Japanese designer and writer Hidetaka Miyazaki has created many Soulslike games as the director of FromSoftware. With his last Soulslike game, Elden Ring, Miyazaki once again proved why he is known as a legend in the gaming community. 2022’s Elden Ring was a massive success and Miyazaki decided to take things to the next level with a DLC called Shadow of the Erdtree.
With the announcement of this DLC, fans were wondering if Elden Ring would continue to get updates in the future. However, Miyazaki has now made it clear that this will be the first and last DLC for Elden Ring. This news may upset a lot of fans but in a way, this is a positive thing as it will allow Miyazaki to work on new games. In the past, he has explained that FromSoftware follows this philosophy where they learn from their games and improve them in fresh series.
Hidetaka Miyazaki confirms that Shadow of the Erdtree will be the last DLC for Elden Ring
In a recent interview with the Chinese publication Zhihu, FromSoftware’s president, Hidetaka Miyazaki revealed that they have no plans to release more content for Elden Ring. He said (translated into English),
“[Shadow of the Erdtree] is the first and last DLC, and we have no plans to add more content to Elden Ring – Elden Ring emphasizes exploration and adventure in a big world. In order to provide such an experience, a vast and huge setting is inevitably needed. Therefore, instead of splitting it into several parts, it was better to simply make one big [expansion]. If they were sold separately, the freedom of exploration and sense of adventure would be reduced.”
Fans of the game shouldn’t feel upset as Miyazaki told IGN in March 2024 that Shadow of the Erdtree isn’t the end of the Elden Ring saga as they don’t want “to flatten” the possibilities of expanding the story in the future.
Miyazaki has also applied the same concept to the Dark Souls series.
Hidetaka Miyazaki is keen on working on new franchises
In a 2016 interview with DualShockers, Miyazaki explained the idea they follow at FromSoftware, highlighting that they can only improve the quality of their games by working on new franchises or series,
“From Software believes that all the things that we have learned in past titles can be best reflected in future titles only by working on new franchises and new series.”
As for Shadow of the Erdtree, it will be released on June 21, 2024, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. In a way, this is good news as another expansion for Elden Ring would restrict Miyazaki from experimenting with new ideas.
