Elden Ring took gaming by storm last year. It was an immediate success despite backlash for its performance on the PC. By the year’s end, it had snatched the prestigious Game of the Year award, standing tall against literal deities in God of War: Ragnarok.
Following up on its earlier promise to expand on the world of Elden Ring, which, by the way, was birthed with the help of George R.R. Martin – yes, he finished yet another written work while still promising that Winds of Winter is coming – FromSoftware declared its plans to support Elden Ring long-term, culminating in the announcement of Shadow of the Erdtree.
Since its initial revelation, rumors have since circled surrounding the highly anticipated expansion, with one particularly intriguing claim hinting at a potential launch date for the DLC on February 5, 2024.
The source of this speculation is none other than the “reputable” Elden Ring leaker, Ziostorm. He built a reputation for diving deep into FromSoftware’s titles, which has earned him a YouTube subscriber count exceeding 100k, which is hard to overlook. His sources, he claims, indicate that this year’s The Game Awards on December 7 is where FromSoftware is planning to showcase the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, consequently unveiling its speculated February release.
While some might view this as an unusually prolonged gap from the base game’s release, there are indications that lend credibility to the rumor.
A potential proof of Shadow of the Erdtree’s release in February is Geoff Keighley’s documented visit to FromSoftware’s headquarters in Japan. Notably, FromSoftware has historically favored The Game Awards, highlighted by their previous announcement of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon at the same event last year. However, the astute observers might look to statements made by Kadokawa, the parent company of FromSoftware, for better insights.
Delving into Kadokawa’s financial report from May unveils an intriguing hint. The report alludes to the timeline of the Elden Ring DLC, implying that it may be out before the current fiscal year ends on March 2024. Its projections, coupled with Kadokawa’s intentions of elongating Elden Ring’s lifecycle through various strategies, insinuates the possibility of multiple DLCs or extended support for the game.
Despite the weight of these claims, it’s essential to approach these speculations with a measure of skepticism. Ziostorm, while a prominent figure, has occasionally been viewed with skepticism due to his propensity to share unvetted rumors. The trajectory of his online presence, which soared during the lead up to Elden Ring’s release and diminished following its launch, raises eyebrows regarding the credibility of his sources. There’s an underlying sentiment that his prediction, specifically about The Game Awards 2023 reveal, might be more grounded in broad community expectations rather than exclusive insights, given the publicly known warm relations between FromSoftware and Geoff Keighley.
If Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree does come out on February 5, it’ll join yet another congested release calendar. Just to name a few, January 26 will see the launch of Like a Dragon 8 and Tekken 8. In addition to this, Granblue Fantasy and Persona 3 Reload are coming out on February 1 and 2, respectively. Finally, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is scheduled to come out on February 29. Such a densely packed release window inevitably leads to pondering on strategic implications for FromSoftware. The challenge and opportunity here lie in navigating this crowded timeline, especially considering the established reputation of Elden Ring.
Elden Ring, with its intricate lore and revolutionary gameplay, has already set a precedent in open-world gaming. The anticipation surrounding the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC hints at expectations of a similar, if not greater, magnitude.
For now though, gamers can try making time for the games that have come out and are still coming out this October.
