Elden Ring’s first DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, is in development

By Tomas Franzese Published February 28, 2023

Yes, Elden Ring is finally getting DLC. After over a year of speculation since the critically acclaimed game’s launch, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is confirmed to be in development.

FromSoftware broke the news via its social media accounts for the game, simply affirming that Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree “is currently in development.” No additional release window or story details were shared, but its Japanese website confirms the expansion will come to all of the same platforms as the base game, and the tweet does include one piece of concept art. In it, we see a darkened Erdtree in the distance as a mysterious girl on a horse rides toward it and some ruins. We don’t know what any of this means just yet, but the key art appears to tease a darker tone and new character and reaffirm that Shadow of the Erdtree will take place in a massive open world.

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Rise, Tarnished, and let us walk a new path together.
An upcoming expansion for #ELDENRING Shadow of the Erdtree, is currently in development.
We hope you look forward to new adventures in the Lands Between. pic.twitter.com/cjJYijM7Mw
— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) February 28, 2023

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Elden Ring was released on February 25, 2022, and it was met with critical acclaim and lots of Game of the Year awards (including Digital Trends’ own) because of how FromSoftware adapted its classics Souls series formula into a game with a massive open world that rivaled The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. As many previous FromSoftware games got DLC, fans were hoping that Elden Ring would get the same treatment.

Before now, we’ve mostly gotten small patches, with a Colosseum-adding update in December being the most notable. Although Shadow of the Erdtree doesn’t have a release date, it’s a relief for Elden Ring fans to now have some brand-new content to look forward to.

Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Shadow of the Erdtree does not have a release window yet.

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Gaming Staff Writer

As a Gaming Staff Writer at Digital Trends, Tomas Franzese reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…

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Elden Ring just took pity on us and nerfed Shadow of the Erdtree’s final boss

A knight holding the moonlight greatsword in elden ring.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's final, brutally difficult boss has gotten the nerf he deserves -- or doesn't, depending on who you ask.

Developer FromSoftware released update 1.14, which is now out across all platforms (PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC). It's full of the usual bug fixes, but the focus seems to be on weapon and enemy balance in multiple areas of the game. However, the most impactful for players are the changes made to the final boss in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC: Promised Consort Radahn.

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Is Elden Ring cross-platform?

Multiple players dueling in Elden Ring.

When it launched in 2022, Elden Ring was an immediate hit. The challenging game took everything great from previous FromSoftware titles and merged it with a sweeping open world to explore -- letting players venture in any direction just a few minutes after starting the game. That also made it incredibly daunting. Not only did you have to contend with nightmarish monsters and rage-inducing combat, but you had to figure out how to best reach your next destination without stumbling upon enemies that were twice your skill level.

Thankfully, Elden Ring makes use of a (cryptic) multiplayer system, allowing you to explore the Lands Between with a buddy by your side. You can also read and leave messages for other players, giving them tips and tricks to guide their journey. But is Elden Ring a cross-platform game, or are you stuck playing with folks on the same platform as you?

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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree appears to have a secret, tougher difficulty

One of Shadow of the Erdtree's bosses, Divine Beast Dancing Lion.

Elden Ring is already an immensely difficult game -- as was expected from a FromSoftware title -- but players found that Shadow of the Erdtree was even a bit too difficult. But Redditors have discovered that there might even be a secret difficulty setting that makes the DLC even tougher.

A thread by user Spleenczar posted Wednesday noticed a feature called DLC+ at the bottom of the Fextralife new game plus page, which claims that if you've already played through the DLC on New Game+ and want to do another playthrough, the game gets more difficult, with enemies dealing more damage and having more health. To test this, Spleenczar made a save copy of an almost-completed DLC run, defeated the final boss in the copied save, and then compared how each character fared in an encounter with Messmer the Impaler.

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