Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is officially coming out this summer
On February 21, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware announced that the highly-anticipated downloadable content for Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree, will release for PC, Xbox and PlayStation on June 21, 2024. This announcement was accompanied by a new gameplay trailer that has given quite a few hints about what this DLC may have in store for us.
Fans had been speculating that we would get either a full DLC release or at least an update on it this week, given the fact that Elden Ring’s second anniversary is on February 25. Shadow of the Erdtree was first announced during the Game Awards 2022, and players have been anxiously waiting for it, even monitoring the game’s backend and posting updates whenever new DLC-related changes were made by the developers.
Many players in the ER community thought it was likely that Shadow of the Erdtree would focus heavily on Miquella, partly because he has a lot of cut content within the main games files, and partly because we can find his body in Mohgwyn Palace, but aren’t able to further interact with it after defeating his kidnapper. This new trailer has proven this speculation right, as we directly see the demigod’s emaciated arm hanging from his cocoon, we hear him mentioned by name, and our Tarnished is told to touch the arm to enter the Land of Shadow, which is apparently where Miquella went upon entering his slumber in the Haligtree.
According to a post on the Bandai Namco website:
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.”
We hear several voices throughout the trailer, so we’re clearly going to meet a fairly wide cast during this expanded adventure, but it’s unclear if we actually hear Miquella or not. Because of his eternal youth and dual persona in Saint Trina, Miquella may have a more feminine sounding voice, but there’s really no way to tell at this point. Regardless, it’s clear that we’re following him to the Land of Shadow, which looks to be a fully developed new map in and of itself.
Shadow of the Erdtree also features a new villain/antagonist in Messmer the Impaler, a lanky ginger twink who looks like a whole lot of trouble. Fans are already speculating about him and whether or not he’s a demigod, if he’s related to Rykart because of his snake imagery, and more. As the release date draws closer, we will probably get more information on Shadow of the Erdtree, but for now fans will have to be satisfied knowing they’ll be able to start exploring The Land of Shadow this June.
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