As Elden Ring approaches its second anniversary, does it still make sense to release Shadow of the Erdtree as an expansion? Or should it simply become part of Elden Ring 2?
If you had told us back in 2022 that we’d still be waiting for Elden Ring DLC in 2024 as the second anniversary rolls around, we’d likely blast some Glintstone at you. Yet, that is the very situation fans find themselves in right now.
It’s strange, as back when the game was released, Elden Ring was the hottest thing in town, even overshadowing equally fantastic games like Horizon Forbidden West. However, two years later, we still find ourselves waiting for the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion.
Elden Ring was the culmination of FromSoftware’s Souls series and the first game to feature a truly open world, changing the genre forever. As a year passed, many players told themselves to be patient, and that the Shadow of the Ertree DLC was coming soon, we even made the case for why Elden Ring fans should be so excited. However, we must confess that even our optimism is starting to wear thin.
Waiting for the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC
As we approach the two-year mark, the expansion is starting to feel a little bit like the video game equivalent of the upcoming A Song of Ice and Fire novel, The Winds of Winter – the involvement of George R.R. Martin in writing some of Elden Ring’s lore being only a coincidence, of course. But it’s becoming increasingly difficult to not draw a parallel between the two.
Yet something else is starting to worry us when it comes to the Elden Ring DLC; at what point does FromSoftware simply change its mind and turn these ideas into Elden Ring 2 instead? You’ve got to assume that From is hard at work on both projects and the longer it takes for Shadow of the Erdtree to arrive, the more likely this scenario becomes. We’re reminded of Final Fantasy Versus XIII evolving into Final Fantasy XV after it just made more sense to retool the assets. Let’s not forget, that FFXV was once a FFXIII spin-off, or was at least conceived as one.
This also turned out to be a positive thing. While FFXV certainly has its critics, the game is generally more highly regarded than anything in the Fabula Nova Crystallis family of Final Fantasy games. So you’ve got to start asking yourselves, at this point, should FromSoftware just focus on Elden Ring 2? If we look at the Dark Souls games, there was a two-year wait between Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3. This includes DLC and even Bloodborne being released in between.
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So assuming that Shadow of the Erdtree doesn’t stealth release on February 25, and even if a release date is revealed on the second anniversary, FromSoftware has already blasted past its typical release cycle with the expansion development time. To be fair to the veteran developer though, Elden Ring is by far a more ambitious title than any of the Dark Souls games were, so perhaps comparing them this way isn’t a helpful reflection of the situation. Shadow of the Erdtree is also likely to be the biggest expansion of a Souls game to date, explaining the prolonged development time.
Should the focus be on Elden Ring 2?
While there will likely be separate dev teams working on both, it stands to reason that abandoning or folding Shadow of the Erdtree into Elden Ring 2 would speed up the development of the sequel. If the wait for the DLC is indeed over two years, just imagine how long a true follow-up to Elden Ring is going to be? And the longer it takes, the likelihood of the expansion becoming a standalone entry or part of the sequel increases. If we’re still in this situation in another year’s time, then it starts to become a very real possibility. An Elden Ring 2 is inevitable, and that will increasingly become publisher Bandai Namco’s priority.
We want to be clear, all art, be it a game expansion or the next novel in a beloved series, will be ready when it’s ready. This is not intended to apply pressure to FromSoftware as developers and creators. We are simply pointing out that the priorities of publishers and the inevitable march of time can and do lead to plans changing. We look forward to hopping back on Torrent and returning to the Lands Between under the Shadow of the Erdtree – but if that happens under a different guise, then so be it.
For the record, we don’t think that Shadow of the Erdtree will be retooled into Elden Ring 2. It’s likely too deep into development for this to be the case, at least we hope so. While we don’t know for certain, at this moment we’re of the view that a release date for the expansion isn’t too far away, and as we’ve said before, the best is yet to come. However, this is a possibility that hangs over Shadow of the Erdtree. And if February 25 comes and goes without a whisper, then this is something every Tarnished needs to keep in the back of their minds.
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