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Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC: Theories, leaks & possible release date

Eager anticipation surrounds Elden Ring’s next major expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, especially after the PvP-focused Colosseum DLC’s release. Here’s a peek into what’s expected from this upcoming addition to FromSoftware’s critically acclaimed title almost a year after its announcement.

Elden Ring‘s phenomenal success has left fans craving more. The gaming community is abuzz with speculations, eagerly awaiting FromSoftware’s next move, possibly mirroring their history of substantial DLC releases in the Soulsborne series.

The free Colosseum update heralded the next phase of Elden Ring, and now fans are wondering what future DLC will look like. That question may have been answered as FromSoftware has revealed a fully-fledged expansion coming to the game. Previous FromSoftware titles have all taken a very different approach when it comes to downloadable content, but things can change.

There are also the Elden Ring endings to consider. Will the game be set after you become (or reject becoming) Elden Lord? Or could the DLC offer new endings to unlock or simply exist independently of them as some previous Souls expansions have?

Here’s everything we know about Elden Ring DLC based on rumors, leaks, FromSoftware/Bandai Namco’s track record, and what’s been announced so far.

Of course, as we’re discussing late and post-game content, spoilers will be lurking for those who’ve not completed Elden Ring.

Contents

Players will finally get to enter the Colosseum.

elden ring DLC

Shadow of the Erdtree DLC

After Elden Ring won the Game of the Year at the GOTY Awards, in his acceptance speech, Miyazaki said: “As for Elden Ring, we have several more things we want to do.”

We now know that the next DLC will be Shadow of the Erdtree which will likely continue the game’s story or offer a new substantial questline to follow.

According to data miner Lance McDonald, Shadow of the Erdtree will be a sizable expansion, roughly the size of two separate DLC packs. This would make the content similar in scope to Bloodborne’s only DLC, The Old Hunters, a significant expansion that changed the whole fabric of the game, as well as offering a large new area to explore, new bosses, and story content.

Lance McDonald also reports that a planned Season Pass for Elden Ring featuring multiple smaller DLC packs was scrapped in favor of Shadow of the Erdtree.

If Lance is correct then this could mean that Shadow of the Erdtree ends up being the sole Elden Ring DLC, not counting the Colosseum update. The development time certainly lends weight to this idea.

During a 2023 interview with the Japanese news outlet Game Watch, FromSoftware’s Yasuhiro Kitao compared Shadow of the Erdtree to Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters DLC. This is significant as Bloodborne only had one DLC, but ensured it was larger than an average FromSoft DLC.

The Old Hunters was much more than a DLC with a new quest and map to explore, it also changed the base game, adding new side quests, NPCs, and much more. So, if Shadow of the Erdtree does mirror The Old Hunters in scope, we could see an expansion that changes or adds to the existing game in a meaningful way.

Does the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC have a release date?

Aside from smaller updates, the first major, likely paid, Elden Ring expansion DLC – Shadow of the Erdtree – is on the way, but FromSoftware has not officially confirmed a release window as of yet.

Shadow of the Erdtree first came to light on February 28, 2023, when a tweet was posted informing players that Elden Ring DLC was in development. The DLC started development soon after the base game was released, causing some outlets to assume the expansion was an entirely new project.

The game’s page on Steam was just updated for the first time since launch, indicating that while it could still be some time away, FromSoft is preparing for the eventual or imminent launch of Shadow of the Erd Tree.

Of course, this could mean nothing at all. However, its only a matter of time until the Elden Ring expansion is revealed in full.

Elden Ring DLC rumors & leaks

There’s also the possibility of further DLC after Shadow of the Erdtree. While we don’t know if there will be, or what it would look like, here are some other rumors floating around the web. Of course, none of these are confirmed:

Thustmaster rumor

One leak suggests that Shadow of the Erd Tree will be released in February 2024 in a partnership between Bandai Namco and Thrustmaster, with a new controller also releasing alongside it. This leak broke on Reddit and seems unlikely to us. However, anything can happen, but we’d advise taking this one with a huge pinch of salt.

New bosses leak

Leaker Sekirodubi found clues hidden in the code of one of Elden Ring’s patches featuring information about potential upcoming content.

The update contains references to new items and hairstyles, but also up to 30 new bosses. As many as 16 new/NPC or enemy characters referred to as “Someone Yet Unseen” have also been spotted by the committed data miner.

elden ring dlc pot

Elden Dreams

As first reported by Eurogamer, data miner Lance McDonald has discovered that Elden Ring once contained items and quests that involved exploring the dreams of certain NPCs. While the content was cut from the main game, it could be saved for DLC.

In the cut content, an NPC called Monk Jiko asks the Tarnished to bring him something called Dream Mist. To get it, the player needs to invade the NPC’s dreams. This offers lots of creative possibilities and will allow players to fight literal nightmares, on top of all the other horrors that lurk in the Lands Between.

Extended endings

The DLC of Bandai Namco’s last two games with FromSoftware, Dark Souls, DS 2, and 3, featured DLC that extended the ending of the base game. However, it did so without contradicting or changing any ending the player had already unlocked.

The Three Crowns DLC in Dark Souls 2 allowed the player to complete an additional quest, once all 3 DLC packs had been completed, which unlocked a new ending. This one essentially gave the player a third option, on top of linking or rejecting the fire.

Those who completed both Dark Souls 3 DLC packs were treated to a complimentary ending, one which sat alongside any other ending the player had unlocked by playing the base game.

This one essentially offered the characters a way to escape the dying world by entering a painted world. It will be interesting to see how the Elden Ring DLC impacts the game’s various endings or the world we explore.

Miquella elden ring dlc
From Software

Miquella still slumbers inside his egg at the end of Elden Ring. Likely turning into something powerful and grotesque.

Elden Ring DLC bosses

Even if you hunt down every Shardbearer in Elden Ring, there’s one demigod that escapes your round of deicide. That is Miquella the Unalloyed, who’s still safely slumbering inside his egg when the credits roll.

Miquella is Malenia’s twin brother and is said to be the most powerful demigod in Elden Ring. So, if this is the case, why don’t we ever fight him? One answer is that we can obtain his shard of the Elden Ring by killing his captor and half-brother Mohg the Lord of Blood, so there’s no need to bother with him. Even Gideon Ofnir tells us to leave Miquella in peace, but was this short-sighted?

FromSoftware doesn’t do anything by accident when it comes to Souls bosses, therefore we suspect Miquella’s absence is by design. Let’s not forget that the demigod is slumbering in his egg to become powerful enough to fix his family, especially his sister, whom he aims to cure of her scarlet rot.

He’s unlikely to be best pleased when he wakes up to find that a new Elden Lord has risen and slaughtered his whole family – including Malenia. This perfectly positions Miquella to be the big bad of any Elden Ring DLC. Not only is he growing in power, but he’s also going to have a grudge against the Tarnished once he realizes what’s happened.

So that’s everything we know so far about the Elden Ring DLC.

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