Prior to the release of Elden Ring, the Dark Souls series, comprised of Dark Souls, Dark Souls II, Dark Souls III, and all of its associated DLC and subsequent re-releases and remasters, amounted to an astonishing 27 million units, as well as perhaps being the most influential of the last decade. Elden Ring alone has now surpassed all that, with a boost from Shadow of the Erdtree, and that is precisely why the recently revealed, more compact Elden Ring: Nightreign is coming in 2025.
Niko Partners' director of research and insights, Daniel Ahmad, revealed the fun fact on X, referring to Bandai Namco's confirmation that Elden Ring had sold over 28.6 million copies as of September 2024. This shows an increase of 3.6 million units over the numbers reported in June, with Shadow of the Erdtree launching on the 21st of that month.