What is the Elden Ring DLC release date? Fans have been anticipating the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree release date ever since they sat upon the throne and became the Elden Lord. While you could spend hundreds of hours playing Elden Ring, the most hardcore players have spent several months clamouring for an expansion.
As one of the best PC games, the Elden Ring community has been waiting for this eventful day for some time. FromSoftware, the developers behind the RPG game, had an opportunity to reveal the DLC at The Game Awards 2022 when they won the coveted Game of the Year award. Elden Ring also celebrated its first birthday recently, but the devs waited a few days until they revealed they were working on the Elden Ring expansion. Here’s everything you need to know about the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree release date, including what it might be about, and when you can expect to play it.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree release date speculation
We expect the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC release date to land in late 2023 or early 2024 for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. As development only began on the Elden Ring DLC in 2022, we believe it’s still quite some time away.
The Elden Ring DLC was revealed in a single tweet from FromSoftware’s account with the following message: “Rise, Tarnished, and let us walk a new path together. An upcoming expansion for Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree, is currently in development. We hope you look forward to new adventures in the Lands Between.”
Beyond that, all we have to go on is an ominous piece of artwork featuring the Erdtree shrouded in darkness.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree story theories
Judging by this excellent spot on Reddit, the image in the tweet appears to be Miquella, Malenia’s twin brother, riding Torrent across a field. The field doesn’t look like the ones we’re used to in The Lands Between which points to the Shadow of the Erdtree story taking place in the past, or in another world entirely. While you’re able to fight Malenia as one of the toughest Elden Ring bosses the open-world game has to offer, you never get the chance to see Miquella in his original state.
Exploring the past isn’t a new concept for FromSoftware. The first and only Dark Souls DLC, Artorias of the Abyss, sent players hundreds of years into the past to confront Manus, Father of the Abyss. Time travel isn’t something we’ve seen in Elden Ring, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see it in the future.
There’s a chance the expansion could take place inside Miquella’s dream. We’ve seen this happen before during Fia’s questline, one of the best Elden Ring quests, giving you the opportunity to fight against a powerful dragon in Fia’s dream. We know Miquella is in a slumber state, and we may need to enter his mind to discover a completely new realm.
Who is Miquella in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree?
Miquella and Malenia are special beings known as Empyreans, who are capable of becoming gods. Unfortunately, they were both born cursed, but they don’t suffer from the same afflictions. Malenia was cursed with Scarlet Rot, causing her to rot from within. Miquella’s curse is the inability to age, keeping him trapped inside the body of a child. To negate the effects of their curses, Miquella created his own Haligtree in the Consecrated Snowfield and kept it hidden from prying eyes to ensure it could grow.
During the boss fight against Mohg, Lord of Blood, you can catch a glimpse of Miquella’s large arm as it hangs outside of the cocoon he created to protect himself while the Haligtree grew. Mohg stole Miquella from the Haligtree in an attempt to offer themselves up for godhood, bringing their powers to new heights. Mohg’s plan ultimately fails when the player defeats him in Mohgwyn Palace, leaving behind Miquella’s cocoon.
Meanwhile, Miquella’s Haligtree has been left to rot since his cocoon is no longer around to keep the tree alive. As a result, the tree has become dead and lifeless, leaving behind soldiers to protect what remains of it. Melania stands at the base of the tree waiting for her brother to return home, but he remains unresponsive in Mohgwyn Palace.
That’s all we know about the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree release date so far. In the meantime, why not check out our Elden Ring endings guide to remind yourself how the epic RPG finished. We have a guide to the best Elden Ring builds if you’re thinking about starting up a brand new character before the expansion drops, but if you’re one of the rare people yet to dive into the game, why not check out our Elden Ring review to convince you to make the leap – we gave it a perfect 10, describing it as a “masterpiece” which “lights the way” for future open-world games.
