Elden Ring: Release Date: Everything You Need to Know!

Elden Ring is almost coming, and although much of what we knew before was “I doubt you could even picture it,” we've learnt a lot more about the next FromSoftware Soulslike game. FromSoftware mostly stayed silent after its initial announcement at E3 in 2019 to focus on Elden Ring. It returned in June 2021 with a huge gameplay announcement, and we've been treated to a slew of fresh information since then.

Here's all we know about Elden Ring, which is a lot, including its release date and appearance. We've gone through the clip in detail, including developer statements and all you need to know about the gameplay. You may also read our first impressions of Elden Ring from our hands-on time with the game.

DATE OF ELDEN RING RELEASE

On February 25, 2022, Elden Ring will be released. It was supposed to be released in January, however, FromSoftware announced a brief postponement in October 2021. “The game's richness and strategic options exceeded early expectations,” remarked From in October. “I appreciate your faith and patience.”

Elden Ring has finally gone gold, indicating that a final version of the game is ready to be placed into discs for actual sale.

TEST OF THE ELDEN RING NETWORK

The Elden Ring Network testing was held on consoles from Friday, November 12 through Monday, November 15, but was not available on PC. Some users even spent hundreds of dollars to have early access to the game and try it out. We got to play some of the game, and there were elements we loved and hated about it, as well as the fact that we weren't completely sold on its open world. The preview, as predicted, left a slew of unanswered questions.

IN ELDEN RING, WHAT'S NEW?

Elden Ring is reminiscent of Dark Souls, although FromSoftware has added a few unique twists. Here are the 14 new items we discovered during the August hands-off previews. Here's a quick rundown of what's new:

Open world: Elden Ring is an open world with six main areas to explore
Jumping and riding: You can jump and fight on horseback
Guard Counter: Attacking immediately after blocking, separate from Parrying
World map: A drawn map where you can place your markers

What's coming back?

Co-op: Up to four people can play together.
Invasions are now available in PvP, although you may not be able to invade lone players.
Bonfires: Sites of Lost is a new concept that combines fast travel with respite. Grace
Bloodstains: These are also back, for laughing at strangers' blunders.

Open world: Elden Ring is an open world with six main areas to explore
Jumping and riding: You can jump and fight on horseback
Guard Counter: Attacking immediately after blocking, separate from Parrying
World map: A drawn map where you can place your markers

Check out the gameplay trailer for Elden Ring.

A lot is going on here, man. Let's take a moment to soak it all in. Then watch it a couple of times more.

Elden Ring made an appearance during Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest presentation at the opening of E3 as expected. FromSoftware showed off a significant chunk of gameplay featuring all sorts of traditional Souls game action in this three-minute clip. The art style is unmistakably Souls, and many of the series' classics may be seen here as well. Backstabs, big bosses, and resting at bonfires. Let's get into the specifics.

At the game awards, we got a rather explicit plot trailer for Elden Ring, which is unusual for a FromSoftware or Soulsborne game. Even though most of the game's plot remains a mystery, we learned more about the realms between, its warring gods, and what the Elden Ring is.

Elden Ring's E3 2019 introduction trailer was plenty of atmospheres, if not answers. The announcement trailer's narration is spot on for a FromSoftware game: all mystery and horror with no hard information.

“You probably couldn't even picture it. That which ruled the heavens, illuminating existence to its utmost potential. The Elden Ring is a ring made by Elden. Someone or something shattered it. Don't try to convince me that you don't see it. Take a look at the sky. It's on fire.”

COMBAT AND GAMEPLAY IN ELDEN RING

Elden Ring producer Yasuhiro Kitao revealed the main campaign's length in a taped presentation at the 2022 Taipei Game Show. “This may vary greatly depending on the player, but in terms of the development objectives, the primary path should be able to be finished in roughly 30 hours,” Kitao stated. “The game as a whole is fairly large, with hundreds of additional hours of gaming, but if we're just talking about the primary route, it shouldn't take much longer.”

What is the combat style of Elden Ring?

Combat seems a lot like the Souls games, based on what we saw in Elden Ring's gameplay video and the new, extended gameplay presentation. This isn't a terrible thing. We enjoy playing Souls games.

