The world of expansions and DLC has been a buzzing focal point in recent gaming-related discussions, particularly in light of the comically short single-player campaign in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. However, it seems that award-winning developer, FromSoftware, is taking a different path with Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree and moving in an expansive direction.
According to new speculation from a pair of gaming insiders, the upcoming Elden Ring DLC will be massive. One popular Elden Ring content creator claims that Shadow of the Erdtree will be “half the size of Elden Ring”, which is a lot of game for a mere DLC. Another popular Elden Ring content creator also agrees with this statement.
“I fully expect shadow to be f*cking massive, basically half the size of Elden Ring,” FightinCowboy tweeted. “I expect it to overshadow major releases despite being a DLC.”
I fully expect shadow to be fucking massive, basically half the size of Elden Ring. I expect it to overshadow major releases despite being a DLC https://t.co/j5TdiqM0Kp
— FightinCowboy (@Fightincowboy) November 4, 2023
Corroborating Fighting Cowboy’s statement, Souls YouTuber Oroboro shared in a now-deleted live stream that, “if you are expecting 25 hrs long adventure then the DLC will probably meet your expectations and then some.” This suggests just how large of a game the Elden Ring expansion will be. However, the live stream has been deleted which is highly unusual for the content creator.
Fighting Cowboy and Oroboro alongside Vaati are the three most followed Souls YouTubers around. Bandai Namco typically invites these content creators to try out upcoming games from the publisher. Most recently, all three were invited to try out Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon before it came out.
Fighting Cowboy is also a very reliable source of information and someone who doesn’t just randomly tweets just to farm for engagements or clout. The insider correctly predicted that Armored Core 6 was coming before Shadow of the Erdtree. Nobody believed the user then as FromSoftware typically releases DLCs first before launching new titles but it turns out that Fighting Cowboy was correct with his information.
If the scale of the DLC is correct, it will be interesting to see how much it will be priced. Assassin’s Creed Mirage which is comparable in length was priced at $50. However, the base game for Elden Ring was only $60 when it was released last year and the campaign was easily north of 60 hours. Previous DLCs for FromSoftware titles were priced from $10 to $15 for a single expansion while complete bundles range from $20 to $30. Getting Shadow of the Erdtree for $15 would be a steal at this point considering that most 20 to 25-hour games cost around $50.
FromSoftware hasn’t released much information about Shadow of the Erdtree. The most recent news we have heard from the upcoming DLC is that the development is progressing smoothly. There were also rumors that the expansion is coming in February 2024. We do expect FromSoftware to unveil the trailer at the upcoming Game Awards.
