GAME · 2022
Elden Ring
- Developer
- FromSoftware
- Publisher
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, FromSoftware
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S
14 archived facts 1 topic 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
All facts (14)
- #001
Elden Ring was conceived by director Hidetaka Miyazaki as a mechanical evolution of the Dark Souls series, which is noted for its high difficulty.
- #002
Elden Ring was designed with a more expansive environment than the narrow dungeons of FromSoftware's earlier games, a choice Miyazaki hoped would add freedom and depth to exploration.
- #003
Hidetaka Miyazaki, a fan of George R. R. Martin's work, hoped Martin's contributions would produce a more accessible narrative than those of FromSoftware's earlier games.
- #004
Miyazaki compared the collaborative writing process on Elden Ring to using a dungeon master's handbook in a tabletop role-playing game.
- #005
As with many earlier FromSoftware titles, Elden Ring's story was designed to be scantily explained, with the developers intending players to interpret it themselves through flavor text and optional NPC discussions.
- #006
In an interview with IGN, Miyazaki said he gave Martin control over Elden Ring's backstory because FromSoftware's storytelling method restricted writers, and the studio did not want a linear or story-focused game.
- #007
Development of Elden Ring started in early 2017, after the release of The Ringed City, a piece of downloadable content for Dark Souls III.
- #008
Elden Ring was made at the same time as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, with both games using a co-director structure in which a staff member led each through its first stages of development before Miyazaki provided direction on mechanics, art and music.
- #009
Yui Tanimura, previously a director of Dark Souls II and co-director of Dark Souls III, served as co-director on Elden Ring.
- #010
Miyazaki cited Shadow of the Colossus, The Elder Scrolls, The Witcher 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as design influences on Elden Ring, and named the tabletop role-playing game RuneQuest along with the novels The Lord of the Rings and The Eternal Champion as inspirations for its story.
- #011
Elden Ring was revealed at E3 2019 in June, after some information about the game had leaked online through a vulnerability in Bandai Namco Entertainment's servers.
- #012
Elden Ring drew wide anticipation when it was announced, but no further material appeared until a trailer in June 2021. Bandai Namco facilitated playtesting, initially releasing the game as a closed beta in November 2021 that players could sign up to test.
- #013
Elden Ring's full release was set for January 21, 2022, then postponed to February 25 of the same year. At launch the game had performance issues, with players complaining of an insufficient frame rate, and Bandai Namco addressed some of these problems through software patches and updates.
- #014
The downloadable content expansion Shadow of the Erdtree was announced in February 2023 and released on June 20, 2024. A Nintendo Switch 2 version, Elden Ring Tarnished Edition, followed on August 28, 2026, adding two new classes and cosmetics for Torrent, which are also available on other platforms as paid downloadable content.
Sources & editorial notes
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia Elden Ring — Wikipedia
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work