Elden Ring Gameplay Trailer Revealed at Summer Game Fest, Gets 2022 Release Date

The first Elden Ring gameplay trailer is here, and Bandai Namco shared more details on the game's world, multiplayer, and upgrade paths.
The first Elden Ring gameplay trailer is here, and Bandai Namco shared more details on the game's world, multiplayer, and upgrade paths.

Praise the sun; the day has finally arrived. After years of waiting, FromSoftware fans got their first real look at the developer’s upcoming action RPG, Elden Ring, during the first day of the Summer Game Fest. In addition, the Elden Ring release date was also revealed. The game will launch on January 21, 2022, for PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. 

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Publisher Bandai Namco released a nearly 3-minute long gameplay trailer, seen below, that showcases a dark world full of swords and sorcery known as the Lands Between.

The trailer shows the game in action and provided the first few morsels of story, highlighting the journey of “a lowly Tarnished” searching for the titular elden ring. Of course, fire, light, and darkness also play key roles, all three of which have been long staples of FromSoftware titles. 

Much of what’s shown will certainly be familiar to Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne fans. While the world looks much more open than anything found in those games — Bandai Namco said that it “features vast, fantastical landscapes and shadowy, complex dungeons that are connected seamlessly” — combat bears a striking resemblance to previous From games, something sure to excite fans.

The trailer also shows players working with and against each other a la other games in the larger Souls-verse.

We know from the publisher that there will be several different biomes in Elden Ring, at the very least, according to a provided fact sheet. Those include “grassy plains, suffocating swamps, spiraling mountains, and foreboding castles…” Aside from that, a subsequent blog post confirmed that the game will have a day/night cycle and some type of weather system. 

Perhaps most apparent to Souls fans is the inclusion of a horse. It’s been rumored that Elden Ring would include mounts of some type, but the gameplay trailer confirmed that. The mount is not only used for travel or traversal, either. The trailer does hint that it can be used in combat as well, attacking enemies and bosses from horseback. 

The fact sheet shared by Bandai Namco following the reveal also confirmed that Elden Ring will have a free upgrade from PS4 to PS5, and that Xbox One to Xbox Series X|S will use SmartDelivery. 

Elden Ring was announced at E3 2019, but following that reveal, both From Software and Bandai Namco went silent. As a joint venture between Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, the project immediately gained widespread attention.

Having a penchant for digging into deep, often oblique lore, some Souls fans turned Elden Ring fans even began writing their own narrative, creating their own art, and making a concept game

Now, it seems, barring any hiccups, the wait for the official game is almost over. Stay tuned for more on Elden Ring as we learn it. 

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Author
Jonathan Moore
Jonathan Moore is the Editor-in-Chief of GameSkinny and has been writing about games since 2010. With over 1,200 published articles, he's written about almost every genre, from city builders and ARPGs to third-person shooters and sports titles. While patiently awaiting anything Dino Crisis, he consumes all things Star Wars. He has a BFA in Creative Writing and an MFA in Creative Writing focused on games writing and narrative design. He's previously been a newspaper copy editor, ad writer, and book editor. In his spare time, he enjoys playing music, watching football, and walking his three dogs. He lives on Earth and believes in aliens, thanks to Fox Mulder.