And just like that, my excitement for Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree has gone from bubbling anticipation to a fever pitch scream; alongside a first gameplay trailer for FromSoftware’s eagerly awaited expansion, publisher Namco Bandai has now shared a release date, confirming it’ll be launching for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC on 21st June.
But first that trailer, offering a full three-minute look at Shadow of the Erdtree, and the sprawling expanses of almost inevitable death and gleefully masochistic misery within. There are fields of wheat tainted with spectral tomb stones, gloomy swamps, and striking ruins high on hills – and what gameplay reveal trailer would be complete without a tease of the imposing enemies that’ll no doubt be the cause of that aforementioned death and misery?
As for what it’s all , well, the specifics remain something of a mystery, although Miquella – long speculated to be the focus of the expansion – while not especially prominent in this reveal (possibly because he’s currently stuck in an egg), does sort of appear, and there are further hints he’s maybe not as benevolent as some might claim. Let the lore theorising begin!
So then onto the release date, which is both good news and bad news depending on your eagerness to get stuck in. The good news is we finally know exactly when Shadow of the Erdtree will arrive, the bad news being that it’s still a couple of months away – four to be exact – and not, you know, available right now.