Elden Ring DLC trailer live coverage - All the details on Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Let's build our hype levels even more by circling back about what we know of Shadow of the Erdtree so far shall we?

The big one to start with is that the DLC release date is possibly out there among the interwebs. We've written all about that if you'd like to know more, though you may want to swerve your typical online haunts until the trailer drops if you want to go in spoiler-free. 

FromSoftware has remained shtum over what Elden Ring's second serving of DLC contains, but fans of the developer are here to reassure you it'll be epic. Looking at Dark Souls' Artorias of the Abyss expansion, Dark Souls 3's The Ringed City DLC, and Bloodborne's superb The Old Hunters offering, who am I to disagree?

While FromSoftware has offered the occasional update, Elden Ring fans have stepped in to do some detective work to ease the wait. Looking at the odd developer CV suggests that Shadow of the Erdtree began development not long after the open-world RPG was released two years ago. The likes of SteamDB has been invaluable to internet sleuths since, with excitement building at the turn of the year with Elden Ring's DLC portion on Steam getting a mysterious update for the first time in two years. Excitement over a Shadow of the Edtree update has only gotten louder.

Still, the promise of new content will likely be welcome to Elden Ring's myriad professional gamers. We've seen challenge runs cover horse-only, bow-only, no arrows, just mounted attacks, and, frankly, I was just happy to complete the dang game.

If you're wondering how FromSoftware has threaded the needle with Elden Ring, it appears the developer doesn't have many answers. Producer Yasuhiro Kitao has "no idea why it's selling so well" but won't let sales change how the team makes games. A good thing, we think.

Shuffle in, gang - the trailer is nearly here and the timer is on.

And there you have it! Just as the leak suggested, we're getting Shadows of the Erdtree on June 21. That's four months away, but dare we say it'll likely be worth it.

If you fancy picking the DLC up, it'll set you back $39.99 / £34.99. That's roughly two-thirds the price of the RPG itself, though the trailer gives us hope we'll get all the content to match.

You may want to look away, FromSoft faithful, as I do believe we have a swamp on our hands!

Thinking on the Elden Ring DLC price, Austin reckons FromSoftware calling this one an expansion rather than a DLC is a good sign of just how big it will be. 

"One big question is whether this expansion will feature an all-new map – as there are clearly many new areas – or perhaps a different era of the Lands Between, with new content woven in via time travel shenanigans or some other lore nugget," he says. "I'm also wondering if that $40 price matches the scope of the content one-to-one – that is to say, will Shadows of the Erdtree deliver 66% more Elden Ring? We can only hope."

If we're forking out $39.99, I certainly hope so, too.

Here's the one you've been waiting for, gang. If you've got more money to burn, the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Collector's Edition is $250 and comes with, yes, 18 inches of Messmer.

Hidetaka Miyazaki is doing the media rounds to share more information on Elden Ring's big DLC. Shadow of the Erdtree is introducing a whole new map called the Land of Shadow, and you can expect it to be as big a Limgrave at the least.

"It's a brand new map separate from the Lands Between," he tells IGN. "It is a land that is overshadowed by the particular Shadow of the Erdtree as opposed to the Erdtree in the Lands Between. And it takes place, again, on an entirely separate, physically separate map. So it will involve a warp of sorts to get there.

"In terms of setting and themes, it technically occupies the same space as the Lands Between, the same universe. But due to something story related that we won't reveal today, this has become physically disconnected, and you'll travel to the Shadow of the Erdtree land as a separate place. So this Land of Shadow itself is a place the player will visit to walk in the steps of Miquella." 

Put on your surprised face, because there's a poison swamp in the Land of Shadow. Shadow of the Erdtree's new map continues a famous FromSoftware tradition: director Hidetaka Miyazaki absolutely covering players in poison mud. Speaking with Eurogamer, Miyazaki says he only recently realized that he really likes making poisoned swamps, so this DLC was actually a "little place of introspection and reflection for me" on that front. I, myself, can already see my reflection in the stagnant, mosquito-infested waters of FromSoftware's latest swamp, and I hate it.  

Fancy a challenge? Deep into NG+4 of Elden Ring and desperate for some real danger? Feeling invincible at level 300? Well, for hardcore players out there, director Hidetaka Miyazaki says Shadow of the Erdtree contains optional bosses that are on the same level as Malenia, handily the most difficult boss fight in the base game. 

"We want to create a challenging experience that tests the players and that gives them a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when they get through these struggles," Miyazaki said. 

What comes after Shadow of the Erdtree? More DLC? Elden Ring 2, dare we dream? Well, no, but also maybe. "We don't have any current plans to make a second DLC or a sequel, but we definitely don't want to snuff out that possibility," Miyazaki said of the IP's future. "We think that there could well be something the future."

We've rounded up all the weapons and spells revealed in this trailer and rated them very seriously based on how cool and/or dumb they look. Personally, I'm all in on the Really Big Pot.