Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R. R. Martin have been working together on a new dark fantasy game called EldenRing, which was announced during E3 back in 2019, much to the excitement of many players. This game can achieve great things in theory, especially considering how Miyazaki worked on both Demon Souls and the Dark Souls series, while George R. R. Martin has raw talent in writing compelling dark fantasy stories, including A Song of Ice and Fire. If there's any team out there capable of making a narratively driven game that feels both dour and epic, it's Miyazaki and Martin.
However, ever since its debut in 2019 with a very enticing trailer, Elden Ring has pretty much disappeared. Fans are hoping that the Elden Rings news drought will end at E3 2021 in June, but the game has yet to be confirmed for the show.. There are several reasons why it would be plausible for Elden Ring to feature at E3, but there also happen to be many reasons why the upcoming dark fantasy game might not actually make it. Fans are very hopeful to have some news, though, especially considering the deafening silence of FromSoftware and Miyazaki, but the well-informed Jeff Grubb begs to differ.
What Is Known About Elden Ring, Why It Could Be At E3, And Why It Could Not
According to Jeff Grubb, in fact, Elden Ring won't likely be at Xbox Showcase, which in turn means that the game is not expected to be at E3 at all. Nevertheless, Elden Ring has been in development since at least 2017, which is four years in 2021, and that is quite a long time for a game not to have anything major to show and to build upon later. For this reason alone, fans are still expecting the game to come out of the dark this E3, or at the very least, at some point towards the end of the second half of 2021.
However, conventions and other events which involve a presentation are also demanding when it comes to actual development time, and they require the team to take a moment and put some work into which assets to use, what to show, how to put it all together, and such. This is by no means an easy feat, and it also means that Elden Ring would need to be in a good state now to do this, but then there are lots of variables to consider. One of them is that so far very little actual footage for Elden Ring has been shown and that mostly includes characters and enemies, with a minimal focus on weapons, and close to nothing in terms of what the game actually looks like nor what it is about.
What is known is that Elden Ring is conceived as a game that's set to expand on the classic gameplay features of Dark Souls games. It's supposed to be a third-person RPG open-world experience, with a focus on its RPG elements that won't overshadow FromSoftware's expertise with making memorable fights and bosses, allowing players to create and control their own character with a unique combination of skills. Elden Ring will be a colossal game, and apparently, it's set to be FromSoftware's biggest project yet.
When Fans Should Expect News About Elden Ring, And Its Possible Release Window
With this in mind, it's easy to see how the developers may be struggling to deliver new content for a new convention even after four years, and that's because Elden Ring is an ambitious title. With the recent events of some games releasing unfinished or having rocky launches, issues, and game-breaking glitches, some developers may have started to play it safer with their products, and not rush things for the sake of it. Furthermore, it's important to note that development on Elden Ring started back when next-gen consoles were not a thing yet, meaning that there may be issues with the old systems or the port to the new consoles. If this cross-generational development is indeed proving to be problematic, then it would be plausible to try and delay news on Elden Ring and show more footage because of these limitations. However, all of this is just speculation at this time.
There is still hope for Elden Ring to be at E3 though, and a beneficial factor for this to happen would be the virtual format of this year's convention, which wouldn't impose on the developers to fly over to the United States. Still, even if Elden Ring won't be at E3, there are other opportunities for the new IP to share some content and pieces of information with fans over the course of the year.
Some will argue that E3 is the perfect time to show EldenRing's progress, and that's true, but there is also PAX coming later in 2021. Also, FromSoftware could release more bits of news on its own, or maybe even holding a live virtual event to showcase what's what, much like The Pokemon Company does. It's not uncommon for gaming companies to do something like this, and a good time for FromSoftware to do it would be around November or December, especially if Elden Ring is going to be released in 2022. This approach would grant FromSoftware the chance to have a great window for players to pre-order the game in time for the holidays. However, fans shouldn't lose their hope about this year's E3, as there could be last-minute announcements to come, and the convention is still a month away from now.
EldenRing is in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
