Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree: Everything we know

Shadow of the Erdtree is a huge expansion DLC update being added to Elden Ring in June 2024.

To prepare you for FromSoftware’s largest expansion yet, we’ve got the Shadow of the Erdtree release date and trailer below, story details, and everything else we know about Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.

Be sure to also check out our interviews with Miyazaki on originating the Soulslike genre, a potential Bloodborne remake, and more details on the Shadow of Erdtree DLC.

If the trailer and date announcement have got you all excited to return to your Tarnished roots, then we can help with our beginner’s guide for what to do first, main bosses in order, and Site of Grace locations.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree release date

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree releases on Friday 21st June, 2024. Many were hoping for a February release date due to an update to its Steam listing, but it turns out that was just preparation for the release date announcement on 21st February.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree trailer

Here’s the first trailer for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree:

ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree | Official Gameplay Reveal Trailer

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree story

As seen in the trailer, Shadow of the Erdtree follows the story of ‘kind’ Miquella – Malenia’s twin brother. Miquella is the demigod offspring of Queen Marika and Radagon. The twins were born with a curse, with Miquella doomed to be eternally young and never grow to an adult.

You will follow in Miquella’s footsteps in the Land of Shadow area in the DLC, like you followed the Sites of Grace in the base game.

The DLC area has been confirmed to occupy the same space as the Lands Between, but it has been physically disconnected. And it “will involve a warp of sorts to get there” (thanks, IGN).

The story will also involve Queen Marika and what she did in this shadow land, and just what led Miquella to follow her to the Land of Shadow.

Additionally, Mesmer is the man in red seen in the first trailer for the DLC, and he is an important figure who rivals other demigods in Shadow of the Erdtree. He has a key element of shadow to him, which is also an important theme throughout the DLC.

Diving deeper in Miquella’s past might help us understand where the DLC’s story is going. It starts with Miquella wanting to become an adult, so he used the Haligtree – the late-game Legacy Dungeon where players fight Malenia. He lay here in a cocoon, with the aim of growing older in parallel with the tree, binding himself by watering the tree with his blood. He intended for the Haligtree to grow into an Erdtree, but before he could complete his task, Miquella fell into a deep slumber.

Miquella’s cocoon is actually discovered in Elden Ring after defeating Mohg Lord of Blood. Mohg stole the cocoon, morphed into blood, entered it, and attempted to commune with Miquella through his dreams. When we see the cocoon, Miquella’s arm is visible: now adult-sized, but unresponsive.

As mentioned in IGN’s interview with Miyazaki, “The cocoon and arm you saw at the beginning of the trailer… is actually the point of entry to the Land of Shadow where the players will enter to the DLC area”.

We don’t know how else this history will factor into Shadow of the Erdtree’s story yet, but let’s at least hope Miquella extends his kindness to how easy he goes on us poor Tarnished…

EXCLUSIVE Elden Ring DLC Interview: Hidetaka Miyazaki on New Shadow Of The Erdtree Details

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree: Everything we know

Thanks to Eurogamer’s own interview with Hidetaka Miyazaki, we got some juicy details about what to expect from Elden Ring’s upcoming DLC. Be sure to read it for a full breakdown, but in short, here’s everything we know about the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC for Elden Ring:

• It’s FromSoftware’s largest expansion yet – Miyazaki said this DLC is “our largest expansion to date in terms of overall volume”.
• The DLC takes place in a brand new map larger than Limgrave – Although fresh new areas await, Shadow of the Erdtree includes a similar structure to the original game. There are field areas, legacy dungeons, and other dungeons of varying scale. Miyazaki says “In terms of pure surface area, you could think of something larger even than Limgrave in the base game”.
• Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin has not provided fresh material – On George R. R. Martin’s involvement, Miyazaki explains: “essentially it is the same as it was with the base game. The DLC Shadow of the Erdtree is based on one part of that original mythos that he penned for us. It’s not a brand new mythos that he’s written specifically for Shadow of the Erdtree, he has not created something new which informed the design of the DLC. It’s simply another part of the original story that we thought fit to tell as a new expansion.”
• There are over 10 new boss fights – A few were glimpsed in the trailer, but be prepared to prove your Tarnished might against 10 new bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree.
• Eight new weapon categories have been added – On top of new weapons, equipment and skills, we’re getting eight brand new weapon categories to experiment with.
• It can be as difficult as the Malenia boss fight – RIP to us all, as Shadow of the Erdtree continues FromSoftware’s tradition of brutal challenges in DLC. Miyazaki explains “We wanted to provide these challenging encounters and these menacing threats, and in order to do that, we wanted to give the player a lot of freedom of approach. We wanted them to feel free in how they choose and when they choose to approach and tackle these hardships.”
• Field and dungeon areas are more seamlessly interconnected – We’ve seen haunted grasslands, fiery caverns, and mystical ruins in the trailer, but in regards to the noticeable divide between open fields and secluded dungeon areas in the base game, Miyazaki says that in the DLC “We wanted to go more in depth and bring a denser and richer level design, which brings these types of layout together a little more seamlessly. There of course will be large open areas, there of course will be legacy dungeons, but we’ve also experimented with something a little more in-between these as well to bring a more diverse gameplay experience”.
• Poison swamps return – Because of course they do. Miyazaki explains that poison swamps were “actually a point of introspection for me after creating the base game. It was only after creating it that I realised I really like to create poisoned swamps… So maybe, when players reach the poisoned swamp in the DLC, they will feel a little bit of this retrospection”. I’m not sure it’s anything close to retrospection I’ll personally be feeling, but each to their own.

For more on Elden Ring, check out our articles on The Convergence mod, a rumoured Elden Ring mobile game, and the COVID activists modding Elden Ring to raise awareness.