The Game Awards didn't honor the second, or third best sports game of 2024
By Brian Allen
Look, I get it. The Game Awards were not feeling College Football 25. It's wild to see the bestselling game of 2024 get no love in any category. I've covered enough award shows to know this happens. But I was dumbfounded to see EA Sports FC 25 win Best Sports Game.
WWE 2K24 brought it this year, in everything from its Wrestlemania Showcase to its excellent DLC. If you're a fan that only buys it every 3-4 years, this is a time to pick it up. If my favorites from this year's roster don't make next year's game, I'm probably keeping 2K24 on the hard drive.
NBA 2K24 is under fire as always for its predatory monetization, but it plays a fine brand of basketball. At first I thought the voters might be taking a stand against the Ultimate Team modes and how much they rifle through our pockets. But that can't be the case if EA Sports FC is the winner. The former FIFA is the birthplace of Ultimate Team, and current home of organized crime levels of scamming.
I'm not saying EA Sports FC should be penalized for the people destroying its market. Scandals aside, EA Sports FC's reviews don't put it up there. Everyone from casual fans on Reddit to professional reviewers has branded it just another soccer game. Yet it's out here beating generational talents in the category. Make it make sense, Game Awards.
The voters aren't looking at sales, or CFB 25 would be the winner. They're not looking at reviews, because FC 25's are horrendous. If neither sales or reviews are the criteria, what exactly is? If one potential winner gets overlooked, that's just awards season. If the worst game if the category wins, something has gone badly wrong.
If TGAs messed up this badly in a category, it gives me serious questions about the validity of any of these awards.