Bad News Might Be On The Way For Elden Ring Fans

When Elden Ring, a collaboration between FromSoftware and legendary Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, was announced in 2019, fans of both fantasy masters went wild. However, that anticipation has been dulled slightly by an overall lack of further news, coupled with newer rumors that the game is experiencing delays.

Hints towards these possible delays come from fans digging through posts from ResetEra forum user Taepoppuri, who has leaked accurate information in the past. It turns out that the account has steadily been dropping hints that the game is delayed, including one that dates back to April, claiming that the game's release window is being pushed back two to three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite a lack of official news from FromSoftware, Elden Ring has caught fans' attention lately because of a rumored upcoming reveal at The Game Awards on Dec. 10. While that source, the XboxEra Podcast, has made some errors about Elden Ring reveals in the past, it may be inspiring fans to search through hints dropped by confirmed sources such as Taepoppuri.

Another post that has been uncovered was one that Taepoppuri posted in October in response to a poll asking which upcoming games would hit a 2021 release date. To that, Taepoppuri responded "Absolutely Elden Ring," with an emoji, a positive sign for fans worried that the lack of information might mean the game would take even longer, like until 2022.

However, there is also another ominous post in which Taepoppuri describes the months-long setbacks the team was accommodating for due to COVID-19 disruptions. So what does this mean for when fans can expect Elden Ring to be available?

Taking a look at FromSoftware's release history gives fans some clues. Ever since 2014, when Dark Souls II came out on March 11, every major game from the company has been launched in the spring, and generally in March. That includes Dark Souls 3, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. If FromSoftware was planning on sticking to that schedule, then a summer release might be now more realistic, allowing for the rumored two to three-month delay.

Unfortunately, it hard to set any firm expectations without more information from the developers. Fans will, for the moment, just have to be patient, trust in the positive expectations from Xbox head Phil Spencer, and maybe tune into The Game Awards on Dec. 10 for a chance to find out more.