Now that the release of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is very firmly in the rear-view mirror, FromSoftware fans have quickly turned their heads towards the studio's most ambitious release to date: the upcoming Elden Ring. The future release will no doubt be a big step for one of this generation's most acclaimed studios, seeing it work with Game of Thrones scribe George R.R. Martin as well as reportedly creating a much more expansive game than ever before.
If a report from NeoGaf user Acrotos is to be believed, it could be coming much sooner than expected as well, with the industry insider claiming that Elden Ring could be dropping as soon as this year. Naturally, it's worth remembering to take these claims with a pinch of salt, especially as it's fairly easy to make bold, believable claims on forum sites like NeoGaf.
Regardless, Acrotos claims they have a friend who works at Bandai Namco, the publisher behind FromSoftware's newest release. According to this source, the game will be available on next-generation consoles, with the insider claiming that a series of delays changed "the release to summer time, so they decided to do next-gen versions, expected release in Q3." Acrotos does go on to claim, however, that they think their source "meant financial Q3, otherwise they would be releasing current-gen and then a couple of months later the next-gen version." If that report is true, it would mean the game is dropping somewhere between the months of October and December if going off the Japanese fiscal year. Acrotos also warn players that the next-gen versions won't be all that impressive, citing "don't expect much more than higher res and maybe 60fps from the next-gen versions."
Interestingly, Acrotos also claims that Elden Ring "is completed" in terms of content, meaning that the developers are merely ironing out the game's bugs and playtesting it. As for when the game will be fully shown, Acrotos claims their source has "no idea, he doesn't know. No news about the marketing deal either." If the NeoGaf poster is correct, it seems as though the game will be dropping later this year, just in time to make its way onto the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
If the post is authentic, it seems likely that fans will see lots more of Elden Ring in the coming weeks, perhaps even at the PlayStation 5 gameplay showcase taking place on June 4. As for what the game will be like, leakers have claimed its a lot more expansive than previous FromSoftware games, with semi-open-world segments and more brutally difficult boss fights.
Elden Ring is in development for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions also rumored to be in production.
Source: NeoGaf