007 First Light's GOTY chances are minimal thanks to one major reason

007 First Light has reviewed well, offers polished gameplay and serious narrative ambitions, and is being touted as a Game of the Year contender. Yet it faces a clear impediment: it is a licensed James Bond game. The Game Awards jury has shown little appetite for licensed titles and rarely nominates them for Game of the Year.

Only three games licensed from properties outside gaming have been nominated in the awards' history: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014), Marvel's Spider-Man (2018), and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (2023). The Witcher 3 is commonly excluded from that list because many see it as, in effect, a gaming property first.

Part of this stems from a lingering distrust born of decades of poor licensed tie-ins, even though quality has improved since Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009 and heavier-hitting studios now take on licensed work.

007, first light, james bond, game awards, licensed titles, middle-earth, spider-man, witcher 3, rocksteady, arkham asylum