What you need to know
- Shadow of the Erdtree is the long-awaited expansion for FromSoftware's juggernaut RPG, Elden Ring.
- Elden Ring first launched back in February 2022, selling over 20 million copies across Xbox, PlayStation, and Windows PC.
- The first gameplay reveal trailer for the expansion shows off new monsters, magic, and Miquella.
- Shadow of the Erdtree is launching on June 21, 2024.
We can finally imagine it.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's official gameplay trailer is here, showing off what players can expect in the long-awaited expansion to FromSoftware's 2022 behemoth. You can check out the trailer below:
As was widely speculated, the divine Miquella is the centerpiece of this expansion, and it looks like players will be drawn into conflict with the demigod sooner or later. Naturally, there's tons of new environments, as well as massive monsters and what even appears to be new magic abilities, so players can expect to see the list of the best spells rapidly expanding.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is slated to launch on June 21, 2024 across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4. The expansion is available for preorder now at $40, and naturally requires you to own the base game in order to play it.
In our review of Elden Ring, former contributor Miles Dompier wrote that "There's no shortage of content for players looking to get engrossed in a land of beauty, horror, mystery, and adventure. This gargantuan RPG not only met my most outlandish expectations, but repeatedly exceeded them."
The original game was a huge success for FromSoftware and Bandai Namco, reaching over 20 million copies sold and becoming the second best-selling game of the year, only behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022).
Analysis: Holy heck, give it to me
Like my friend Miles (and basically everyone else on Windows Central) I absolutely loved Elden Ring, and so many design choices paid off to expand the scope of what FromSoftware's worlds can be. Even if I hadn't seen anything from Shadow of the Erdtree, I was already down to grab it. After that incredible trailer? June 21 can't get here fast enough.
That art direction continues to be stellar, and I'm in awe of the gorgeous monster designs, though no doubt I'll be frustrated with them when I'm actually playing the game. I'm also curious just how big this DLC will be. Given how long it's been in development, and some glances at open areas from the trailer, it seems safe to expect this to be FromSoftware's biggest expansion ever.
As it's also launching just three days after my birthday, I'm choosing to believe this is a late birthday present from Miyazaki-san and the rest of the team at FromSoftware and Bandai Namco. I do hope this isn't too complicated to jump into though. Past FromSoftware titles often had super-specific requirements for how to access the DLC sections, and it would be neat if this was just a tiny bit more straightforward. At the very least, I hope we can play it after beating the main game.
