The Next Chapter for Elden Ring: DLC Hype, Sequel Rumors and the Community's Burning Questions
If nothing else, let me be crystal clear about one thing: Elden Ring is not a game — it's a cultural earthquake. Since its 2022 release, FromSoftware's latest open-world masterpiece has altered the way players approach RPGs, combining brutal difficulty with a world so grand that it makes Skyrim feel quaintly small. Skip ahead to 2025, and the hype isn't diminishing — it's exploding. Reddit threads buzz daily with secret lore, Discord servers proliferate with boss fight strategy arguments and Twitch streams of players rage-quit to Malenia still rack up millions of views. And yet now, the burning question on the lips of every Tarnished: What now?”
The Unkillable Legacy
Elden Ring didn't just sell 20 million copies — it rearranged gamers' brains. The hand-holding tutorials or glowing quest markers are gone. This was a title that left you abandoned in the Lands Between and said, “Good luck.” And they did, spending a collective 2.8 billion hours (Steam, 2024) mapping every crypt, parsing every oblique N.P.C. dialogue, achieving “no-hit” playthroughs against bosses like Radahn.
The magic? From Software's trademark harshness, with freedom never before seen. Want to evade at Stormveil Castle and shave straight to the capital? Go for it. Would fucking grind smithing stones for 50 hours rather then fight margit? Be our guest. Or like the streamer LobosJr said: “It's as if Dark Souls had a baby with Breath of the Wild — and that baby grew up to out bully us all.”
But the secret brilliance of Elden Ring lies in its narrative. No lore delivered like an infant — only clues tucked away in the world, in item descriptions and in so outlandish fan theories they could power a Netflix series. (We're looking at you, “Miquella is St. Trina” truthers.)
DLC: Shadow of the Erdtree, Etc.
In January 2024, FromSoft broke Twitter with a teaser: Shadow of the Erdtree, the first real DLC for the game. Leaks suggest it will center on the Gloam-Eyed Queen's empire — a realm of rotting coliseums and dragon cults hidden away beneath the roots of the Erdtree. Además, los dataminers también encontraron assets inactivos que hacen suponer que:
New weapon class: Scythes that leech enemy HP
New look: Some vicious looking armor for Torrent, and wings?
Bosses: There is a “Rotting Serpent King” mentioned as well, although that's split into three phases.
But that's not just fan service. FromSoft's DLCs (Artorias of the Abyss, The Old Hunters) are legendary for upping the pain—and Shadow is set to top them. The final boss seemingly requires you to parry while on Torrent. Good luck, Tarnished.
Sequel Speculation: Balancing Act with Miyazaki
Hidetaka Miyazaki, FromSoft's genius director, is coy about sequels. We prefer to leave worlds intact… but never say never,” was how he responded in an Edge 2024 interview when Elden Ring 2 came up — and he smiled.
The numbers beg for a sequel. Elden Ring, at 1.2billioninitsfirstyear∗∗(SuperData), plus another∗∗300 millionformerchandiseand novelisation start (Hooray. But the Miyazaki crew revels in surprise. Would a follow-up venture to the Lands Between once more, or to an entirely new world?
Insiders guess at a prequel chronicling Queen Marika's rise — a Game of Thrones-like tale of betrayal and fracturing of the Elden Ring itself. Others theorized a Bloodborne-style cosmic horror thing. Either way, high stakes: 73 percent of players asked in a 2025 IGN poll are demanding a sequel, but 41 percent fear it'll “lose the magic.”
Community Led Conversations: What it is that Players Actually Want
Of the Elden Ring subreddit (2.4 million and counting members), a wish list battleground:
Co-Op That Doesn't Suck
The current multiplayer set-up — summon signs, invasions, password-matching — feels antiquated. Players beg for:
PC: Dedicated servers put an end to the “Unable to summon cooperator” (or very similar wording) messages
Shared progress: Let squads traverse whole realms in unison
PvP arenas: [Insert masochist arena rank leaderboards of Let Me Solo Her clones]
True Role-Playing
After Level 50, Elden Ring's class system is a meme. Fans want:
Decisions with consequences: To ally with the Frenzied Flame or not? Lock out certain endings
Faction Wars: Make the Roundtable Hold feel like the Skyrim Civil War
Romance options: Sorry, Ranni simps — Miyazaki will never allow you to marry a doll
Giving Up Nothing for Access
The debate over “easy mode” rages on. Purists will say difficulty is what makes the experience, but disabled gamers have modded in features including:
Auto-dodge timers
Toggle enemy auras Color blind
Ambient Lore Whispers (Para text channel)
It's uncharacteristically tight-lipped from FromSoft, but the pressure is on.
The Modding Revolution
Elden Ring is in for an eternity of fan mods. Highlights include:
The (Entirely Rebounced) Convergence Mod: 18 new classes (Necromancer FTW) and reworked magic
Randomizer: Shuffle up all bosses — imagine Radahn fought in a cave, or the Tibia Mariner as your final opponent
First-Person View: Nothing is more horrifying than getting an up-close look at Maliketh's fangs
Tips N' Tricks: Foundation of a Upgraded Combat System Some mods get to catch the eye of FromSoft According to the developers, Shadow of the Erdtree's revamped multiplayer was in part inspired by the Seamless Co-Op mod (on PC, this has 2 million downloads).
What's Next? Miyazaki's Endgame
It's now up to FromSoft to bat. Shadow of the Erdtree could cement Elden Ring as this generation's Ocarina of Time — or crumble under impossible expectations. Regardless, the community's fixation is not fading. “You can't finish Elden Ring,” as the YouTube lore sleuth VaatiVidya put it. It's a world you live in.”
So get out there, Tarnished; take your flask. The DLC arrives — er, a little later and, in the tradition of the way Miyazaki toils, you're going to have to die a whole heck of a lot.