What Is Elden Ring? Everything We Know

Developer From Software's Elden Ring is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated games of 2022, and it just may be the developer's magnum opus. As a brutal, fantastical open world action-RPG, it's looking to provide players with the quintessential difficulty that From Software is best known for producing in games like Sekiro, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls. To help you get up to speed on everything you need to know about the game, we've compiled this feature containing all the essential details, including its release date, platforms, trailers, and more.

Release Date

Elden Ring is confirmed to release on February 25, 2022.

Platforms

Elden Ring is scheduled to launch for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. If you purchase an older generation version of the game, you can receive a next-generation upgrade for free.

What Is Elden Ring?

Elden Ring is the latest game from developer Hidetaka Miyazaki and his team at From Software. Made in collaboration with Game Of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, it takes place in a fantastical open world known as the Lands Between. Like previous From Software games, Elden Ring's world filled with ancient ruins to explore and formidable foes to vanquish, but this time it's far more sprawling and expansive, allowing you to explore it either on foot or on horseback.

So far, the game's story is rather vague. All we know is that an long-existing entity or collective known as the Golden Order has been broken, setting you, the protagonist, on a journey to claim the power of the Elden Ring and become an Elden Lord in the Lands Between.

Gallery

Elden Ring is shaping up to be one of From Software's biggest games yet. When talking to GameSpot, Microsoft's Phil Spencer said, "As somebody who's played all of Miyazaki's games over at least the last decade, [Elden Ring] is clearly the most ambitious game that he's done. I mean, I love his games, but seeing some of the gameplay mechanics stuff that he's tackling, he and the team are tackling this time, of the setting, working with another creator in terms of story. I love it."

According to Miyazaki, Elden Ring will differ from Dark Souls despite such similar aesthetic and appearance, aiming to give players more options than in previous games him and his team have worked on. "We wanted to allow the player to combine these different elements to find their own strategy and even indirect approaches to combat if they wanted to," Miyazaki told IGN in a recent interview. "So yes, this is something that we wanted to explore moreso than our previous games and really focus on...this level of variety and this level of freedom in combat."

Trailers

The first Elden Ring trailer was released during E3 2019, when the game was first announced. The trailer, embedded below, utilizes imagery and themes seen in Demon's Souls and the Dark Souls trilogy--which, granted, makes a lot of sense given that From Software likes to pull from its Souls games well when designing new games.

While the first Elden Ring trailer was more of a mood piece, the second trailer finally offered a glimpse at gameplay--which debuted during Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest. The footage offers a closer look at how the game's world looks, how you'll traverse it, a bit of what the story will entail, combat, and a lot more.

Multiplayer Details

While Elden Ring can be played alone, you can also experience it with other players. The game supports cooperative play up to four players. Though, it's not clear how social From Software plans for Elden Ring to be, as no other details on multiplayer's specific limitations or conditions were offered. When it comes to the game's approach to multiplayer, what we saw in the trailer definitely aligns Elden Ring closer to the Dark Souls series than anything else.

PC System Specs

From Software hasn't yet revealed the minimum or recommended PC specs for Elden Ring.

DLC/Microtransaction Details

Developer From Software has not released any details concerning how (or even whether) Elden Ring will support post-launch content, such as DLC expansions and microtransaction-focused cosmetics.

Preorder

The PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One versions of the game are available for preorder at Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop for $60 USD. There are currently no bonuses tied to preordering the game. If you're keen to pick up a copy of the game, be sure to check out our Elden Ring preorder guide.