Following their work on Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, FromSoftware's next challenging RPG comes in the form of Elden Ring. Following a two year silence after its reveal, their latest collaboration with Bandai Namco is finally shaping up.
Game director Hidetaka Miyazaki has already nailed his colours to the mast, advising that Elden Ring is made from the same mould we've come to expect for FromSoftware. This time around though, they've also teamed up with Game of Thrones author, George R.R. Martin.
We've seen some gameplay, a broken character creator, and some hauntingly beautiful landscapes so far. With Elden Ring's release slowly approaching, here's everything we know so far.
Elden Ring Latest News
January 31, 2022 - As discovered by Reddit user hzy980512, the Elden Ring's Steam end-user license agreement (EULA) contains information that the game uses Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) on PC.
Elden Ring Release Date
Elden Ring launches on February 25, 2022, and the game can be preloaded on February 23, 2022.
During Summer Games Fest, FromSoftware previously confirmed Elden Ring would arrive on January 21, 2022, though that's since been delayed. That'll arrive as a full multiplatform launch simultaneously, both physically and digitally.
Elden Ring Trailers
Here's a round-up of the trailers for Elden Ring so far:
E3 Announcement 2019
Take a look at the announcement trailer just below. And for those interested, here is voiceover:
"I doubt you could even imagine it. That which commanded the skies, giving life its fullest brilliance. The Elden Ring. Shattered, by someone or something. Don't tell me you don't see it. Look up at the sky. It burns."
Summer Games Fest 2021
Revealed as the surprise ending announcement for Summer Games Fest: Kickoff Live, Bandai Namco offered this new trailer after two years of silence.
Elden Ring Platforms, Download Size, and PC Specs
Elden Ring is launching for PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X and PC, with download sizes slightly varying between platforms. For PC players, here's the required hardware specifications. There's been no mention of a Switch edition and traditionally, FromSoftware's latest releases usually avoid Nintendo's console. Even though Dark Souls: Remastered came to Switch, a portable release seems unlikely.
Elden Ring Gameplay
Elden Ring's an action-RPG, focused on combat and exploration from a third-person perspective, designed with "all sorts of players" in mind. We'll gradually explore the Lands Between, which is split into six main areas. That includes castles, fortresses, catacombs and more.
Hidetaka Miyazaki confirmed in an interview with IGN that it'll include Fast Travel to make traveling easier, alongside a hub area. We also know there'll be a heavier focus on RPG elements, alongside greater customisation focus.
One thing you can look forward to though is yet more big boss battles, which Miyazaki confirmed will be returning as the studio simply loves making them:
Boss fights are something we enjoy making and make up one of the climaxes to this title as well. We feel there is a wide variety of unique and horrifying bosses for players to look forward to.
On November 4, 2021, a twenty-minute gameplay preview was shared with the public by Bandai Namco Europe:
How is George R.R. Martin Involved?
Shortly after the game was announced FromSoftware game director Hidetaka Miyazaki gave more insight into how George R.R. Martin was involved with the game. Essentially, Martin created the game's "overarching mythos", according to Miyazaki.
This mythos proved to be full of interesting characters and drama along with a plethora of mystical and mysterious elements as well. It was a wonderful source of stimulus for me and the development staff. Elden Ring’s world was constructed using this mythos and stimulus as a base. Even I myself find it hard to contain my excitement from time to time.
More recently, Martin confirmed his work on Elden Ring finished "years ago", stating he's worked up a "fairly detailed background" but hasn't really been involved since then. However, he confirmed FromSoftware continued giving him development updates.
Xbox Boss, Phil Spencer, Has Played Elden Ring
In an interview with Gamespot, Xbox boss Phil Spencer revealed he's played "quite a bit" of Elden Ring. Here's a quick snippet of what Phil Spencer mentioned during the Gamespot interview:
"I've seen actually quite a bit. I've played quite a bit. As somebody who's played all of Miyazaki's games over at least the last decade, this is clearly the most ambitious game that he's done. I mean, y'know, I love his games, but seeing some of the gameplay mechanics stuff that he's tackling, he and the team are tackling this time, [seeing] the setting, working with another creator in terms of story... I love it. I love seeing him challenging himself, he's a good friend of mine, expanding his horizons, I think it's a good thing."
Elden Ring Leaks
The most recent leak regarding Elden Ring is it's character customisation options. In a video shared by ER-SA, character customisation was shown to be extensive, albeit quite broken. The video has since been taken down, but we discuss its contents here.
That's all we know about Elden Ring so far, and we'll be sure to update this space with more information as it is revealed. For further information, we talk about invasions and multiplayer in Elden Ring here, and whether it is connected to Dark Souls here.