Cyberpunk 2077 is officially out of the GOTY 2020 race, but...

CD Projekt Red recently announced that Cyberpunk 2077 is delayed and will be released on December 10th. The game had gone gold earlier this month where the developers https://twitter.com/CyberpunkGame/status/1313598541756014596) “There are no more delays.” Obviously, this did not age well. The fans threw themselves on CD Projekt RED after this disappointing news. Although, apart from the backlash, the game has been dealt another blow.

Game Awards host Geoff Keighley announced on Twitter that Cyberpunk 2077 is now eligible for the 2021 Game Awards.

“Similar to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate a few years ago, Cyberpunk 2077 will be approved for the first time at next year’s Game Awards.”

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate starts on December 7th and Cyberpunk 2077 starts on December 10th. With this year’s Game Awards slated for December 10th, the games launched in December 2020 appear to be eligible for next year’s event. This is definitely a big blow to CDPR, who were definitely favorites to win the GOTY Award.

Also read: “You have to make some tough decisions” – Cyberpunk 2077 developer reacts to “Content Cut”

CP 2077 was already named the best RPG game of the year at Gamescom 2020. However, it was still tied to a specific category and didn’t win across all genres. In addition, The Game Awards is a highly regarded event. This makes it a big thing in the gaming industry.

Even if individual publishers designate CP 2077 as GOTY for 2020, this will not be taken into account for GOTY at The Game Awards 2020.

Cyberpunk 2077 banned from The Game Awards is confusing

There is also some confusion regarding eligibility. As reported by Gamerant, Geoff recently commented on the eligibility criteria for winning the GOTY on Kinda Funny’s We Have Cool Friends podcast. According to Geoff, any game launched before the end of 2020 is eligible for the GOTY Award. Given that CP 2077 will (hopefully) also be released before the end of 2020, it should be eligible for the same. There are definitely some discrepancies here that need to be addressed.

Geoff has responded to several comments, stating that the eligibility criteria is not the calendar year. This supports his announcement not to include Cyberpunk 2077 in the 2020 Game Awards. But that still doesn’t make sense, considering he inconsistently recorded the podcast.

Even so, cyberpunk seems to be missing out on a huge opportunity. This definitely makes TLOU 2, Ghost of Tsushima, AC Valhalla, Genshin Impact, and Watch Dogs: Legion the top contenders. Hopefully there will be more clarity about this soon.