Shadow of the Erdtree has been winning hearts and surpassing all expectations!

FromSoftware has mastered the art of building excitement and anticipation with minimal reveals, and fans are once again on the edge of their seats for the upcoming Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree. Similar to the base game's release, details have been scarce since FromSoftware unexpectedly announced the DLC shortly after the first anniversary of Elden Ring. All fans have to go on for Shadow of the Erdtree is a single image depicting a figure, likely Miquella, riding Torrent near a corrupted and devastated Erdtree. Despite the lack of information, FromSoftware has assured fans that development is progressing.

They took their tried-and-true formula and applied it to an open-world setup, giving us one of their largest games yet—a genre-defining action RPG that stole the show in 2022. So, it's not exactly shocking that FromSoftware is shaking things up a bit with Elden Ring and its DLC, breaking away from some time-honored patterns and traditions.

Simply put, the time lag between unveiling the DLC and the actual release of Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree has shattered the norms set by FromSoftware's previous DLC launches. Game development timelines often follow certain patterns, but this DLC has thrown those expectations out the window. In the past, FromSoftware typically released DLC for the Dark Souls trilogy and Bloodborne within 6 months to a year after the game's launch. Shadow of the Erdtree, by defying this pattern, has become a game-changer, taking longer from announcement to release compared to the studio's usual DLC practices.

It was pretty expected that Elden Ring's DLC would shake up the usual FromSoftware timeline, mainly because of how massive the base game is. Elden Ring outshines the mentioned titles in size, so it makes sense that the DLC would follow suit. There's even buzz going around that Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree is equivalent to two regular DLCs. Given the grand scale of the main game and the DLC's ambitious size, it's no wonder this release timeline is stretching out to almost double the norm, if not even longer in the grand scheme of things.

There's been a rumor swirling around that the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC for Elden Ring might drop in February 2024, totally throwing off the usual pattern and putting it two years after the game's launch. But, of course, rumors are tricky, and it wouldn't be shocking if FromSoftware decides to take even more time with this DLC. Still, if everything falls into place, 2024 might turn out to be a pretty epic year for Elden Ring.