Prior to the game's release, it's probably safe to assume that Hidetaka Miyazaki and his team at FromSoftware had set some rather lofty ambitions regarding Elden Ring's success. Almost a year later, the game may well have surpassed all of them, after taking the video game world by storm when it was released in February and never looking back. Elden Ring may not be finished there either, and 2023 could see the game continue to dominate headlines as well as players' time.
Despite building up a huge fan base thanks to the critical success of the Dark Souls trilogy, as well as Bloodborne and 2019 Game of the Year winner Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, FromSoftware was still seen as something of a niche developer, largely thanks to its reputation for creating extremely unforgiving video games that punish even the smallest mistakes. Elden Ring, while still brutally difficult at times, offers gamers a variety of in-game methods to make the experience more manageable. This helped to ensure the game is easily the most accessible Soulsborne title yet, and it ensured FromSoftware was thrust into the mainstream spotlight more so than ever before.
Elden Ring: State of the Game in 2023
Elden Ring's critical and commercial success last year cannot be understated. It currently holds an average score of 96 on Metacritic, which is in the top 25 video games of all time. The game has won dozens of awards from various media outlets, including four at The Game Awards 2022, one of which was the coveted Game of the Year 2022 award. Its sales numbers are equally impressive, and to date, it has sold an incredible 17.5 million copies. With so many different ways to enjoy the game, including a recent update that granted players access to coliseums for multiplayer PVP battles, the game's player numbers show no signs of diminishing.
Is Elden Ring Getting DLC in 2023?
Despite a lack of solid confirmation from FromSoftware, the general consensus is that Elden Ring DLC is inevitable. At the recent Game Awards 2022, Hidetaka Miyazaki himself confirmed that there is more he and his team wants to do with the game. If DLC is indeed incoming, based on previous FromSoftware titles, it would make perfect sense for it to arrive in 2023. In fact, based on the Dark Souls trilogy and Bloodborne, the average time between the game's release and DLC release is actually a little over seven months, meaning Elden Ring's DLC is considerably overdue at this point. Given the fact that the size and scope of Elden Ring is significantly larger than previous FromSoftware titles, it should come as no surprise that any potential DLC is taking a little longer than fans of the Japanese developer are used to.
Hidetaka Miyazaki and his team notoriously put just as much, if not more effort into its DLC content than the base games, with some of the finest bosses the series has to offer taking place during the additional content. Battles such as Slave Knight Gael, Artorias of the Abyss, and the Orphan of Kos, were all added to their respective titles thanks to DLC. This incredible track record should help fans to exercise patience as they anxiously await new content for the sprawling RPG. It would not be shocking if the game receives not one, but two DLC updates throughout the year, based on the size of the game and the length of time since its release. This is just speculation, however, as there is no guarantee that even one DLC will come - even if it does seem very likely.
Elden Ring DLC Speculation
While the arrival of Elden Ring DLC seems a sure bet, the content of such expansions is much more open for debate. Some previous FromSoftware titles have introduced brand-new areas, bosses, and weapons in DLC offerings, while others have expanded on areas or characters that already existed. Sister Friede was a powerful NPC and boss, created solely for Dark Souls 3's Ashes of Ariandel DLC, whereas Ludwig, while only seen and fought for the first time in Bloodborne's The Old Hunters DLC, is mentioned several times in the base game.
With the world of Elden Ring incorporating a vast array of characters, many of which are spoken about but not actually seen, FromSoftware has plenty of angles from which to create exciting new areas and encounters. One such area is the Badlands, which, on paper, would be a great setting for Elden Ring's DLC. Despite little being known about the Badlands, they exist somewhere outside the Lands Between. It is in these Badlands that Godfrey, the First Elden Lord, was slain. Given Godfrey's immense power, the prospect of coming face to face with his conqueror is an exciting one, and there are should be no shortage of formidable challenges to be found within this area, as other warriors are known to lurk here too.
A character of particular interest is Miquella, who is currently the only Shardbearer that players are unable to fight. Despite his central positioning within Elden Ring's lore as the offspring of Radagon and Marika and brother to Malenia, Miquella is shrouded in mystery. Many suspect that this will change with the release of some DLC, with some even going so far as to draw comparisons between Elden Ring's Miquella and Dark Souls' Artorias of the Abyss, a figure who was central to the original game's lore but was not introduced as a boss until its DLC. If Miquella is indeed the basis for some additional content, a battle against him should be another test of the player's skill.
Elden Ring Updates For 2023
Throughout 2022, Elden Ring saw several updates and patches, some more significant than others, as FromSoftware tweaked various aspects of the game following fan feedback. Many of these patches helped to balance the multiple weapon types within the game in order to help ensure the PvP aspect was as fair as possible. The singleplayer element was also amended where necessary, with some bosses nerfed in order to create slightly less difficult encounters, most notably Starscourge Radahn, who many felt was too overpowered when the game launched.
Now that Elden Ring's coliseum update is live, PvP is arguably more important than ever, and fans should continue to expect FromSoftware to release further patches in order to ensure weapons and spells are appropriately balanced so that the biggest emphasis is on player skill, rather than their choice of weapon or build. If past titles are anything to go by, the DLC could well coincide with a plethora of new weapons to acquire, which will mean some of them may require balancing further down the line.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.