Elden Ring DLC Announced Randomly In The Middle Of The Night

It's time for all Tarnished to rise – a new "Elden Ring" DLC is officially in development. The announcement came in the middle of the night for North Americans – though it was still working hours in Japan, the home of developer FromSoftware. In a brief tweet, the official "Elden Ring" account shared that a DLC called "Shadow of the Erdtree" was in development, but did not offer any additional details in the way of a release date or content.

Rise, Tarnished, and let us walk a new path together.
An upcoming expansion for #ELDENRING Shadow of the Erdtree, is currently in development.
We hope you look forward to new adventures in the Lands Between. pic.twitter.com/cjJYijM7Mw

— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) February 28, 2023

The tweet also shared some accompanying artwork, which shows a character on a horse looking out across a barren field, eyes trained towards the towering – and rather sickly – Erdtree. While the announcement didn't provide details about who this character could be or what the story of the DLC will reveal, fans already have theories about who will be the main focus of the new content. After all, they've had an entire year to speculate about what sort of DLC could emerge.

Some gamers believe that the character on the horse is none other than Miquella, who is mentioned throughout the base game but slumbering in a cocoon once the story begins. Miquella is eternally young and beautiful, with long flowing hair, but he wanted desperately to become an adult in order to save his sister from the rot that consumed her.

The mythology of "Elden Ring" and the Lands Between is deep, full of historical events and characters only hinted at in the original title. Miquella's journey from hero to egg and back again is something that players have wondered about since "Elden Ring" was released, as his slumbering egg actually appears during a difficult boss battle. Players can find Miquella's egg in the background of Mohg's fight, looming in the background with one desiccated arm reaching out of a large crack. Players pushing beyond the bounds of the game discovered Miquella's wrinkled body sleeps soundly inside the egg, sparking speculation that he might be the focus of future DLC.

After seeing the egg, some gamers thought they'd figured out the topic of future DLC. Some gamers wondered if Miquella's egg might serve as a portal or time gate, shunting the Tarnished into another time to experience history. The teaser art for "Shadow of the Erdtree" only adds fire to that theory, and many gamers hope they'll be able to learn more about Miquella and return to the Lands Between sooner rather than later.