatro.
Despite these popular names, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is the clear fan favorite to take home the title.
The Game Awards gave the Game of the Year award last year to Larian Studios' Baldur's Gate 3 narrative-driven RPG. This means that this year's contenders will have big shoes to fill if they want to take home the crown, Game Spot said.
Game of the Year
The nominees for this year's Game of the Year award were selected by a global jury that included more than 130 media publications and outlets. The upcoming event also promises various game-related announcements, trailers, and other news.
A noteworthy absence from the competition is BioWare's Dragon Age: the Veilguard, which has become somewhat controversial within the community. The voting jury did not select the game for various categories that it would have been expected to be included.
This is both a surprise and not to many players as it is the kind of title that usually does well in The Game Awards. The last game in the franchise before this one was Dragon Age: Inquisition, which took Game of the Year in 2014, according to Polygon.
