The buildup to Elden Ring's DLC has been long and chaotic, but resulted in something better than what was rumored by leaks. Publisher Bandai Namco leaked information about future Elden Ring projects, developer FromSoftware released the DLC-adjacent Colosseum update last December, and Director Hidetaka Miyazaki teased more content for the game at TGA 2022. But now that confirmed information about Elden Ring's first expansion DLC has finally been unveiled, fans can rest assured that it is better than what they had previously been led to believe.When the ransomware group AlphV cyber-attacked Bandai Namco last summer, the publisher's fiscal roadmap for the following year was leaked, and it included the title of an Elden Ring DLC expansion: Barbarians of the Badlands. This name suggested that the game's first DLC was to take the Tarnished out of the Lands Between and into the Badlands, where they were banished before the events of Elden Ring. Although this leak was later proven to be fake, it was nonetheless divisive. On one hand, venturing to the home of the Tarnished was an exciting prospect, but there still remains certain questions about the Lands Between that could be answered with additional content.
Elden Ring's Miquella Is Much More Interesting Than The Badlands
The Elden Ring team has finally ended speculation on the Badlands DLC, however. The Elden Ring Twitter page unveiled the title of Elden Ring's first DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, as well as artwork that appears to feature Miquella facing the dilapidated, eponymous tree. Though some players will be upset about not getting to see how the Tarnished live outside the Lands Between, Shadow of the Erdtree has much more potential to offer interesting storylines and lore because of Miquella. Unlike the Badlands, the Empyrean demigod is one of the most crucial yet mysterious components in Elden Ring's lore. Involving him in the DLC could thus help reveals the game's biggest secrets.
Elden Ring DLC Can Finally Show What Happens To Miquella (& The Canon Ending)
One of these secrets is what happens to Miquella after the events of Elden Ring. Miquella is abducted by Mohg, Lord of Blood, before the game takes place. However, the Tarnished kill Mohg in a boss fight and inadvertently free Miquella. The demigod is too weak to move during Elden Ring's story, but Shadow of the Erdtree could potentially reveal what happens after he regains his strength. FromSoftware could the take the story in many directions from there, as Miquella would both appreciate the Tarnished for freeing him and burning the Erdtree but also potentially loathe them for defeating his sister, Malenia, at the Haligtree.
Additionally, Shadow of the Erdtree could finally prove which Elden Ring ending is canon. None of the endings six endings have been confirmed as canon by FromSoftware yet. Considering that the artwork shown for the upcoming DLC expansion appears to feature a dying Erdtree, it seems likely that Shadow of the Erdtree takes place after the events of the game and could thus show which of Elden Ring's many endings is the one the Tarnished ended up choosing.
The artwork for the DLC may actually feature the Haligtree instead of the Erdtree and take place at a different time, but such possibilities are precisely what make Shadow of the Erdtree so much better than initial leaks about Barbarians of the Badlands. The Lands Between and Miquella create so many questions because of their relationship to Elden Ring's lore and story, but the Badlands, while curious, are not as important to the game.
Source: Elden Ring/Twitter