Game Awards Opens Doors for DLC, Remakes, and Remasters in Awards Eligibility
The Game Awards has officially announced that downloadable content (DLC), remakes, and remasters are now eligible for consideration in all categories, including the prestigious Game of the Year award.
According to the updated FAQ page on The Game Awards website, the judges will now take into account “expansion packs, new game seasons, DLCs, remakes, and remasters” when selecting nominees for the various award categories.
The Game Awards’ website now states, “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.”
This new ruling opens up the possibility for remakes like Silent Hill 2 Remake and DLC like Elden Ring’s The Shadow of the Erdtree to be considered for awards. Elden Ring was the recipient of the prestigious Game of the Year award in 2022.
Furthermore, games with seasonal content such as Apex Legends and Destiny, along with other live-service games, are also now eligible for nominations, even if the base game was released several years ago.
In the previous year, Baldur’s Gate 3 took home the top award, with Alan Wake 2 also receiving multiple accolades. The Game Awards 2023 set a new viewership record, with approximately 118 million livestreams.
With 103 million global livestreams in 2022, the show saw a 15% year-on-year increase in viewership.