Elden Ring is Becoming Gamings Biggest Roller Coaster

Elden Ring might be one of the most anticipated games in the last few years. Perhaps because of that anticipation, it's also a game that has put its fans through the wringer more than once. To be fair, the developer itself haven't tormented fans as much as fans have done so to themselves. Over the last year, rumors have floated up about Elden Ring's release date. These days, the community tends to look at every little leak and tidbit of information as From Software preparing to give more official information. Unfortunately for all involved, there simply hasn't been much in the way of solid information.

Elden Ring was first introduced at E3 2019, and at the time, it was known that it might be a little while before people got their hands on it. That didn't stop fans of George R.R. Martin from getting fired up to see what he could offer in the video game genre. The game then went on 500+ days with very little follow-up information. The public knew it was a fantasy game, they knew about the collaboration, and they knew nothing else.

The fact that Elden Ring is almost certainly going to be more than another  Dark Souls is a big draw as well, especially with the arrival of both the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S since the game was first announced. From Software puts out high quality games on current-gen consoles, and though the new game isn't confirmed for these platforms yet, it's highly likely to be so. At one point, rumors that Elden Ring would arrive on launch day for one of the consoles excited the community. Then it didn't come.

The near silence from the developer started to really worry fans as the new consoles were announced. Then it got closer and closer to release day, and there wasn't any press conferences, trailers, or anything else new reveal. Then, all of the sudden, it happened—From Software issued a statement. The company assured people it was still working on Elden Ring in October. Desperate for something concrete, some fans even thought the timing of the news was intentional; after all, From Software is well known as making spooky, atmospheric titles. What's more atmospheric than Halloween, but still nothing came.

Just a few weeks later, the biggest tease of all came from Xbox head Phil Spencer revealing he has played a build of Elden Ring. Spencer teased the community a bit more by saying he'd "played quite a bit" of the upcoming title. With the game being in a state where people not remotely involved in the project were getting to play a build, it seemed like others would get their chance, sooner rather than later. Then, perhaps unsurprisingly, no news followed.

One rumor that popped up soon after talk of a playable build began circulating was that Elden Ring's production was delayed by COVID-19. This explanation made sense. Certainly, a number of games got pushed back because the developers couldn't finish up what needed to be done. Other games, like Cyberpunk 2077, probably should have been pushed back until 2021. That explanation even made sense when looking at how silent From Software was about the whole situation. Perhaps it hoped it was going to have more info by November, or perhaps it thought the development would be further along. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. Of course, that didn't explain why those anxiously awaiting any news at all were still waiting into November.