With the news doing the rounds that, finally, after two years we may be about to get the Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, potentially by the end of the month, more exciting news is coming out that Tencent is reportedly working on a mobile version of the game at the same time.
From Software and Bandai Namco were responsible for the game when it arrived on the major formats, however, Tencent acquired the rights in 2022 and has put a team of a “few dozen people” to work on a prototype, according to a report in Reuters.
Elden Ring sold around 20 million copies in its first year alone, and interest in the forthcoming DLC is high. A mobile version would likely be marketed differently to the main game. While Elden Ring was a full-price product, according to Reuters, Tencent’s vision for the mobile version would make it free-to-play with in-app purchases, similar to money-spinning gacha phenomenon Genshin Impact, which has brought in billions in revenue for publisher miYoHo.
This would likely mean huge changes to the format of the game as it currently does not fit into Tencent’s desired model. Gamers have waited two years for DLC so it is difficult to see how regular DLC offerings would work within the game as it stands.
Recently rumors swirled that Tencent was looking to acquire the rights to publish games based on the Dungeons & Dragons IP from Hasbro. These seem to be unfounded, although the Chinese gaming giant already owns 30% of Larian Studios who were responsible for Baldur’s Gate 3 – the 2023 Game of the Year, which was responsible for bringing table-top style D&D gaming to the mainstream gaming fraternity.
Hasbro later denied there had been any contact between the two parties.
