In the past, both of Elden Ring‘s major releases—the original base game and DLC expansion, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree—have been nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards due to their epic scale, incredible world-building, immersive environmental storytelling, and more. While Elden Ring Nightreign is clearly a very different entry in the franchise in terms of gameplay, players were still hopeful it would receive a GOTY nomination this year.
Unfortunately, The Game Awards officially announced the Game of the Year nominations for 2025, and the newest entry in the Elden Ring franchise, Nightreign, is not included for the top award. Nightreign was nominated for Best Multiplayer Game, however, but is up against some seriously stiff competition, such as ARC Raiders.
Elden Ring Nightreign Snubbed For GOTY At Game Awards 2025
Nightreign Is Still Up For Best Multiplayer Game
Elden Ring Nightreign has become the first entry in the hugely popular franchise that was not nominated for a Game of the Year award in the year it was released. While this probably isn’t a major shock to most players, it will be a little disappointing for fans of the game that really think it deserved a nomination. Unlike both previous entries in the franchise that centered on single-player RPG souls gameplay, Nightreign was a complete departure from the base game and focused on cooperative multiplayer.
It may not be fair to compare Nightreign with both the base game and Shadow of the Erdtree as they are such vastly different experiences, but ultimately, Nightreign’s snub for GOTY shows it isn’t held in as high regard as its predecessors, at least according to The Game Awards standards.
Nightreign was nominated for Best Multiplayer game in 2025, however, which is definitely something considering the incredible games it’s up against, which include ARC Raiders, Battlefield 6, Peak, and Split Fiction—all very deserving games as well.
Nightreign’s GOTY Snub Isn’t Surprising With 2025’s Stiff Competition
2025 Has Been Full Of Top-Tier Releases
Nightreign’s omission from the GOTY nominee list is not really all that surprising given how many other incredible games made the cut. Unsurprisingly, Clair Obscur dominated the Game Awards list, including a nomination for GOTY and a record-setting 11 other nominations to boot. However, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, among others, set the bar incredibly high this year, and Nightreign really didn’t stand a chance.
Ultimately, Nightreign’s GOTY snub should not indicate that it’s by any means a lower-quality Elden Ring game than the base game or Shadow of the Erdtree. While the different approach to Nightreign’s gameplay may have had some impact on the game’s exclusion, there were simply too many other nearly flawless games released in 2025 for Nightreign to break through.
Elden Ring Nightreign
9/10
- Released
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May 30, 2025
- Developer(s)
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From Software
- Publisher(s)
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Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software
- Multiplayer
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Online Co-Op
- Number of Players
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1-3