Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree will release in June 2024
Bandai Namco and From Software finally give DLC expansion a release date
Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree will release on 21st June 2024, From Software and Bandai Namco have announced alongside the Elden Ring DLC expansion's first proper reveal trailer, which you can watch below. It's going to be a fine old summer for returning Tarnished and enjoyers of open world RPGs at large.
The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC release will accompany two new special editions of Elden Ring, each including the expansion. There's a Game of the Year Edition priced at €79.99, and a Collector's Edition which will cost €259.99. You can theoretically find out more over at the official site, but it's currently sagging under the weight of traffic - people sure do love their collectible figurines.
Bamco and FromSoft's release date announcement brings an end to months of feverish speculation about when Shadow Of The Erdtree would arrive, which has at times rivalled GTA 6 release date chatter for intensity, though I'm not aware that any Erdtree-spotters have tried to glean release information from the phases of the moon. For a time, the Elden Ring DLC was rumoured to be getting a surprise release in February 2024, based on a grab-bag of retailer listings, sneaky Steam updates and the often-repeated observation that it's the game's second anniversary this month.
Even as Elden Ring players count the days till June, those of us in videobrain gurnalism and especially, the guides-writing trade can breathe a sigh of relief that we won't have to go all Elden Loopy writing up a massive Soulslike expansion overnight.
Perhaps you too are breathing a sigh of relief? I imagine not everybody has yet finished Elden Ring, as venerated as it is. I myself drifted away after the first few bosses because, to be quite frank, I think Elden Ring's "true" open world format - not to be confused with the twisty and secretive open-endedness of Dark Souls or Bloodborne - dilutes all the stuff it inherits from the other From Software games. Still, I will generously concede that Elden Ring is an extremely good videogame, and now would be the right time to return to The Lands Between and reach the endgame before Shadows Of The Erdtree arrives.