There's a shortlist of games widely anticipated for E3 2021, and Elden Ring has to be near the top. The FromSoftware title was originally revealed at E3 2019, and two years on the developer has said and shown very little, to the point that leaks have actually become more informative. Barring disaster, that balance is probably about to shift.
What is confirmed is that the creation of Elden Ring's lore involved a collaboration between Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki and A Song of Ice and Fire writer George R.R. Martin. The setting won't likely be a heavily populated one, as much of the world will be dominated by ruins, but Martin's involvement is said to revolve around background lore rather than the game's plot and dialogue. The game is built in the Soulslike mold but set on a larger scale. Players will be able to create their own characters and explore an open world, taking part in activities like riding and fighting on horseback.
Publisher Bandai-Namco is already confirmed as an E3 partner, which means it will have something to say at the show with or without Elden Ring. However, there's really nothing larger in its portfolio, so it would be shocking if its flagship E3 game was Scarlet Nexus or The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes. Given this fact, in addition to over four years of development, E3 viewers can expect not just more details about Elden Ring, but possibly a substantial amount of gameplay footage. It's possible that journalists will even get private demonstrations via a streaming service like Parsec, since this year's show is all-digital to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
One Elden Ring To Rule E3 (Fingers Crossed)
The off chance that Elden Ring could be absent from E3 stems from the usual problems of game development. Projects inevitably run into snags, sometimes major ones, and that's even more likely when it comes to complex, high-budget games. There haven't been any substantiated rumors to that effect with Elden Ring, yet four years is a relatively long time to work on a project for a company as experienced as FromSoftware. Games can and do sometimes take longer - while serious development on Cyberpunk 2077 began in 2016, CD Projekt Red's earliest work on it dates back to 2012.
Perhaps the real question is when and where FromSoftware's game will appear during E3. Though it could show up during an as yet unannounced Bandai-Namco showcase, there could also be an Elden Ring appearance during Microsoft's June 13 presentation, or even the June 15 Awards Show set to conclude the expo. The latter two options would probably be best for maximum publicity, even if Bandai-Namco would like more eyeballs on its other games.