Elden Ring’s first major expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, confirmed

FromSoftware has announced the first major expansion for Elden Ring. In a tweet, the studio confirmed that the DLC is currently in development and will be called Shadow of the Erdtree. The winner of Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2022 celebrated its one-year anniversary on February 25, leaving fans disappointed when no new content was revealed. Three days later, the company has unveiled key artwork that contains several clues as to what to expect from the expansion. A blog post has also appeared confirming that Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC will be coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X. However, FromSoftware has not given a start date for the upcoming expansion.

“The follow-up report is still a bit ahead, but I’d appreciate it if you could look forward to it,” a direct Google translation of the Japanese Elden ring to blog post reads. As with most announcements BySoftware remains cryptic in its approach, offering nothing but scenic imagery showing an open field with two intertwined trees in the distance, their roots presumably corrupted by Deathblight, a status effect that impales enemies to death in-game. Upon closer inspection, you will notice that one of the trees has been badly damaged and is leaking some golden sap, causing its leaves and branches to lose their luster and turn dark. On the far right you can see a mysterious blond figure sitting on a horse that closely resembles Torrent, the spooky summonable steed that our maiden Melina grants access to in the main game.

Through data mining and theories, it has been widely speculated that the Elden Ring DLC will focus on Miquella in a way. Cursed to stay young forever, he set out to create the Haligtree in order to grow into an adult while getting rid of the rot devouring his Empyrean sister, Malenia. Before he could complete the task, however, his uncle Mohg, Lord of Blood, kidnapped him and placed him in the center of the Mohgwyn dynasty mausoleum, hoping to rule together. Players may spot a strange looking cocoon/egg in this arena with Miquella in a deep sleep. While there’s no official confirmation, we can speculate that the intertwined trees are the Haligtree, while the character itself may be Miquella given the long braided hairstyle and loose outfit. Between the two lies a vast open field populated with ghostly tombstones that seem to have some serious lore implications.

Right around The game awards 2022, Elden ring received its first small DLC – the coliseum – focused on PvP content and opened doors to selected arenas for players to join the fight. Last week, publisher Bandai Namco confirmed that Elden Ring had sold 20 million copies worldwide in less than a year. For comparison, her title from 2016 Dark Souls 3 four years to surpass the 10 million mark. In a recent interviewGame master Hidetaka Miyazaki confirmed the success of Elden Ring, but claimed that it doesn’t affect what projects they’re working on next. “We basically continue to develop the game we want to make and that is our policy. It’s very simple,” he said.

Once complete, the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree expansion will be released personal computer, PS4, PS5, Xbox OneAnd Xbox Series S/X.