Elden Ring 2 after Shadow of the Erdtree? Hidetaka Miyazaki says "we don't have any current plans to make a second DLC or a sequel," but the "possibility" is there

Legions of Elden Ring fans have been scouring The Lands Between in recent weeks ever since director Hidetaka Miyazaki let slip that something (secret, reference, or otherwise) remained to be unearthed. A newly discovered link between a shield in the base game and enemies in the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree expansion has been found and may indeed be that missing link.

Elden Ring’s upcoming expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, is out this Summer and adds a new world, the Land of Shadow, complete with new enemies, over ten bosses and much more. It doesn’t affect the outcome of the base game (and vice versa), but you need to play a fairly significant amount to even access the expansion.

While players have scoured and stained every inch of the Lands Between in the two years since Elden Ring launched, they might not have uncovered every secret just yet. With a June release now confirmed for Shadow Of The Erdtree, the long-awaited expansion, director Hidetaka Miyazaki has now hinted that we Tarnished may have missed something. One small secret may yet remain, assuming he's not pulling another prank, or maybe not. Honestly, Miyazaki should say it has hundreds of undiscovered things. Keep everyone guessing. Communal Internet knowledge has ruined the mystique of video games.

Renowned Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki recently spoke about the future of the Dark Souls franchise, suggesting he is open to «delegating» the directorial position to others. Since the debut of Demon's Souls in 2009, the Souls franchise has grown into one of the most recognizable brands within gaming, defining a genre that became known as "Souls-like" games. The franchise has made developer FromSoftware into a household name, recently winning Game of the Year in 2022 for the highly-anticipated Elden Ring. Now, Miyazaki could be looking to take a step back from the franchise.

FromSoftware's frequent director Hidetaka Miyazaki has acknowledged his 'making poisonous swamps' addiction, and although the upcoming Elden Ring DLC was a moment of "introspection" for the developer, he's not stopping any time soon. 

Elden Ring's director says both himself and FromSoftware at large don't feel pressured by other games in the 'Souls-like' genre.

From Software president Hidetaka Miyazaki has acknowledged that members of the Dark Souls studio had misgivings about Elden Ring's shift to a full-blown open world format, while qualifying that Elden Ring's vision for an open world was never "traditional". Rather, Elden Ring is an "open world" game in the same way that Dark Souls is a "hard" game, Miyazaki feels. Confused? Well, this is the godfather of the notoriously unforthcoming Souls series we're talking about. I've never interviewed the guy, but I suspect he composes his responses using the game's soapstone messaging system.

FromSoftware is changing its approach to level design with Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

The Souls games, or whatever umbrella you want to put all of FromSoftware's action RPGs under, collectively redefined an entire genre and literally defined a new one in the form of Soulslikes. So it is immensely amusing to hear creative director and studio boss Hidetaka Miyazaki describe this success, in an interview with Eurogamer, as: "Players seem to enjoy our games."

Two years after Elden Ring was released, we finally got our first look at the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. From cryptic teases to ghastly enemies, it had it all, and it sounds like there will still be some challenges in store for those seeking more of them.

2022's Game of the Year, Elden Ring, has surpassed yet another impressive milestone of 23 million copies sold. This comes just one day after the full reveal trailer of Elden Ring's hotly anticipated Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, which already sits at over six million views on Bandai Namco's YouTube channel. The thrilling trailer showcases parts of the new Land of Shadow area, as well as some of the fearsome new bosses players will face off against, causing a swell of excitement and hype among fans online.

A rough notion of the size of the map in the DLC for has been revealed, hinting at how much players will have to explore once the extra content is made available later this year. The DLC was announced back in February 2023, around a year after the base game’s successful launch in 2022. At the time, the expansion was revealed along with some key art, featuring a blonde character mounted on a Spirit Steed with a darkened Erdtree in the distance. Little else was known about the highly awaited DLC following the announcement.