After backing Arc Raiders over Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for GOTY, FPS legend Shroud says there should be different categories for multiplayer and single-player

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You could argue that this stance ignores the 'Best Multiplayer Game' category

Arc Raiders
(Image credit: Embark Studios)

Last week, former FPS pro Shroud said Arc Raiders should win the 'Game of the Year' category over frontrunner Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, but he's now calling for single-player and multiplayer to be separated.

Despite the game's director saying game of the year "isn't something we aim for," it's looking incredibly likely that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is going to take home the big award at The Game Awards this year (it's also up for Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards later this month).

While streaming, Shroud says, "I feel like Game of the Year needs to be two different categories," saying it should be one for multiplayer and another for single-player, adding, "It's so easy for a single-player game to win." Shroud then points out that "the last time a multiplayer game won was 2016," referring to Overwatch.

Then, when his teammate points out that It Takes Two won in 2021, he responds, "Bro, that's not multiplayer," in reference to the multiplayer-only co-op game (not to mention that 2023 winner Baldur's Gate 3 also allows the entire game to be played in multiplayer and took home "Best Multiplayer Game" that year).

Of course, this overlooks the fact that the category basically already exists in reality. The Best Multiplayer Game category has been awarded every year since The Game Awards' inception. It seems incredibly likely that Arc Raiders will take home that award this year, although Marvel Rivals or Split Fiction could give it a run for its money. It raises the question of whether we would end up with two categories that functionally reward the same thing.

Arc Raiders climbs to a new Steam peak of over 460,000 concurrent players, beating Helldivers 2's all-time record as the new extraction shooter from ex-Battlefield devs continues growing.

Scott McCrae
Scott McCrae
Contributor

Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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