As the hype for leaked Elden Ring gameplay trailer made headlines. Elden Ring was announced at E3 in 2019 and has had no official news since then.
There was allegedly more information on the game coming soon, but the aforementioned leak may have canceled a March Elden Ring showcase. The radio silence from FromSoftware is a bit strange, since their previous two new IPs had relatively quick turnaround from announcement to release. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was announced in December 2017 and released in March 2019; Bloodborne had an even shorter turnaround, being revealed in June 2014 and coming out the following March.
Long waits for video games aren't unheard of – in fact, quite the opposite. Bethesda revealed that the studio was working on The Elder Scrolls VI at E3 2018, and that game has also had no more information. Bethesda has done a good job tempering expectations though, making sure fans are aware that Bethesda's next release, Starfield, has priority over TES VI. However, some players are likely justifiably worried about the possibility of Elden Ring following in the footsteps of Cyberpunk 2077.
Will Elden Ring Drop The Ball Like Cyberpunk 2077?
The timeline of Elden Ring's anticipation is certainly incomparable to that of Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt Red announced Cyberpunk an astounding eight years before it finally released. Cyberpunk's widely criticized release came after a series of delays, which should have been an indication of the bug-riddled game that was about to release. Even so, the hype never died down, the game was nearly unplayable on older hardware, and the once sterling reputation of CD Projekt Red may have been irreparably soured.
It is not inconceivable that a similar scenario could happen to FromSoftware if the release of Elden Ring is not handled well. The key difference between the two may be FromSoftware's complete lack of communication. Although it can be infuriating right now knowing there is at least some form of the game that could be shown to fans, the eagerness with which CD Projekt Red released trailers in the years leading up to Cyberpunk 2077's release built a mountain of promises that eventually crumbled.
The lack of new information on Elden Ring is almost certainly playing into FromSoftware's hand. The only details known for sure are that the game is seeing a return to dark fantasy, it is going to be open world, and that Dark Souls with a much larger map – which is exactly what's been promised so far.
Many fans had put faith in CD Projekt Red since the studio's previous game was the beloved The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The Polish developer's good will and exciting future with Cyberpunk even led the company to significant European stock market growth. In hindsight, it seems incredibly naive to have assumed Cyberpunk 2077 would be a resounding success, given that the first two Witcher games were niche hits compared to Wild Hunt.
In of track record, FromSoftware is a much safer bet to deliver a successful new IP. In the last decade it has released five critically acclaimed games in the action-RPG genre, all being commercially successful despite their reputation of being incredibly difficult games. While Elden Ring appears to be FromSoftware's most ambitious title yet, introducing an open world to the Souls sub-genre seems like a manageable evolution of the studio's formula.
Elden Ring's Long Wait May Have Been Unintentional
FromSoftware's aforementioned quick turnarounds from announcement to release make Elden Ring's situation all the more curious. It is entirely plausible that Elden Ring was originally intended to be released by now – or at least have its release date announced – and has become yet another victim of pandemic delays. People around the globe being forced to work from home or stop production entirely has affected the whole industry, from slowed game development to low PS5 and Series X|S stock.
According to FromSoftware's website, the Japanese company only has 316 employees as of July 2020. Such a small team, only part of which would be involved in actual development, must require incredibly close coordination to repeatedly release games of such quality. Perhaps FromSoftware has taken the industry-wide expectation of delays and used it as an opportunity to work at a pace conducive to delivering the best possible version of Elden Ring. If the studio's previous release schedules are anything to go by, FromSoftware probably didn't intend to leave fans on the edge of their proverbial seats by dropping a reveal trailer and then disappearing for over a year.
The hype may be growing while FromSoftware remains tight-lipped, but the studio is no doubt aware of the fallout from CD Projekt Red's pre-release inundation of information. If FromSoftware remains mum until closer to release, the Elden Ring developer has a much better chance at tempering expectations. Until then, fans only have their imaginations to get them hyped. While the constant rumblings of new Elden Ring info arriving soon builds hype on its own, it is a different sort of hype than that generated by grandiose marketing campaigns trying to sell gamers the next big thing. Fans just want to get a look at what Elden Ring actually is.
It is within the realm of possibility that Elden Ring will be a complete and utter disaster, unworthy of the amount of excitement it has already generated, but that seems unlikely. Elden Ring's odd retreat from the spotlight after its big reveal is more than likely an unfortunate result of circumstance. A global health crisis and a colossally mismanaged game release have drastically altered the video game development landscape in a very short time. Elden Ring was probably greatly affected by both situations, and the resulting mystique that surrounds the game has created its own recursive hype train.
Sources: FromSoftware