Elden Ring's combat appears to be the type of action RPG fare that we're used to seeing from From. There are a lot of big bosses. Dodge rolling, backstabbing, blocking, and spellcasting are all options. The fighting animations are also recognisable. FromSoftware states this about the stamina system: “Elden Ring features a stamina metre, although we believe it has less of an impact on the player overall. We wanted it to feel less constricting.”

That's the one thing that hasn't changed. Here's how it differs.

Mounted combat and stealth

There will be some form of horseback warfare in Elden Ring. We haven't seen much of it, but slicing at an incoming attacker while both on horseback is possible. There's also a stealth mechanism, though FromSoftware claims it's only a minor feature.

Summons are returning, but this time they're larger.

There also appears to be a strong emphasis on summoning. In several Souls games, you may summon the souls of friendly characters to aid you in combat. They're always in certain locations, usually near boss bouts, but Elden Ring's summon system appears to be considerably wider and more flexible.

In an interview with IGN, Miyazaki noted that players can call monsters that would ordinarily be adversaries as allies:

“And we think these spirit summonses are a fun collectable hidden feature inside the game world to uncover and equip as you play, as well as having a lot of variation. They provide a variety of strategic possibilities, but the player may discover that they prefer a certain adversary accompanying them, or that a particular summon appeals to them visually. These summonses have a lot of strategic and personal elements to them.”

Weapon skills are less limited.

You'll also have greater flexibility in terms of how you design your build, as your weapon selection will be less limiting. “Unlike in the past, where a certain talent was tied to a specific weapon, today you may freely swap skills between a wide range of weapons,” Miyazaki explains. “I guess there are roughly a hundred talents in all. Naturally, you are allowed to mix your various talents with various weapons. You may customise your character with various weapons and accessories. You are also free to learn magic. So, if you combine all of these factors, we believe the build customization will be considerably deeper and more diverse than before.”

Which Elden Ring lessons are available to you?

Five of Elden Ring's player classes have been disclosed by FromSoftware, and they, like the combat, appear to be familiar. The warrior, enchanted knight, prophet, champion, and bloody wolf are all available in two different body kinds.

We expect these classes to dictate your beginning gear and attributes, as they have in previous Souls games, but you'll likely have a lot of choices after you get started. Elden Ring's build customization will be “much more diversified than previously,” according to game director Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Is there a multiplayer mode in Elden Ring?

Yes! Co-op for up to four players has been verified by Elden Ring. Based on what we've seen so far, it appears that you'll be able to call your pals for co-op and that they'll appear as phantoms, similar to the Souls games.

Invasions are also returned, however, there may be some additional limits. According to recent reviews, you won't be able to invade a solitary player; only those who are presently co-opping will be invaded. However, According to FromSoft, that decision isn't final.

THE ELDEN RING IS AVAILABLE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.

What is the size of Elden Ring's planet and how do you navigate it?

Miyazaki described the planet of Elden Ring as “ripe for exploration” when it was initially presented. While Dark Souls is rather open in terms of exploration, it appears that Elden Ring will be much more so.

“It's organised into six big sections, each of which represents the realms of the major demigod characters…” IGN spoke with Miyazaki about it. “While the regions are arranged in such a way that you would ordinarily approach them in a given sequence, you are not required to do so. We wanted to provide players with a lot of options for growth and exploration in the Lands Between, so there are a lot of options. You won't be able to access everything right away, but there are a variety of methods to approach each section. There's also a lot of flexibility in terms of how you approach certain topics.”

Each of the primary six locations, according to Miyazaki, has its main dungeon map that is seamlessly integrated into the rest of the Lands Between. These are the locations of each of the demigod bosses, and they seem like the type of Souls-style explorable environments we're used to, like tombs, castles, and strongholds.

Elden Ring is still a From-style game, although being open world. Rather than the bustling communities of NPCs that we might anticipate from a game like The Witcher 3, Elden Ring will instead focus on a gloomy open landscape. “It's a tremendous task for us to create a new style of game,” Miyazaki remarked. “We opted to develop an open world type game focusing on what we are great at since adding settlements on top of that would be a bit too much.”

