As stated on the the guidelines page for GOTY, “Expansions”/DLC, whether standalone or add-ons, to otherwise eligible titles are included (in the running for GOTY)”
With Shadow of the Erdtree’s release, many Elden Ring players are wondering if the game can qualify for a second running at GOTY. Regardless of the DLC’s merit against other games that came out this year, yes, according to the rules, Elden Ring can win GOTY twice thanks to SOTE’s release.
As it happens, remakes, live service games, and ports all count towards eligible votes as well, so long as the media outlet casting their vote by collectively referring to a game as their “GOTY”. So, if enough outlets, who make up 90% of the voting power, refer to Elden Ring | Shadow of the Erdtree, as their GOTY, we may see FromSoftware faithfuls rejoice.
More than likely, these outlets will opt for a game that’s base was released in this year. Regardless, the possibility for a two time victory for Elden Ring is, at the very least, amusing.
