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 that it’s called ‘Shadow of the Erdtree.’ The Game of the Year winner 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, which includes several hints for what to expect from the expansion. A blog post is also out, confirming that Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC will be out on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. FromSoftware, however, has not specified a launch date for the upcoming expansion.

“The follow-up report is still a little ahead, but I would appreciate it if you could look forward to it,” a direct Google translation of the Japanese Elden Ring blog post reads. As with most announcements, FromSoftware continues to remain cryptic in its approach, offering nothing but a scenic imagery, featuring an open field with two intertwined trees in the distance, whose roots are presumably corrupted by Deathblight, a status effect that impales enemies to death in the game. Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice one of the trees is severely damaged and leaking some golden sap, resulting in its leaves and branches losing their glow and turning dark. On the far right, you see a mysterious blonde figure mounted atop a horse that closely resembles Torrent, the spectral, summonable steed our maiden Melina grants access to in the main game.

It has been widely speculated through data mining and theories that the Elden Ring DLC will be focused on Miquella in some capacity. Cursed to remain young forever, he set out to create the Haligtree to grow into an adult and in the process, get rid of the rot that devours his Empyrean sister Malenia. However, before he could complete the task, his uncle Mohg, Lord of Blood kidnapped and placed him at the centre of the Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum, hoping to rule together. Players might recognise a weird-looking cocoon/ egg in this arena, within which Miquella is in a deep slumber. While there is no official confirmation, we can speculate that the intertwined trees in question is the Haligtree, while the character itself is quite possibly Miquella, given the hairstyle consisting of long braids and the loose outfit. Between the two lies a vast open field, populated with ghostly gravestones that seem to have some heavy lore implications.

Right around The Game Awards 2022, Elden Ring received its first minor DLC — the Colosseum — focused on PvP content, opening doors to select arenas so players could partake in combat. Last week, publisher Bandai Namco confirmed that Elden Ring had sold over 20 million copies worldwide in under a year. For comparison, their 2016 title Dark Souls 3 took four years to cross the 10 million mark. In a recent interview, game director Hidetaka Miyazaki acknowledged Elden Ring’s success but claimed that it won’t affect what kind of projects they work on next. “We basically keep creating the game that we want to create, and that’s our policy. It’s very simple,” he said.

When ready, Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion will be out on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.