Bandai Namco has announced that Elden Ring, FromSoftware’s collaboration with George RR Martin and Game of the year 2022 by a long shot (opens in new tab), has sold over 20 million copies in less than a year. The game was released on February 25, 2022, to near-universal praise and acclaim, a sentiment shared on Steam where just under half a million user reviews (opens in new tab) sum to “very positive”.
The news was announced in a tweet from the official account along with a press release, which describes the game as allowing players to “enjoy highly flexible adventures in a massive world with a variety of situations.” I mean, I guess if having giant monsters repeatedly fall is too versatile, then that’s accurate.
The liberation (opens in new tab) also points out some of the Game of the Year awards Elden Ring has received, before adding a line that more or less confirms DLC and/or a sequel is on the way: “The companies would like to thank everyone who played this game from the bottom of their hearts, and will continue to develop various ways for fans to enjoy the world of Elden Ring in the future.”
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support and companionship on this journey. #ELDENRING pic.twitter.com/S8eqiNk0UvFebruary 22, 2023
Elden Ring is a pretty good game, even if it sticks to the established Souls formula a lot more than expected: Even PCG’s resident grumbler Andy Chalk thought it would be rubbish before he found it taking over his life . (opens in new tab). And figures like these really show what Fromsoft has built. Bandai Namco announced in March of last year that the Dark Souls series, three games in total, had sold a total of 33.4 million, while Sony’s recent remake of Demon’s Souls (the game that started the series) had sold 1.4 million according to the latest official figures. (September 2021). 20 million in a year in this context is extraordinary.
And hey, Fromsoft, want to boost this stuff even more? Bloodborne PC. I am just saying…
Elden Ring fans are now awaiting what looks like an inevitable DLC announcement, though some are undoubtedly taking things too far (opens in new tab). There has also been the odd sight recently of more players finishing the game with Ranni’s ending (opens in new tab), requiring you to deviate somewhat from the more usual in-game path. On PC at least there’s no shortage of things you can do thanks to modders, the most notable recent example being a mod that lets you fly around the Lands Between on a broomstick pretending to be Harry Potter (opens in new tab).