There are six main areas in the world with their bosses and dungeons
There is weather and a time system in the world
Sites of Grace have golden rays to guide you in the right direction
There's a fast travel system
Your horse appears to materialize out of thin air and can leap up sheer cliff faces
You'll find weapons, spells, and spirit summons hidden out in the world to encourage exploration
There is a hub area you can access “a little later into the game”

What is the setting of Elden Ring?

George R.R. Martin's creation, The Lands Between. Miyazaki had this to say about it:

“The existence of the Elden Ring and the Erdtree, which represents its presence, has blessed the inhabitants of Elden Ring, The Lands Between, and this has brought grace or blessing to the people of the region, large and little. What this indicated in them was a golden glow or aura, that was particularly visible in their eyes. And this represents Erdtree's favour or grace. However, some people lost their elegance with time, and the brightness in their eyes vanished. The Tarnished are those who have been tarnished.

“As a result, the Tarnished may be described as tarnished persons who have lost their elegance. And this was a long time before the game was established, a long time before. These Tarnished were expelled and exiled from The Lands Between by the ancestors of the characters that are present in the world. The Elden Ring has then fractured in a historical event a long time afterwards. This brings back the lost grace, and it summons the Tarnished, who had been exiled from The Lands Between and leads them back. So here is the game's beginning point, with the Tarnished being summoned by the lost grace and returning to The Lands Between.”

WHAT ROLE DOES GEORGE R.R. MARTIN PLAY?

Elden Ring – A big stone mace with cobwebs on it.

Because Miyazaki is a tremendous admirer of George R.R. Martin, he got involved.

While we don't know much about G.R.R.M's imprint on this new universe, we do know that even Miyazaki is enthralled by it. He describes himself as a major fan of Martin's work and has been known to suggest some of Martin's works to new hires.

“The actual cooperation began with Mr Martin kindly clarifying what kinds of concepts, ideas, and many game-related features I had envisioned for the game,” Miyazaki explained.

“Even I have trouble keeping my excitement in check from time to time. We hope that everyone else is excited about the world we've built.”

The “overarching mythology” was written by George R.R. Martin.

Miyazaki detailed how GRRM got involved with the project after Elden Ring's announcement. When they went to work, Miyazaki started by telling Martin about his broad vision, including “what kinds of concepts, ideas, and various game-related features” he had in mind.

“This allowed us to have many open and creative discussions about the game,” Miyazaki explained, “which Mr Martin eventually utilised as a foundation to construct the overall mythology for the game world itself.”

“This mythology has a lot of compelling people and drama, as well as a lot of magical and enigmatic components,” Miyazaki remarked. “It was a fantastic source of inspiration for both me and the development team. This mythology and stimulation served as the foundation for Elden Ring's reality. Even I have trouble keeping my excitement in check from time to time. We hope that everyone else is excited about the world we've built.”

After the 2021 release date was announced, GRRM said that his work on Elden Ring was done years ago, during the development stage.

“They wanted a universe developed to place the game in,” Martin explained. “They wanted world-building as a key role in fantasy and science fiction.” “You're not discussing the characters and narrative, but the environment is almost as essential as anything else.”

Martin said, “I built up an extensive backstory for them, and then they took it from there, so it's been many years since I last saw them.” “But they'd come in now and then and show me some monsters they'd made, or the latest special effects, or the fun stuff, but the game has been very slowly evolving, and…so I'll be as thrilled as everyone else to see it.”

ELDEN RING: WHAT ELSE DO WE KNOW ABOUT IT?

Elden Ring is being composed by the composer of Dark Souls 3.

Yuka Kitamura, a veteran composer from From Software, is also working on Elden Ring, which isn't surprising. Kitamura also worked on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Dark Souls 3.

A fan questioned Kitamura whether she was working on Elden Ring after she changed her Twitter account to her professional name (rather than her favourite Golden Sun character). She is, which is great news!

Will there be a toxic swamp, though?

Without a doubt. We were expecting that, considering FromSoftware's Souls games are known for their horrifying, poisoned environments. We'll be traversing “grassy plains, stifling marshes, swirling mountains, ominous castles,” according to Elden Ring's website. That's correct, there are several toxic wetlands.