FromSoftware has had plenty of popular IPs over the years, a handful of which have remained prevalent thanks to sequels. FromSoft’s debut IP, 1994’s King’s Field, managed to stay relevant for the best part of a decade, Armored Core has stayed alive for over 25 years now, and the Dark Souls trilogy remained in the spotlight for five years, all thanks to sequels. But Elden Ring has taken a slightly different approach.
It’s been almost three years since Elden Ring first hit store shelves, and it’s still being avidly talked about. But unlike past FromSoftware IP, that’s not because Elden Ring has received any sequels. Instead, Elden Ring has kept the conversation alive by delivering a large-scale expansion and announcing an upcoming multiplayer spin-off, a formula that future FromSoftware IPs might want to learn from.
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Elden Ring Has Paved The Way for Future FromSoftware IP
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Lays The Groundwork for Future FromSoftware Expansions
DLCs are nothing new for FromSoftware games, with the Dark Souls trilogy having plenty of great post-launch additions that kept their respective games in the zeitgeist for at least a year after their initial debut. But Elden Ring‘s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion set a new standard for FromSoft DLCs.
With an all-new, vast open-world to explore, over 80 brand new boss fights, eight new weapon classes, and a bevy of new questlines, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree felt like a sort of half-sequel to the original 2022 game. Naturally, the hype surrounding this gigantic expansion breathed new life into Elden Ring over two years after its release, and the sheer volume of content on offer will likely keep the game in the public consciousness for years to come.
Though Shadow of the Erdtree took at least two years to develop, that’s likely less time than it would have taken to produce a fully-fledged sequel to Elden Ring, with FromSoftware being able to reuse assets and the base game’s structural core for the expansion. Releasing a large-scale expansion like Shadow of the Erdtree could be a great option for future FromSoftware IPs that might not warrant a fully-fledged sequel, but are still popular enough to receive a second wind.
Elden Ring Nightreign Lays The Groundwork for Future FromSoftware Spin-offs
FromSoftware is also keeping the Elden Ring IP alive for the foreseeable future by producing Elden Ring Nightreign, an upcoming 3-player co-op roguelike that’s designed to be highly replayable. Though it still needs to be seen if this bold experiment will pay off, Elden Ring Nightreign‘s general existence shows that there are more unique ways to continue an IP than just delivering sequels or expansions.
So many past FromSoftware IPs have come and gone after just one entry, despite them being incredibly popular and still having a ton of untapped potential. Bloodborne and Sekiro are two obvious examples of this. While the former received a lauded DLC, it feels as though both IPs still have so much to offer, and that potential might have been realized if they followed Elden Ring‘s post-launch approach.
- Released
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February 25, 2022
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence