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United States Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree Might've Been Better Off as a Sequel
Highlights
- Shadow of the Erdtree may be FromSoftware's largest DLC yet.
- Rumors suggest SotE could be massive, potentially the size of two DLCs, leading to questions about its role as an expansion rather than a standalone game.
- The longer development cycle of SotE compared to past studio titles has sparked speculation over its release.
There hasn’t been much in terms of official news regarding Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree since its announcement, but several sources have indicated that a major update could be coming sooner rather than later. While some fans are expecting FromSoftware to utilize the second anniversary for an announcement or even surprise release later this month, there have also been some who’ve speculated that this DLC might still be months away after. With so much of the discourse surrounding Shadow of the Erdtree being related to how long its production is taking, the effort put into it could have just been a full standalone follow-up to Elden Ring.
There have been rumors that Shadow of the Erdtree will be the largest DLC that the studio has ever released. It’s undeniable that there’s a sizable number of dedicated FromSoft fans who are almost certain to pick up the expansion when it arrives, the same can’t necessarily be said for the general public of more casual gamers, most of whom may not have played Elden Ring for the better of two years by now. Shadow of the Erdtree will likely push the limits of what even constitutes DLC for an existing game, a decision that could be seen as riskier than reaping the rewards of a second Elden Ring title.
Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree is Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place With New Endings
The various endings of Elden Ring have left the expansion's story options in a strange place, but FromSoft still has some obvious routes to take.Shadow of the Erdtree's Potentially Unprecedented Scale as a DLC Expansion
Development Cycles of Previous FromSoft Titles Were Shorter
Before Elden Ring, all the Soulsborne RPGs made by FromSoftware which received DLC content saw their expansions released within, at most, a little over a year from the date of the base game’s initial release. In the case of Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters, one of the most unanimously well-received DLCs in the studio’s history, it was even released during the same year. Shadow of the Erdtree, on the other hand, is approaching two years since Elden Ring without any release window, a fact that has led many fans to believe it will be much larger than anything that has come before.
Rumors Compare Shadow of the Erdtree to the Entirety of Bloodborne
Several pieces of alleged information regarding SotE have circulated over the past few months, ranging from mysterious Steam updates to Elden Ring to seemingly concrete descriptions of new areas. If nothing else, this suggests that the expansion alone will be massive.
If the leaks stating that SotE is the size of two DLCs turn out to be true, the choice to make this an expansion seems even more questionable on the part of FromSoft.
FromSoftware's Choice to Focus on Shadow of the Erdtree Over the Next Elden Ring
Entire RPGs Have Been Produced in the Span of SotE's Development
There is no set amount of time that a video game takes to create, but it’s undeniable that the time since Elden Ring’s release has been ample time for several studios to be on the road to completing notable games in the past. With even the original Dark Souls only taking about two years to make, and Bloodborne taking around three, it seems that Shadow of the Erdtree has landed in a strange middle ground of development time. It’s unknown if FromSoft will choose to launch the expansion later this month, announce it and begin a proper marketing campaign, or simply stay silent as time continues to stretch into the length of full game production.
Elden Ring
Elden Ring is a fantasy action-RPG adventure set in a world co-created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creator of the influential Dark Souls video game series, and George R.R. Martin, the author of the best-selling fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. This collaboration between two renowned creators has resulted in FromSoftware's largest game to date, filled with danger and discovery at every turn. Hidetaka Miyazaki, president and game director of FromSoftware, has a history of directing highly acclaimed games in franchises such as Armored Core and Dark Souls.
