The Game Awards have come and gone, again without mention of Shadow of the Erdtree, developer FromSoftware's eagerly anticipated Elden Ring DLC (despite some of the community's more arcane efforts). But now we might better understand when we could expect to return to The Lands Between, at least, if a gaudy third-party controller is anything to go by.
Spotted by Redditors and salvaged after precious posts were taken down, gaming retail website DataBlitz briefly hosted an extremely informative page dedicated to a Bandai Namco x Thrustmaster collaboration. Swiftly removed, the internet never forgets, and so we know that a series of debatably aesthetic "ESWAP X II Pro Elden Ring Limited Edition" Xbox controllers are in the works (or at least they were in October) and have a tentative release date of February 2024.
More relevant to our purview is the advertised ability to "sync with new 'Shadow of the Erdtree' expansion release", which would suggest Bandai Namco is (or was) planning something a release in about nine weeks. February 25th marks the second anniversary of the game's release and fits that timeline.
Intriguingly, additional controllers themed around Shardbearers Malenia and Ranni were teased for "year two of collaboration (2025)", with "release to be synchronised with 2025 Elden Ring major keybeat or new game expansion". As exciting as the prospect of another Elden Ring expansion might be, as Eurogamer's Matt Wales points out, this could just as easily refer to a complete edition bundle packaging the base game and Shadow of the Erdtree.
What do you think of the Bandai Namco x Thrustmaster collab? It looks legit, but the information is outdated at the very least, and plans can always change. Compare controllers in the comments section below.
[source webcache.googleusercontent.com, via eurogamer.net]
Comments 14
Please not February. There's not enough time in the day.
Jesus another release for Feb 😓 What is it with making Feb one of the biggest gaming months now? 😂
Welp that's another ridiculous month for gaming
why it says 2025 in the article?
That controller looks OK. I've seen far worse designs in the past. Bring on the expansion as I could do with more elden ring goodness..
Elden Ring utterly devoured my life when it came out. Stayed up way too late on work nights, ignored life responsibilities, didn’t know how to act in public around those who weren’t playing it, fought tooth and nail to conquer beasts….
Then one day I beat it…
I need more of that in my life. Give me more content!!!!!
@get2sammyb
…but we do get an extra day in February this year, just to play Elden Ring!
The controller itself looks very well... if only Thrustmaster would fix the original Eswap X Pro's problems too, and not limit the changes to aesthetics only... those back buttons are uncomfortable to press, they should be wider or use paddles instead... and the bumper buttons are noisy, even for mechanical switches, they should use different parts... etc.
As for the DLC itself, they have a ton of expectations to meet given the huge success of the main game, here's hoping they're able to at least duplicate Bloodborne's The Old Hunters DLC in terms of quality.
Also - if the rumor mentioned here is true, new content or expansion in 2025 too, then it seems that instead of a sequel for Elden Ring, they are expanding it through DLC's. Not a bad idea, as long as the offered content is top notch.
If Elden Ring is here to stay for a few more years, I do hope though that From has another team working on a new or different Soulsborne type game in parallel - I'm very curious to see what they'll come up with next.
Black and gold, huh? Well... I like it! 👍
Bring it on!! Ready to dive back in
@get2sammyb Didn't get the memo? February is the new Sept, Oct, Nov rolled into one
February seems ridiculous, with FFVII Rebirth landing on 2/29.
I don't get it, why are they talking about "two years of collaboration" and then "2025"?
What’s with February? I mean I know the fiscal year ends in March but these Japanese publishers are forgetting we have jobs and families 😅
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