A few weeks ago, I was pretty chipper and hopeful. Almost positive that we would see Shadow of the Erdtree, the long-awaited DLC for Elden Ring. Buying into the hype that we’d get the DLC shadow-dropped by the end of February.
Crikey, I even wrote about it here. Glib? Perhaps. Hopeful and excited? Absolutely.
But no.
Elden Ring fans may have to temper their excitement for the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
But why?
A recent financial report from FromSoftware’s parent company, Kadokawa, reveals the expansion is still under development and won’t arrive as soon as some hoped.
The report’s FAQ section explicitly states, “We are currently working hard on the development of DLC for Elden Ring, but we have not announced a release date at this time.”
This dashes the hopes of those (me!) who speculated for a February release coinciding with the game’s second anniversary.
While this might sound harsh, it’s more likely intended to reassure investors about the project’s progress rather than hint at an imminent launch. Considering FromSoftware’s usual development pace and Kadokawa’s fiscal year starting in April, a release later in 2024 seems more realistic.
The report also mentions “various measures” planned to maximise Elden Ring’s “lifetime value,” including the DLC. However, it makes no mention of the rumoured mobile game reported by Reuters earlier.
Should know better
This isn’t the first time fans have waited for concrete news. Back in November, Elden Ring producer Yasuhiro Kitao stated, “It’s still a little ways off, but progress is going well. Like Bloodborne’s expansion, it has new battles and new characters: So please look forward to new things.”
But patience is wearing thin for some. The constant Steam updates and lack of a release date keep fuelling speculation and anticipation.
While waiting, some fans are even scouring the internet for clues like those who once searched for buried E.T. Atari cartridges.
Ultimately, the only way to appease the hungry Tarnished is to reveal the release date, FromSoftware. So, please, break the silence!
What do we do while we wait for Elden Ring DLC?
I’ve toyed with starting a new game plus in anticipation of Shadow of the Erdtree. I’ll admit, I’m hesitant to start again before a big expansion, but damn if I don’t want to try some other builds and styles.
Maybe I have to accept that the DLC isn’t coming yet and I should just pull the trigger.
I know folk are on NG+ 25 and higher, so NG+ 1 is nothing to most. But it’s a big deal to me. The only Soulsborne game I’ve ever finished, and it consumed me. So if I’m going in, I need to go in hard again, and committing is hard when we have so much else to play and write about.
Have you done any NG+ in Elden Ring? Are you getting a new build ready for Shadow of the Erdtree?
I have a lot of questions about NG+ I’d like to answer before I go for it. Will the increased difficulty be an issue? Should I stay with everything I’ve built and not expand my experience?
The gut feeling is that it’s time to go for it and experience the game with a different lens. Try different playstyles and builds. My original Elden Ring playthrough was very much guided by using what I had at the time, and after a while, I was stuck with what I had, afraid to re-spec and re-learn. So it’s an exciting opportunity to go in with all I learned (I think I’ve forgotten a lot, too), and perhaps have an even more satisfying experience.
Oh, Shadow of the Erdtree, you’re causing me problems and as far as we know, you don’t even exist in any real state as it stands.
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