As The Game Awards 2024 is set to go live in a matter of days, it is worth discussing the controversy surrounding it this time around. So far, TGA has followed its usual pattern, but this time something new & highly controversial has happened: A DLC has been nominated for Game of the Year.

The DLC Nomination

Some outraged people are going as far as to label TGA as the DLC Awards. The DLC in question is for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, which has gotten a lot of praise by players.

Shadow of the Erdtree has been nominated alongside Astro Bot, Black Myth: Wukong, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, & Balatro. People are saying that it is outright criminal that games such as Helldivers 2 & Stellar Blade were left out in favor of a DLC, especially one for a game that has already won Game of the Year in back in TGA 2022.

People are saying that there should be a separate award for DLCs, or simply just nominate Shadow of the Erdtree for Best Ongoing, which is an award for games or DLCs that keep getting new great content.

Is TGA Really That Special?

The whole controversy has sparked a debate about if people should really treat TGA seriously. Some say that TGA is really just a glorified advertisement presentation with meaningless awards sprinkled on the side. It is true that TGA is one of the most highly-anticipated game showcase shows each year, and usually has some intriguing surprises.

How Does TGA Select Nominees & Winners?

The Game Awards has a jury that collectively vote to nominate games for TGA. This jury is comprised of many game studios & highly-esteemed game critics. Once the nominees are selected, a voting process begins among the jury & public. However, the public vote only counts 10% towards the winner, so the jury still has the final say on who actually wins an award at TGA.

Conclusion

While there definitely are some things to frown upon when it comes to The Game Awards 2024, it will still be a great show for gamers to watch to watch out for new big game reveals (GTA6 hopefully, but that's just copium), and still the awards will be interesting this time around, will a DLC become the 2024 Game of the Year?

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