What is the Elden Ring DLC release date? Fans have been anticipating the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree release date since they sat upon the throne and became the Elden Lord. To put this into context, if you finished Elden Ring one month after launch, you’ve been waiting over a year for the expansion.
Fortunately, the long wait is almost over as From Software, the developers behind the RPG game, have revealed a date for the upcoming Elden Ring DLC release date. That’s right, the expansion to one of the best PC games ever is only months away. Here’s everything you need to know about the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree release date, what the DLC will be about, and details of the many new bosses revealed.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree release date
The Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC release date is Friday, June 21, 2024. It’s set to be available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Development on the DLC expansion began at the end of 2022.
This Elden Ring DLC was revealed in a single post from the dev’s Twitter account on February 28, 2023, with the following message: “Rise, Tarnished, and let us walk a new path together. An upcoming expansion for Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree, is currently in development. We hope you look forward to new adventures in the Lands Between.” Beyond that, all we had to go on was some ominous artwork featuring the Erdtree shrouded in darkness.
From Software was interviewed by the Japanese outlet Game Watch after the PlayStation Awards at the end of 2023. Yasuhiro Kitao, producer of Elden Ring, had this to say about the Shadow of the Erdtree development: “It’s still a little ways off, but progress is going well.” In January 2024, eagle-eyed fans spotted changes to the Elden Ring DLC section on Steam. Bandai Namco’s YouTube accounts updated its Elden Ring playlists a week later. The latest Elden Ring trailer was teased on the game’s Twitter account on February 21, 2024, and first shown via a livestream a day later.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC preorder bonus
The preorder items you receive depend on the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree edition you pick up. Purchasing the stock game grants you the Ring of Miquella emote. There’s also the Premium edition which includes a digital art book and digital soundtrack . Those ordering the Collector’s Edition receive a 46cm statue of Messmer the Impaler, a 40-page physical art book, and the digital soundtrack.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree trailer
The DLC gameplay reveal trailer begins with a look at a broken cocoon, revealing a lifeless arm in Mohgwyn Palace. Those who have slain Mohg, Lord of Blood will know the significance of this sight as this is the arm of Miquella, who protected himself inside the cocoon while the Haligtree grew. Mohg stole Miquella from the Haligtree in an attempt to offer themselves up for godhood, bringing their powers to new heights. Mohg’s plan ultimately fails when the player defeats him in Mohgwyn Palace, leaving behind Miquella’s cocoon.
Since then, Miquella’s Haligtree has been left to rot since his cocoon is no longer around to keep the tree alive. As a result, the tree has become dead and lifeless, leaving behind soldiers to protect what remains of it. His sister, Malenia, who players can fight at the base of the tree, was waiting for her brother to return home, and now it seems he’s finally woken up.
The player is then seen riding toward the Erdtree, covered in shadows, before a short montage of monsters roaming the land. The player then meets a man on a throne in an empty chamber who says, “The blood must spill of your fellows, the Erdtree faithful.” It’s unclear at this time who that is.
Several other monsters are shown, including a golem with its insides on fire, whose stomps burst the field beneath it into flames, as the player desperately avoids it while riding horseback. There’s also a serpent that can eat the player whole and a very confusing-looking boss that reminds us of Godrick the Grafted, but if he had a lion’s face and the ability to spew cursed fumes.
Finally, we see Messmer the Impaler. He asks, “Mother, wouldst thou truly Lordship sanction, in one so bereft of light?” This may or may not imply that the snake-charming pyromancer could be the reincarnated form of Miquella, not least because his rather gangly arms look somewhat similar to the ones emerging from the cocoon earlier in the trailer.
A small montage then shows off new spells and techniques, with the player character chucking a huge oil pot to blow up some oncoming enemies. One of the more striking moments comes as a player stands on a clifftop as an apparition of a horned bear grows in the distance.
The trailer also reveals a number of new enemies set to litter the battlefield. These enemies include a lady in red on an ethereal field, a new variant on the Tree Sentinel, and a beast that can be best described as a giant swamp hippo with electric thorns.
Finally, we see some of the player’s fight against Messmer himself, as a voice tells us to “Touch the withered arm, and travel to the realm of shadow”. This may hint that we need to return to Mohgwyn Palace and touch the arm to be transported to the new realm. We went through looking for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree trailer secrets for more hints of what’s to come.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree poem
Accompanying this trailer is a press release that includes a short poem, which we will post here in full:
The Land of Shadow. A place obscured by the Erdtree. Where the goddess Marika first set foot.
A land purged in an unsung battle. Set ablaze by Messmer’s flame.
It was to this land that Miquella departed. Divesting himself of his flesh, his strength, his lineage. Of all things Golden.
And now Miquella awaits the return of his promised Lord.
Who is Miquella in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree?
Miquella and Malenia are known as Empyreans, special beings capable of becoming gods. Unfortunately, they were both born cursed but don’t suffer from the same afflictions. Malenia was cursed with Scarlet Rot, causing her to rot from within. Miquella’s curse is the inability to age, keeping him trapped inside the body of a child. To negate the effects of their curses, Miquella created his own Haligtree in the Consecrated Snowfield and kept it hidden from prying eyes to ensure it could grow.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree story theories
Judging by this excellent spot on Reddit, the image in the tweet appears to be Miquella, Malenia’s twin brother, riding Torrent across a field. The field doesn’t look like the ones we’re used to in The Lands Between, which points to the Shadow of the Erdtree story taking place in the past or another world entirely. While you can fight Malenia as one of the most challenging Elden Ring bosses the open-world game offers, you never get to meet Miquella in his original state.
Exploring the past isn’t a new concept for From Software. The first and only Dark Souls DLC, Artorias of the Abyss, sent players hundreds of years into the past to confront Manus, Father of the Abyss. Time travel isn’t something we’ve seen in Elden Ring, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see it in the future.
There’s a chance the expansion could take place inside Miquella’s dream. We’ve seen this happen before during Fia’s questline, one of the best Elden Ring quests, allowing you to fight against an almighty dragon in Fia’s dream. We know Miquella is in a slumbering state, and we may need to enter his mind to discover a completely new realm.
Now that we know about the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree release date, it’s time to brush up on your character and get them prepared for the DLC. Why not check out our Elden Ring endings guide to remind yourself how the epic RPG finished? We have a guide to the best Elden Ring builds if you’re considering starting up a brand-new character before the expansion drops. If you’re one of the rare people yet to dive into the game, why not check out our Elden Ring review to convince you to leap – we gave it a perfect 10, describing it as a “masterpiece” that “lights the way” for future open-world games.