Elden Ring DLC publisher tells fans to "treat yourself to 18 inches of Messmer the Impaler," manifesting memes straight from Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

In a move that's sure to be familiar to all you Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth fans, Bandai Namco is telling Elden Ring fans to "treat" themselves to 18 inches of Messmer the Impaler by picking up the Shadow of the Erdtree Collector's Edition. Quiet in the back, now.

To explain this filth a little bit, Elden Ring DLC developer FromSoftwhere showcased the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion earlier this year, going on to showcase the Collector's Edition afterward. So far, so marketing. As is standard, though, the bundle includes a character statue. In this case, that's Messmer the Impaler. Who has a statue that's 18 inches tall. That's it. 

We've still got a while to go to Shadow of the Erdtree, so Bandai Namco is likely tweeting the odd promotion to boost sales. What's caught fans off guard this time, though, is the wording. 

The tweet reads, "Treat yourself to 18 inches of Messmer the Impaler and more with the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Collector's Edition."

I'd usually share a selection of replies, but frankly many of them are not safe for work – not safe for life, even. Imagine a slew of people gasping and others coming to terms with what's on offer quicker than most, and you're there.

If this all sounds familiar, then you'll likely have been unlucky enough to be near social media around the marketing cycles of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. The former set everyone's favorite new marketing ploy in motion by telling fans to, yes, treat themselves to 19 inches of Venom. It's hard to say if Square Enix wanted in on that, but they didn't get a choice with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, as everyone had the same reaction to learning the RPG's collector's edition had a 19-inch Sephiroth statue. 

Elden Ring's DLC can only be reached from a very specific late-game location – 13 years later, is this signature FromSoftware access method still practical?