Looks like Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has been in development since just after the base game launched last year.
As spotted by Twitter user Ziostorm, Kenneth (Kin Yue) Chan - lead game designer on both Elden Ring and its DLC - has updated their LinkedIn profile, replacing the "unannounced project" in the work experience section with Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. Now that we have this context, we know that the DLC has actually been in development since April 2022 - that's just two short months after Elden Ring officially launched.
We first found out about the Elden Ring DLC around the game's first anniversary back in February, and are yet to get an official release date - meaning we could still be waiting a little while to get our hands on it. Despite it feeling like the complete opposite, this could end up being good news in the long run, as it might mean Shadow of the Erdtree is bigger than we were expecting. After all, before it was revealed, rumors suggested a "huge" expansion was on the way soon.
This will be the second lot of extra Elden Ring content we've received since the game's launch, following on from the Elden Ring Colosseum update which added multiple PvP arenas and new game modes to the action RPG. What this all means is that the team at FromSoftware has been pretty busy over the last year or so - not forgetting that they've also got another game in development, Armored Core 6: The Fires of Rubicon, as well as potentially another new game.
Need something to play while we wait for Shadow of the Erdtree? Take a look at our games like Elden Ring list.